Packing a wet single wall tent

Not a single-wall tent, but a hammock. When it got wet and rained consecutive days, I just rolled it up wet. The super-thin silnylon doesn't hold much moisture. The next night, I'd unfurl it and set out the rain fly and put my sleeping pad in, and my sleeping bag would stay dry on top of the sleeping pad.

Another option is to roll it up in a packtowel. The packtowel will absorb most of the water, keeping it damp but livable.

It's always going to be a drag when setting or striking camp in the rain — esp. if you've got a good wind blowing as well. But there are ways to mitigate somewhat.

First off, I much prefer attaching my tent to the outside of my backpack. This way, you can set up tent first thing — without having to open up your backpack and exposing everything to the rain. It's a good idea to gather up stones and position them strategically beforehand so you can more easily weigh down the groundsheet, and then the tent.

When striking camp and it's still raining, packing the tent last means you can pack and seal up everything within the protection of your tent, then put on your shoes and rain jacket… then take a bit of time and care folding and rolling up your tent, to minimize the wet surface touching the inner. After folding and rolling, my single wall tent ends up like a longish loaf of bread — which I then slide/stuff into its stuff sack… and then finally attaching to the outside of the pack.

And then, you are on your way…

Give it a good shake and roll it. Pack on outside of main body of pack. Air later on in day, or pitch in the evening and wipe down interior.

PU-coated nylon can/will absorb quite a bit of water and become rather heavy. Silnylon and Cuben don't.

Cheers

If its raining, inside of roof usually has condensation too. There isnt any keeping it dry in my experience. Just roll it up, stuff in outer pocket, and dry out later in day when get a chance, or hope it doesnt keep up for days.

If you carry a UL groundsheet like polycro, that is better used on top of a wet floor, than under the floor, when its raining. You can keep that mostly clean and dry.

Stuff it in the sack, wipe the inner down if no chance to dry completely beforehand presented itself. Deal.

Maybe use a drybag vs provided stuffsack for the tent? I've got a few of the eVent ones that are lightweight, easy to pack/compress, and actually work for submersion. Of course, they work great too for keeping a wet mess of gear/shoes/etc from gunking up the interior of a pack. Sometimes gear can be aired out while hanging from my pack but other times I need to stuff it in a drybag & go. Especially if it's raining & I'm trying to prevent damp gear from getting soaked.

Tyler, I can tell you at point of fact that they are not submersible.

They might work in the tub, but I took one tubing and soaked everything in 2 hours.

Max – Really? Hmmm…that is a little disturbing. Which brand/styles?
I tested mine for 3 hours submerged w/no failure, and also suspended while holding water for 2 hours with no leaks. They're the only one's I've had that I trust so far – the S2S ones – http://www.rei.com/product/730882/sea-to-summit-event-compression-dry-sack- . As you may have encountered though it is very frustrating to decypher which bags are actually submersible. What works for you?

I would never put anything wet in a dry bag. I'd rather keep my dry stuff in the dry bag and let the wet stuff air out. If my shelter is even a little damp, it goes outside the pack liner and usually outside the pack (in shock cord lashing or a mesh pocket).

eVent and GTX, and … all work fine for splash protection, but they are not really waterproof at depth (high pressure). The only stuff I would really trust is heavy PVC-coated nylon with welded seams and a long roll-top closure. But they weigh a ton.

Wet gear should be outside the main protection layer of your pack, imho.

Cheers

I carry mine loose in the bottom of my pack when wet to it won't leak on anything else and the weight is lower for better off trail balance.
When I set it up, I use a bandana on the inside to wipe off the bulk of the moisture so my back won't be soaked by contact moving
around. With a steep enough side wall on the shelter, it won't likely drip off onto you anyway unless you get a good wind storm and then the water quickly is knocked off the sides an onto the dirt or snow floor. If you have a floored shelter you might want to bring a small sponge.

How to pack tent when it's raining:
Very carefully :)

I grab the apex and lift so the shelter looks like a pyramid. This prevents any of the outside surfaces touching the inside surfaces. Then I start folding it up from the apex toward the bottom. The bundle gets wider as you progress toward the bottom, so I fold the lower corners of the triangle inward to keep the bundle as narrow as the inside of my pack. I then put the lumpy oversize soggy bungle inside my pack, against my shoulder blades (where the weight carries best) and outside my trash compactor bag keeping my dry stuff from getting wet.

To set up the tent, I very carefully unroll the tent – ensuring the bottom edge stays at the bottom so that water doesn't flow into the dry interior.

Note that PU coated nylon will feel damp on the inside no matter what you do when the outside is soaking wet. Laying a piece of painters plastic down inside the tent to create a dry floor makes tents much more liveable in constant rain :)