Accidentally got some heavy rains on my Down quilts last night

[Strung out]

Hello Campers!

Some friends and I had a great 5 day trip in the BWCA last weekend.
When I got home, I hung my gear out to dry and air out.
I forgot to pack things away before bed last night.

We had 1/2"-3/4" of heavy rains at around 3am.

You see that I had my small hex tarp hung quite high. Ridgeline is at about 7 feet.
The hammock with built in down UQ seems damp from humidity but not wet at all.
The Hammock and underquilt is made with Epsilon fabric with Hyperdry 850 goose down from Ripstopbytheroll


The top quilt is NOT made with water resistant down and was completely exposed hanging from the ridgeline. It was "upside down" so that the footbox was able to catch the rain inside.
There was at least 1/2 cup of water in the footbox at 8:30 AM
I poured it out and checked the loft. The footbox was still quite puffy.
The rest of the quilt had respectable loft. I believe the insulation qualities were mostly intact.
It seems that the shell was wet, but the down had not suffered much.

This is how it hung all night



Here is the quilt wet


outside of footbox


Inside of footbox


Wet weight


Here it is dry


dry weight (it's actually 15.9 when bone dry from the dryer, but this is not a reality in the woods)
It needs a good washing also.


This is what 3oz of water looks like



There you have it folks.
I encourage you to carry lightweight down gear and hang those tarps high.
Just be smart out there, you can get wet and cold if you try hard enough.

The internet is a dangerous place. Be careful about what you believe.

I tried to present this info in the clearest way possible.

HYOH and enjoy the outdoors!

[JBRanger]

Very interesting. Btw, your PM inbox is full. Was going to ask you a question.

[MAD777]

It seems that Hyper-dry is amazing stuff. Normal down, subjected to those conditions would have been a soggy mess.

[Strung out]

Very interesting. Btw, your PM inbox is full. Was going to ask you a question.

INBOX cleared for you man.

It seems that Hyper-dry is amazing stuff. Normal down, subjected to those conditions would have been a soggy mess.

The old RAB top quilt is NOT made with water resistant down. (Edited OP to make it more clear) It also has "old tech" pertex fabric which seems to be thought of as not as weather resistant as some of the newer fabrics.
It is also dirty.

Your statement "Normal down, subjected to those conditions would have been a soggy mess." seems to be a popular belief amongst many campers.

If my old dirty UL down quilt can survive a downpour like this, then I hope it helps to calm the fears of some people.

Enjoy a light pack and a warm sleep my friends.

[MAD777]

Thank you for the clarification. I did not read your original post carefully enough, assuming that all the down was hyperdry. I agree that pertex, for many years, was the gold standard for breathable but water resistant, lightweight fabric.

[gargoyle]

You were at home with the convenience of a dryer. And you were not depending on your wet quilt to keep you warm.
Protect your gear and yourself when in the woods. The scenario could have been a lot different.

[Scotty Von Porkchop]

Brilliant write up there and fascinating about how good old fashioned pertex held up in the wet. It helps to alleviate the need to splash out on hyperdry down when I've got DWR fancy pants fabric to protect my duck parts :-D

Actually the pertex holding up well is easily believed here in the UK as many outdoor types still use buffalo type jackets over goretex. But still, awesome write up.

[hikenbike]

Great analysis and an even better point. The vast majority of us are out for two or three nights in relatively mild conditions. As a long time cyclist I see people with $5,000 bikes, full racing kit, and all sorts of convoluted nutrition just to ride ~20 miles on a bike path...and then go hang out at the coffee shop. The same scenario plays out in backpacking. We don't have to spend or act like thru-hikers just to have a good time in the woods for a weekend.

[bkrgi]

Down wins again.....so much for the hyperbole regarding down and moisture
Would not take much to evaporate 3oz of water out if one was in the field.
And Treated down goes several steps further in keeping moisture at bay...at which point the fabric holds more moisture than the down likely

Great write up

[Strung out]

Looks like it will get down around 35F tonight.

I may wet the quilt again and sleep out.

Very curious to see how it will perform.