Posted: 10/12/2024 1:51:48 PM EDT
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My son and I just got back from a few days of elk hunting and had something happen to both of us that we have not experienced before. We were camped at about 9000 ft in a Kodiak Canvas flexbow tent, on Teton cots with Teton foam cot pads. I was in a Teton 0 degree canvas / flannel sleeping bag and he was in a Browning synthetic bag. Temps were in the 70s during the day and mid 30s overnight. Humidity running around 20 or below. ( Only reason I know is reports from a large wildfire that was burning about 8 miles from us ) First night things were fine and we did not notice any issues. Second night seemed about the same. Day three we could tell the fire was spreading and decided to pull out before any further forest closures went into effect. The hunting sucked anyway, with hot, dry conditions on top of a lot more people in the area assuming having been pushed out of the wider area by the fire. While packing up we found both our cots and the foam pads to be pretty damp, but our sleeping bags were dry. No bed wetting  I have spent plenty of nights on a cot in both the civilian world and the military and never had this happen before. Is this just condensation from the temp swings? Us breathing in the tent all night? We did leave the windows zipped down about 4-6 inches and the peak vents were open, so there should have been some air movement. I have tried to look around some different camping websites for similar stories, but was not able to find much on this. Anybody else ever have this happen? Any way to prevent it? Was wondering if a closed cell foam pad between the cot and Teton foam pad might help. Pretty sure the Teton foam is more of an open cell / sponge type foam so in my head it seems likely to absorb moisture from the air. Appreciate any input and feedback, even the DEPENDS comments that are bound to be posted. |
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Nature of the beast with foam. They hold moisture, and we all put out moisture. If you ran a propane heater even worse. I loved my foam pad, but it was a sponge. Now I do a air pad, with a quilt on top. The only fix is airing out the bedding during the day. A cheap sheet in the bag was a nice thing this year. Try it next time. Attached File |
If life was easy nobody would quit.
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A wood stove really helps too. Attached File |
If life was easy nobody would quit.
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DVCER hit the good stuff. We always air our pads and sleeping bags out. Even with a good ground sheet there is always moisture. Even inside our fish-camp house the bags and pads get damp. We run a wood stove. On some YouTube camping channels I watch they put a reflective mat down then the main pad on top to help heat and moisture. Some even do it the other way. |
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Originally Posted By DVCER: Nature of the beast with foam. They hold moisture, and we all put out moisture. If you ran a propane heater even worse. I loved my foam pad, but it was a sponge. Now I do a air pad, with a quilt on top. The only fix is airing out the bedding during the day. A cheap sheet in the bag was a nice thing this year. Try it next time. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/857/IMG_9620_jpeg-3347686.JPG Didn’t even think about that. We did run a Little Buddy heater a bit before bed and again in the morning. More for my stick 17 year old son that is always cold. I have enough insulation that the chilly times didn’t bother me. I would have thought the heater would help dry the air, but since it is radiant with no fan it makes sense it would heat the upper air and leave the air under the cots cold, so condensation. I have run sheets before, especially when its hot, love the option of a light covering that breathes. |
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Propane pumps out some water for sure. It’s a humid heat. One year it was mild so I left the wood stove home and took a propane heater. It rained a lot that year too. Wet gear took forever, Hanging in the tent, to dry. With the wood stove everything dries overnight. Air that stuff out too before you store it….which reminds me I need to wash and dry my bag. |
If life was easy nobody would quit.
