Bivy on the East coast ?

It worked for me but I never experienced that level of humidity on my VA trips. You need to figure out where the moisture is coming from. I imagine most of its from the air and some from you. I doubt a bivy would help much for that.

I do most of my hiking on the East coast and of course there are many posts about this issue here, on White Blaze, trailjorunals.com and many others.

I trust the posts on BPL more than most of the others.

A highly breathable bivy or even a mesh bug bivy/net under a tarp can be the driest option, but lets face it after several days of cool, overcast, rainy, near 100% humidity, you will be wet.

First, accept this and work on staying warm.

Your quilt/bag will absorb a certain amount of moisture from the air, splash and spray.
A highly breathable bivy/net can help reduce this by blocking most spray/splash and allow body warmth to evaporate moisture buildup while you sleep.

When you are not in a bivy/net, evaporation is more likely to condense inside the more exposed cold outer shell of the quilt bag.

I used to do cool weather camping without my Meteor(and other) bivy because I didn't see the need, but after using it on a few wet hikes I find it definitely helps reduce the moisture content of my bag/quilt.

Also having the net portion reducing drafts around my face, makes it less likely for me to pull my head inside to take the chill off my nose. Breathing into your bedding can really contribute to the moisture issue.

I've never had a problem with spray/splash, since I'm using a 10×10 tarp for just 1 person.

For 3 season camping in my area, it's not cold enough to need to pull my head inside the bag (40 degree lows), or drafty (light breezes, with light wind during storms).

Some of the condensation is due to camping on grassy areas (large group often leads to camping as a group in a field). However the dew point is usually 20 degrees higher than the night time low temperature, so everything gets covered with heavy dew.

I'd hate to buy a bivy to give the dew something to settle on, and then find out my sleeping bag gets even more damp due to trapping the moisture my body gives off…

Any advice?

Hi Jon,

I live in the mountains of North Carolina and have often experienced the conditions you're dealing with. I agree with Stevenin that a bug bivy or the like helps mitigate condensation. The really fine nano-see-um seems to catch some of the moisture; it also provides a slight bit of draft protection. I find a bivy increases condensation in my sleep system when conditions are well above freezing. I also bring along a piece of a camping towel, for drying things off.

Camping in the middle of open areas is inviting condensation however. Would it be possible to disperse your group into the trees around said fields? Thiis would allow higher tarp pitches, creating more airflow, and thus reducing condensation. Not to mention the reduced condensation I experience when camping in more sheltered spots. When camping with large groups, we usually bring along an extra tarp for cooking/hanging out. Only a pound or so, it's weight is easily dispersed amongst 4-6 hikers.

In damp, chilly conditions, I usually bring fleece. It's heavier and bulkier than synthetic puffies, but there's just nothing that outperforms it in wet weather. When I get camp set up, I put on fleece top and bottoms and then put my shells back on over the top. The fleece dries both my baselayers and my shells while I'm cooking/hanging out. I carry a hooded puffy that I sleep in; if I'm hanging out while wearing it, I wear a shell over it to prevent surface condensation.

Also don't forget the wonders of fire. If it's not a downpour, fire can be a huge boon in drying out you and your gear. It's also a huge morale booster after being wet for hours or days on end. There are many places in my area where a rocky outcropping allows a fire in a sheltered, relatively dry campsite. Sleep between the fire and the cliff face and you'll be dry by morning!

I haven't camped on the east coast, but I have spent winter days along the coast of the
Olympics in WA. Sleeping in fog, I found a Goretex bivy over a synthetic bag worked
best whether under a tarp or in the open. Down wasn't as warm (tho a down bag inside a synthetic overbag was nice). Fog is different than dew is seems to me. Fog is more like
rain and rapidly condenses on top of things. A DWR bivy doesn't keep out the moisture as
well and when you combine it with wind, a fully waterproof bivy like eVent or Gore works
better.

We used a fire sometimes to dry stuff out. If you can't have a fire, a quart bottle filled
with boiling water will force moisture out of your insulation. I like to put it against
the small of my back when doing camp chores and at my feet in my sleeping bag. Good way to
dry out, or at least warm, damp socks for the morning. You will find you have less condensation in your sleep system when you add extra heat.