Fog Condensation on MWUQ and HH

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01-19-2009, 18:17
Just Jeff

Fog Condensation on MWUQ and HH

Here are a few pics of what fog can do. This setup was on my back porch and none of this is from rain. It was also unoccupied last night so none of it is breathing. It's all from the thick blowing fog we had.

This is one advantage I see to hammock socks over simply using a larger tarp. When it's this humid out nothing can stop a certain level of condensation, but a sock can stop the thick blowing fog and let it condense on the sock, then drip off before it gets onto the quilts.

But it's all a matter of style.

http://www.hammockforums.net/gallery...on-4_thumb.jpg http://www.hammockforums.net/gallery...on-3_thumb.jpg http://www.hammockforums.net/gallery...on-2_thumb.jpg
01-19-2009, 18:54
Take-a-knee

Yes, that Warbonnet synthetic UQ sounds better and better.
01-19-2009, 19:07
angrysparrow

I agree, Jeff, those can be tough conditions.

I encountered that kind of misty blowing fog on Dugger Mountain in AL a few weeks ago. I was unlucky in not having my hammock sock with me on that particular trip, but instead used a Speer PeaPod. It was cool enough that I could keep the PeaPod mostly closed the entire night, so most of the condensation was on the outer DWR, which was easy enough to mostly dry off the next morning with my pack towel. If not for that, though, the next night would have been very damp indeed if I had to pack the pod up still wet.

A real problem in those conditions is the amount of moisture that collects on the bottom side of a tarp. It is easy to get lots of moisture on you by brushing yourself or your gear against the wet inside of the tarp.

I think that such fine fog in the right temps could be very dangerous with certain types of gear.
01-19-2009, 20:00
Peter_pan

Quote:

Originally Posted by Just Jeff

Here are a few pics of what fog can do. This setup was on my back porch and none of this is from rain. It was also unoccupied last night so none of it is breathing. It's all from the thick blowing fog we had.

This is one advantage I see to hammock socks over simply using a larger tarp. When it's this humid out nothing can stop a certain level of condensation, but a sock can stop the thick blowing fog and let it condense on the sock, then drip off before it gets onto the quilts.

But it's all a matter of style.

http://www.hammockforums.net/gallery...on-4_thumb.jpg http://www.hammockforums.net/gallery...on-3_thumb.jpg http://www.hammockforums.net/gallery...on-2_thumb.jpg

JJ,

The drops look like they would shake off.... there also does not appear to have any penitration of the DWR ripstop.

Can you comment/report on these two points?

Pan
01-19-2009, 20:00
Take-a-knee

Yes, and someone starting an early thru like Karl will run into this a fair amount of times I believe. I just looked at the forecast for Suches GA and the low for the next couple of nights will be in the teens and for several nights after that it'll be around freezing or slightly above. At least when it freezes you can just brush it off. Long nights, dreary days slightly above freezing, that can get you "down" with down. I think it is borderline insanity not to have some sort of pad this time of year.
01-19-2009, 21:44
BillyBob58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter_pan

JJ,

The drops look like they would shake off.... there also does not appear to have any penitration of the DWR ripstop.

Can you comment/report on these two points?

Pan

I'm betting it did not get into the down. It will be interesting to find out. I have found the DWR on both a PeaPod and MWUQ to be quite effective. I found out due to a couple of tarp mishaps during severe storms.

The only problem would be packing up to hit the trail. Of course if the drops will shake off, or can be dried with a pack towel. But it sure would be preferable to keep the moisture off in the first place.
01-19-2009, 22:45
Just Jeff

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter_pan

The drops look like they would shake off.... there also does not appear to have any penitration of the DWR ripstop.

Can you comment/report on these two points?

Yep - you can see in the pics that the DWR beaded up the water really well, and most of it did shake off. I didn't see any specific spots of penetration on the MWUQ but even after shaking it off the fabric still felt damp...I didn't weigh it afterwards so I can't confirm if the down was directly affected but I would be surprised if it wasn't. Even the Hennessy fabric wetted out on the windward end.

I'm pretty happy with the DWR considering how wet it was outside...basically like setting up in an all-night sprinkle with no tarp. This fog was as thick as anything I saw in Monterey, and easily the thickest fog I've seen in North Carolina.

I try to be extra careful with my gear so I wouldn't have liked to pack it up that wet, but I don't think it was enough to significantly affect the loft after this one night. I would be ok packing it up after a night like this if I had to. Several nights like this with no chance to dry it out during the day and I'd be more concerned...but that's the case with any gear in these conditions.