I really enjoyed Ryans podcast topic this week. The idea of add a water tolerant top layer to a down sleeping bag system was something I had not thought about.
But this made me think. Is there any real hard data out there about the source of the humidity/condensation?
Is it from humidity in the air? Off my body or my breath? By what percentage?
By chance I was sleeping in the back of the Jeep, waiting for the snow to stop falling before I set out on a trail when I was listening to the podcast. The inside of jeeps windows were dripping wet by morning. I have never had the inside of a vehicle get dripping wet when I was not (sleeping) in it. That leads me to believe that the source of the bulk of moisture is me.
Of that I am pretty sure that most of come out of my lungs and mouth. Is the humidity creeping out of my sweat glands thru the down only to get condensed on the outside of the sleeping bag? The fabric does not seem saturated. It seems to be on the outside surface, not the inside surface. Ryans extra layer on top is definitely a great idea in extended cold/wet trips no matter if the source is 2% sweat/ 98% breath or 50% sweat /50% breath.
This all lead 8 hours on trail thinking (perhaps overthinking) about water inside my tent.
If it is in fact from the mouth and nose, wouldn’t it be possible to use a gossamer thin layer of fabric as a curtain to contain the flow of the and and thus moisture inside the tent?
I guess Im asking. Is the data out there already, or do I have to spend a lot of nights in the back yard to figure it out?
