Dew on the Hammock

[rocky65]

I live in Ohio and set my hammonk up for a test sleep last night. Just bought a Jacks R Better.

I set it up in my back yard in the afternoon, but when I took my sleeping bag out about 10pm, the hammonk was soaked, like some one had sprayed water on it.

Simple old dew I guess, what the best way to stop this. A tarp over it or what ??

I would think it would only be worse as it gets cooler and I sleep in it.

Bob


Bob

[headchange4u]

A tarp would go a long way to help in keeping you dry,

[Hector]

It depends on the type of dew. A tarp may help or it may not (down here in the humid south it usually doesn't, in other climates with very starkly clear skies it may). Sometimes a sock is about the only defense.

[Coffee]

Good point. In Ohio though a tarp will be your best bet.

Figures that when I finally move away from Ohio we get a bunch of people from there. Usually happens that way for me.

[Just Jeff]

That happened to me in South Carolnia when I first started hammocking. A tarp will fix the dew problem b/c it condenses and falls from the air down to the ground...but there are plenty of other kinds of condensation to get you wet. Moisture evaporating from the grass under you, thick rolling fog, etc. And 90+% humidity is never comfortable and makes moisture management a challenge at any temp.

[Darby]

Rocky65, welcome to the forum

[Spock]

A tarp will help. Snake skins will help until you are ready to jump in.

There are 2 kinds of dew, rising dew and falling dew. Rising dew occurs when the barometric pressure goes up, causing the 'dew point' (the temperature at which dew forms) to rise past the ambient temperature. Rising dew is obnoxious because water condenses everywhere - even inside packs and stuff sacks and inside the insulation of your sleeping bag and other insulated garments.

Falling dew forms as the air temperature falls below the 'dew point'. It probably should be called 'settling dew' because that is more like what it does. The relative humidity spikes as the air cools and the water-loaded air, being heavier, settles. Water condenses on anything that is cool enough. An unoccupied hammock cools faster than just about anything else. So that's what happened to yours.

A tarp will shield the hammock better against falling dew unless a gentle breeze carries the dew underneath. Falling dew usually doesn't form when there is more breeze than a kiss. A tarp will help some with rising dew by reflecting radiant heat - which will sometimes keep the hammock warm enough to evaporate the dew as it forms. It will work better if you are in the hammock giving off heat.

[slowhike]

Good information on dew, condensation, fog & such Jeff & Spook. I've often wondered about what seamed to be different types of wetness forming or settling on stuff outside. I've meant to look into it & learn a little more about that kind of thing, but haven't really.
Good stuff to think & learn about.

[Take-a-knee]

Good information on dew, condensation, fog & such Jeff & Spook. I've often wondered about what seamed to be different types of wetness forming or settling on stuff outside. I've meant to look into it & learn a little more about that kind of thing, but haven't really.
Good stuff to think & learn about.

Yeah, that is some cool stuff, I understood the dewpoint thing of course but had NO IDEA on the rising barometric pressure causing everything to get soaked.

[Spock]

Yeah, barometric pressure is sneaky. You get the same effect when going up and down mountains because the barometric pressure decreases as you ascend. That's how altimeters work. If you camp at altitude when the humidity is up, when you descend a few hundred feet, the inside of your pack and everything in it feels a little damp because whatever moisture is in the air inside the pack and inside its contents will condense. When you climb out again, it will evaporate. Usually. Unless a new weather system moves in to change the game.

Just keep a few simple principles in mind: Thin air hold more water than thick air. Hot air holds more water than cold air. Relative humidity is 'relative' to both the temperature and the air pressure. IOW it is the amount of water the air is holding compared to (relative to) the maximum amount it can hold at the current temperature and pressure. That's why relative humidity is expressed as a percentage such as 50% or whatever. Change either the temperature or pressure and the relative humidity changes.