10 Tips To Reduce CONDENSATION In Your Tent

Oscar I think I got it. To reduce moisture from breathing, reduce the temperature difference and avoid touching the walls I'll just sleep next to the tent, problem solved👍 nice video, well explained

Starting to think I’m the only one who holds their breath while sleeping in tents to keep the condensation to a minimum.

Actually for the very last tip, if you have a towel it is a good idea to use it at the start of the dry-out period in the morning, rather than after letting your tent air out. If you use the towel first, then there’s a better chance that the little bit left behind can air dry. If you wait until packing up to towel dry the tent, whatever the towel leaves behind will be trapped as you pack up the tent.

Lots of great advice :) a few add ons/comments 1. differens between single and double wall tents is not the amount of condensation, but if you get in contact with it - in general i find single wall tents like Xmid pro, duplex or similar kinds is very airy. Add on. The type of ground you sleep on is one of the most important condensation sources - wet soil, grass or similar holds a lot of moisture that you sleeping on it will evaporate and create condensation - dry ground, something like a pine forest with dry needles is a great surface (it also works as natural insulation) wet ground both creates more condensation - but is also a lot colder to sleep on that dry ground. add 2. making sure you are not overheating in your bag/quilt also is quite important for not creating excess moisture

I've been camping for at least 55 years, and these are excellent rules to tent camping. Very well done.
I want this Man's campout list.

I carry a small to medium mesh bag. Dirty clothes dry nicely in an open-mesh bag. A little while of hanging in open air does wonders, especially if it’s sunny.
Courtesy of Half Vast Flying

Just come back from the wettest 2 days I ever had camping, and it didn't even rain! 🤣 Loving the tips you gave, some things I never even thought of before, like emptying the tent and allowing a thorough airing, allowing gear to dry in the sunshine, if there is any sunshine! But thanks!

El mejor vídeo, con diferencia, que he visto en el que se aborda este problema!
Gracias! Saludos desde España!

I use a bivy so that I can be maximally sweaty at all times

Learned a lot from this!

First, thanks for the great content and useful channel.
But, if I may say, ironically in the tip 5 you skipped the most important arguments against stove inside the tent:
1. Synthetic fabrics that tents are made of are highly flammable. ("How fast does a tent burn? Approximately with a speed of 100$ per second.")
2. Fire produces CO gas (carbon monoxide). Which can cause significant health effects, including death. Of course, that would be in the very worst case. Like during winter with a tent guarded by a snow skirt. Though anyway, it's possible to have a headache from CO even in milder conditions.

One change that I have made to my 1P dyneema tent is to add a second "wall" made of polycryo. I used velcro tabs to attach a small panel of the polycryo to the foot end of my tent and then a second piece along half of the side wall. The sheets are about 2 feet high and hang a little loose so that they are away from the main wall of the tent. Any condensation that forms either runs down the tent wall and out the lower edge as intended, or falls onto the sheet and then runs down and out the lower edge. The inside of the sheet stays dry which protects my quilt. I don't add the sheet by my head because I am able to manage staying away from the tent wall -- and the additional sheet will not get into my way. I do occasionally wipe this portion down if it does get too wet. The polycryo adds a little more than an ounce to the weight of my tent and has kept my quilt much dryer.

If you're solo, Tarptent Protrail model. Front entry with your head and door opening at 45" high. You get less condensation. Even in rain the sides and foot area vent well. If I do get condensation, I turn it inside out in the am, shake it off, and pack out. Dries in five minutes when the day warms up later. Super easy and fast to pitch, packs up in seconds. I've used both double and single wall over the last 50 years. Double walls still get wet inside the fly, and you still have to dry them out later, main benefit is freestanding for double walls if needed. Nice video, good advice for pitching along a hillside where the cooler air drains downhill at dusk, and staying away from water to avoid condensation. ☮

Thank you Oscar, it was VERY informative

Awesome video and tips!

Read the comments. Lots of trolls plague your channel. There are more people who appreciate you then there are haters. Keep up the good and helpful work 😊

I use a thin lightweight Tyvek (breathable) open backed bivy bag over a lightweight summer or 3-season quilt. The bivy bag uprates the warmth of the quilt (saving some weight on the quilt), but means that it doesn’t matter if the foot box or side of the breathable waterproof Tyvek bivi bag touchers the wet single walled tent skin.

Awesome information !!!

Genius, thanks Aaron! Inexpensive, practical, double purpose translates to less bulk & weight (leave those 1lb, $100, micro spikes at home!). I am always learning from you!

On cooking in the tent: the combustion process also creates water vapor. For every mole of propane you burn, you create 4 moles of water vapor. So that really increases the humidity even apart from boiling water

Just stating the obvious, but ventilation is one of the key differences between an ok tent and the upper league. Double wall also creates airflow between the mesh and the outer shell like a chimney. Plus in a winter tent the space between the outer and the full fabric inner creates a stepped temperature difference (cold outside, warm in between, warmer inside) that reduces condensation. The effect is stunning: Some weeks ago we slept with three persons in a two person helsport winter tent at around 0 Celsius in a windless night with nearly all vents closed (one of us had a sleeping bag with a plus 5ish rating hence the weird setup). Zero condensation. I’ve had nights with a dripping three persons MSR although it was only two persons in there.

Thanks, lot's of good tips!

Best way I found to manage condensation was to get a long enough single wall DCF tent. It’s so much easier to sit up and wipe down the inside with a cloth, I like the super absorbent Swedish cloth.
With my double wall tent made of Sil nylon I don’t have to worry so much about touching the sides BUT it’s just so much harder to wipe it dry and I often end up carrying a soggy wet tent!

This was a good video

When picking a pitch site, they often advise the 5 Ws where Wind is to be avoided.
In my Akto tent, it needs a good wind to ventilate. I seek out a more exposed site.
If you have to zip up your door, you can use a pot or sandals etc to prop up the fly for more venting.

❤ from 🇮🇪

Your right

i'm "so glad" i purchased a single wall tent just few weeks ago :D

Thanks

thank you

I've had good results from putting the end of my sleeping bag into a breathable jacket rather than a dry bag to protect the sleeping bag from condensation.

If you like animals cooking inside your tent is a great way to get visits from friendly creatures; from bears to ground squirrels and all creatures in between your space and person can benefit in a greater appreciation of nature. Keep a camera, and bear spray handy for those inevitable visits.

You can use your rain jacket for the foot end. Typically it is watertight AND breathable. Turn the sleeves inside to avoid water entering there. Use when you have to camp in high consendation spots and/or weather.

Be aware that from some trees sticky liquids may drip down making your tent look ugly.
The fuel from cooking burns into CO2 and water.

Leave the door open all night .
You breath out a pint either nose or mouth .once your warm air hits cold air it will condense . It's that simple .
Open The door , vent the air . You'll be warmer with the door open all night than trapped with the wet air inside .

Double bag. Single wall tent. A thin sleeping bag inside another thin sleeping bag works better in my experience than a single thicker bag.
Don't know why it works but I was homeless for 18 months and this trick I picked up from an old fellow hobo.
I'm guessing it's about keeping bodyheat inside the bag and making sure any moisture/heat that does escape has a free path to outside the tent.

Nr. 3: what is a tent good for, especially in colder conditions? Keeping you warmer than you were without it! And what doesn't happen when you let the vestibules open? Exactly that!
So freeze or have condensation it is...

I have a double layer tent. Got a lot of condensation, last night. I thought it was raining inside but just the top of my sleeping back and the tent inner walls were wet. My inner tent looks like mesh but it isnt. I opened the tent air flow over night, but that wasnt enough. We were sleeping on wet sole, but got 2 floors. Luckily us, we had water-resistant sleeping back so the moisture was just outside, thanks to carinthia synthetic sleeping back. Now I am looking if thr tent itself is the problem or the circumstances.
By the way i had the less moisture in my tent with a simple one wall tent were the air flow window was close to the ground but like all around. Was also nice to see birds in the morning jumping around my tent looking for bugs and not recognizing me.

Wrap up some rice or powdered milk in a paper towel and put that in the stuff sack for your tent. They absorb moisture so your tent will start out dryer when you set it up. This will also lessen any funky smells after you store your tent between hikes.

I've been frustrated with the double wall tents I've had because the fly is so close that it just touches the tent and passes in the condensation. I'll have to work harder with the guy lines.

Appreciate the tips Oscar. I wonder if putting a hydrophobic spray on the inside of the fabric (if it’s compatible) like fogX etc., to prevent condensation from forming?

Hi, fellow hiker here!
Thank you for your video!
I would like to add up another point to cooking inside.
This is dangerous due to carbon monoxide buildup. Interestingly there is some data that CO level is still ok while there is NOTHING on a gas stove. As long as there is something on it, i.e. your pot, CO lever skyrockets since the temperature gradient doesn't let gas to be burnt fully to CO2 and H2O, and leaves a lot of the hazardous CO.
AND carbon monoxide is really bad since it forms permanent bonds with our haemoglobin which lead to it permanent loss. If you get severely poisoned, the only way out is having some blood transfusion.
Thank you.

Use a small sponge to wipe off condensation. I personally hate to use my only towel for this. It will get smelly faster and I only want to use the towel for my face, hands etc

Anybody got experience with sleeping just with a tarp, sleeping bag perhaps a bivy bag and moisture? Will this open combination eliminate the condensation problem?

Air flow, air flow, air flow. Although other things can make a difference, with good air flow, everything else is secondary. Also, I disagree with the advice to not put your feet in a pack or sack, as it works quite well as long as it is only your feet (i.e. don't pull it up to your knees) Also, spraying foot and head area of your bag can be useful to mitigate wetting out your bag from condensation, but please DO NOT treat your whole bag as doing so will hold more mousture in your insulation. Finally, if you cover your mouth and nose with a buff, to breathe through when sleeping, it can significantly reduce the moisture you exhale into your shelter, even when mouth breathing.

Heat does not cause condensation, moisture does. If one were to toast a dry-cracker on a 100% alcohol stove (propane itself produces moisture), it'd cause no excess condensation. Which raises the question of 'why foliage?' The reason condensation forms is because the tent fabric is cold, and tent fabric gets cold due to sky-shine. Yes, warm breath will condense on the tent wall, but one can't reduce the temperature of their breath; they can effect the tent-wall temperature. The reason foliage reduces condensation is not 'micro-climate,' it's by blocking night sky-shine. If one looks up the temperature of the night-sky, they will find it's -273°C or so. That cold effectively radiantly 'shines' down and cools the tent's walls just enough to increase condensation.
Look at the grass under vs away from trees on a dewy morning? Dew will be present on grass not protected by tree-cover, but much less dew underneath. Could one call it a 'micro-climate?' Maybe, but that doesn't give the hiker enough information to make the wisest campsite selection.

Can you say, “Durston X-MID”
Courtesy of Half Vast Flying

I'll take condensation over the risk of a heavy branch falling on my tent.

I like my ultralight single wall tent.
I don't care if my pack is full of wet gear and 5 lbs heavier from the water.
I don't care if I have to stop for an hour to take everything out to dry in the sun and wind.
The double wall tent will be 2 lbs more.
~ the miserable hiker

😅

Not just warm... Warm moist air

So wonderfully thorough.
What is your background, sir? Are you lucky enough to earn your livelihood doing this?
Rgds
Imran
UK

Labs

buy a Samaya Alpine 2.0 ,haha, 1200€ for 1200 grams, got one ,never ever condens, state of the art❤

Under a tree you can have small bugs that poop on your tent and that is no good for the outside of your tent .

This guy: don't sleep in water-resistant sleeping bags, you'll get wet
Also this guy: Don't sleep in breathable sleeping bags, you'll get wet

Nr 1.: a double wall tent is in no way a guarantee for avoiding condensation, contrary to what is said in the video. I don't know where this idea comes from, but if you're not in peak summer conditions this clearly isn't the case.

How on earth do you dare breathing in a tent?

Try & breathe through your nose when you sleep? Ok.. ffs 🤣🤣🤣😂😂🤣😂😂🤣😂😂💀💀💀💀🕵🏻‍♂️🕵🏻‍♂️🕵🏻‍♂️🕵🏻‍♂️

Double wall tent reduces condensation by having a mesh wall that prevents you from touching the condensation ? 😂

Tip 7.2 don't drink water 🤷‍♂

How much of A danger here's a little kidding you're sleeping tent under a tall tree that could be struck by lightning including you?