Controlling condensation in my test hammock rig

**MacEntyre** · 01-08-2010, 06:32

Originally Posted by tammons

...entire quilt was very damp and not just on the outside.
I had no condensation on the CCF pads at all.

That's interesting... at any rate, you were too warm!

Perhaps you just need to ventilate a bit...?

**tammons** · 01-08-2010, 09:06

I was not too warm, just right really until I had to get up and pee at 4AM.

I now think it was a combination of things.

One thing I know think is that I am just give off a lot of moisture at night. Back in the late 70's and early 80's I had 3 different bags. Did a good bit of hiking out west and on the AT. My down bags were always moist in the morning in cold weather (no DWR back then) but I now think it was due to internal condensation in extreme cold. Not as bad mind you out west.

I went on a week long hike in the 70's on the AT with my -40dF bag in N GA with a CCF pad and a tent. It was 10-15dF at night, foggy, sleet, rainy and my bag (10" loft) deflated about an inch per day for the first 3 days. Had me nervous at first but I had down to spare with that one. It was damp the entire trip.

As soon as Polarguard bags came out I bought one just for that reason and could not have been happier except for the weight. Dried fast and no deflation.

As far as my current hammock setup..

The 2 pads I had sideways pretty much wrapped all the way up the sides.
The sil/nylon poncho/tarp wrapped all the way up the sides and I am sure that trapped moisture too.

Normal condensation inside the bag probably contributed to it, IE sweating on the warm side, which is inside the outer layer in this case.

I do think this is a good thing to know in case of emergencies and I am glad I tried it. If your $300 down UQ blows away off a mountain top, and you can just get your hands on a poncho, some cloth or a space blanket for the bottom, a few garbage bags, some leaves and or space blankets for the fill, and you could survive.

Just for experimentation, Some solutions would be to....

Leave it like it is for cold weather and wear vapor barrior clothing
That alone would be good down to probably 0dF. I can see this being a good setup where normal bag condensation is a problem.

or Use a breathable bottom material instead of the poncho or I guess a driduck poncho would work for double duty.

or Get the CCF pads out of the inside and strap them on the bottom somehow.

Get rid of the CCF pads all together but I do intend to carry at least one so its a shame to lug it around and only use it to sit on.

I think you could get rid of the typical undershell and trashbags all together
and just make a sort of double layer bottom wrap with large pockets out of soft structure 1.25 oz tyvek. That would breath, and you could fill up the pockets with whatever. Sort of an on the fly UQ.