Wet weather=extra packed shelter weight

[Eric Blumensaadt]

So yes, even a shaken-out tarp is still damp and has extra weight. And my solo Moment DW gains weight with rain on the fly exterior and condensation on the exterior, despite my efforts at shaking it off.

Then when I pack it the condensation water gets on the inner tent wall (we’re talking cold weather below 40 F.) and the inner tent walls get wet. :o(

SO… I’ve recently washed the inner tent with Grangers wash-in DWR and, when it dried I sprayed REVIVEX DWR on it. Kinda “belt-and-suspenders” DWR. These are two of the best DWR products I know of.

On my upcoming Grand Canyon North rim-to-South rim backpack I think I’ll experience enough cold at the first and last of the three camps (2nd camp at the bottom) to have condensation. So I may be able to see if the DWR treatment works. Hopefully this DWR inner tent treatment is the way to go.

[James Marco]

DWR’s don’t stop condensation, Eric. Did you ever try RainX on your car windshield? It still condenses.

[Ken Thompson]

Wrong forum.

Aren’t those two dwr products incompatible?

[Jerry Adams]

use silpoly instead of silnylon?  That may shed water better.

I have some silpoly to make a tarp out of and will find out.

[John S.]

In wet weather I separate my fly from my inner tent (when packing) to prevent it from getting more wet.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

GC hike UPDATE:

I did have condensation one night (it rained all night at Cottonwood Camp on the N.Kaibab Trail).  In the morning after the rain stopped around 7 AM I wiped off the outer side of the fly with my synthetic towel and then the inside condensation in just two areas where it had collected. The tent was only bit damp when I packed it.

At Phantom Ranch I set up the tent right away at 2:30 PM and it was thoroughly dry by 4 PM. So a good synthetic towel is the answer for me to dispel fly moisture.

[Bob Moulder]

At Phantom Ranch I set up the tent right away at 2:30 PM and it was thoroughly dry by 4 PM. So a good synthetic towel is the answer for me to dispel fly moisture.

Yes, that, AND lower relative humidity.

If you’re up in the clouds and fog — relative humidity being 100% — it isn’t going to dry no matter what you do. If you’re in a desert with 10% relative humidity it will dry out quickly whether or not you wipe it down.

The more interesting question is how much more do shelters weigh when wet? What’s the difference between shaking out as much moisture as possible and shaking then wiping down? A very good test was done by somebody on WhiteBlaze…. surprising results HERE!

[Eric Blumensaadt]

Thanks for that link Bob. I seldom go to White Blaze anymore, being a westerner now. (Nevada)

What made me feel bad was that silnylon held much more water than CF. Aaarrrggghhh!

 

[Mina Loomis]

Aren’t you carrying the same water weight whether it is in your shelter fabric or in your synthetic towel?  At least until you have a chance to air dry it all.

[Matthew / BPL]

You can wring water out of a small synthetic towel pretty easily.

[Tipi Walter]

Carrying a wet tent is just part of the game.  Hey, sometimes you get to pack up a bone dry tent too—which is lighter.  If I hated the idea of carrying a wet heavy tent, well, I’d just stay home and not hike.

The worst is packing up a sleet plastered tent which is frozen solid and covered in unremovable (is this a word?) ice—almost impossible to get inside the tent sack.  So begins a new subject:  Cursing 101.

[Roger Caffin]

With silnylon fabric, I found that a good beating would remove most of the ice before packing. Yeah, seriously!

Cheers

[Eric Blumensaadt]

The synthetic towel I now use is a microfiber knit cloth. It dries much faster than a felted type synthetic  “chamois”. It also packs smaller.

So… would a “sil-polyester” tent hold less moisture than silnylon? I’m thinking of the ultra light spinnaker cloth.

BTW, where is it written that wash-in DWR is not compatible with spray-on DWR?

 

[Roger Caffin]

BTW, where is it written that wash-in DWR is not compatible with spray-on DWR?
Wrong question (so to speak).
Different DWRs are incompatible due to their chemistry. The now deprecated fluorocarbon DWRs are totally incompatible with silicone sprays, and possibly with the Nikwax class as well. Whether they are wash-in or spray-on does not matter.

I use silicone spray to ‘refresh’ silnylon, every 2 -3 years. Works fine.

Cheers

[Eric Blumensaadt]

Thanks Roger, I wish this was printed on the containers. (Meaning it isn’t “written” where it should be.) So that brings up the question: Where is this info “written”. Where did you see this?

I use Revivex or Grangers spray DWRs over Nikwax wash-in DWR. So far I’ve seen very good repellancy with that combo.

 

 

[Roger Caffin]

Where is it written? Um … dunno.
It seems to be one of those things which is widely known, but unpublished. Certainly, the incompatibility between fluorocarbon and silicone is widely known.

Cheers

[Eric Blumensaadt]

Final thoughts:

1. The best synthetic cloth I’ve found for backpacking is the knit variety found at automotive parts stores in the car washing products area. They can much more easily be wrung out and are lighter than the “chamois” type.
2.  I’m trying to find out if Granger’s Performance spray DWR and Revivex spray DWR have silicone in them for compatibility with wash-in DWR. Let me know if anyone has that info. These are supposed to be the best two DWR sprays on the market.

[Roger Caffin]

To the best of my knowledge, Revivex is a fluorocarbon, and probably a C8 one at that. Seriously deprecated these days.
Grangers – don’t know.

cheers

[Eric Blumensaadt]

OK, I found that Grangers spray DWR DOES have a fluorocarbon base.

Nikwax spray DWR does NOT have fluorocarbons, is UV resistant and biodegradable. (Well you gotta re-spray at least once a year anyway.)

Veddy interesting…

[DAN-Y]

Wear one of these things that’s connected to a lightweight hose that leads to the outside of your tent. It should reduce condensation inside the tent to a great extent. Six of one, half dozen of the other. or just live with what you’re doing :-)

[Eric Blumensaadt]

Dan, Why, why didn’t I think that?

[DAN-Y]

This idea comes from Sean “shug” Emery, placing a fleece cloth over his face so that the fleece collects the moisture. I made a circular one, 6 segments with fringes protruding to collect more moisture as it passes thru the cloth.

[Roger Caffin]

I can see some problems or rather limitations. A lot of condensation comes not from the sleeper but from the damp soil, warmed by the afternoon sun.

Cheers

[jimmyjam]

I have found that my 15 oz tarp weighs 18 oz after shaking off all the rain water that I can.

[Author]

Posts