Dealing with the wet

[hanzo]

best tactic on how to put away a wet tent?

It doesn't really matter too much how you pack it out because you will have to set it up again at home to dry and air out. Just don't put it away wet!

Hawaii camping = wet too. Many, if not most times, we get heavy rains. We just play and cook in the rain, or under a tarp or canopy of some sort. 99.9% of the time, we retire to a tent only to sleep or to get stuff.

 

[Tiley]

There's some great advice here already about dry bags, shelter and fire/cooking. I would add that being relentless organized about the order in which you do things and, to a similar degree, where things are in your pack will mean that you and your kit will be minimally exposed to the elements. Little things like having your tarp readily accessible in your pack - either in the top pocket or on top of your sealed rucksack liner - can make a difference; making sure that you have enough room to remove your wet gear and change into your dry(-er) kit is also important, as is finding a relatively dry area to store you stuff when you finally hit the hammock. Most of this comes from experience - you will no doubt get better at coping with a bit of trial and error, along with the words of wisdom given in the other posts here.

 

[cbr6fs]

best tactic on how to put away a wet tent?

Don't do anything different than when it's dry.

I've tried storing it in my rucksacks mesh pocket to dry it, but it makes absolutely no different unless you are prepared to unpack it and turn it inside out throughout the day.

If it's a multi-day trip then it'll only be packed away wet for 12 - 16 hours.

If it's the end of a trip as hanzo said it's dried and aired out at home.


I have in the past separated the inner to stop it getting wet from the outer.
In reality it makes zero difference as the mesh inner dries really really quickly any ways

 

[Goatboy]

Must admit when I used to supply the Marines extra kit the most sought after items were Ortlieb Dry Bag when the were heading off to Belize for their jungle training. Especially the large size to line their operations pack.
I use dry bags too and they're a valuable resource when out, handy for a few different things.
Having also worked outdoors in forestry for years where the rain continues from the canopy long after it's finished dropping out of the sky I learned that moisture management was more important than actually staying dry. Clothes that functioned if damp were better than relying on GTX. (You were going to get wet no matter what.) So woolens and Buffalo shirts were pretty high on the list. When out all day I always made sure my fire-lighting & brew kit were religiously kept dry, that way I could stop and warm up and dry out a bit.
You also learn to move through the woodland cover without getting wetter still, looking for more solid/dryer ground, avoiding contact with vegetation or at least moving in such a way that you didn't get an inadvertent shower by knocking raindrops from saplings and the likes. This also meant that you learned to move through the woods silently and without leaving a trace.
Products like Sno Seal were found to be the best for keeping our boots dry and in good nick as wet feet aren't a joke and can lead to other dangers.

For the range of clothes I wore I found that Nikwax was the best of the bunch.
But you had to accept that you'd get wet; or at least damp when out so my equipment evolved to accommodate this, and I've yet to find a better mix that merino underwear coupled with the aforementioned Buffalo or Swanndri with either a waxed jacket or a Paramo outer layer if it's really tipping it down.
Route finding can make a difference too. Planning your journey to stay in the lee of a slope or a rain-shadow area can make a big difference, it tends to keep you out of the wind too which helps with the windchill when you're damp.

 

[petrochemicals]

In Wales Wet = Normal ... you get used to it...

plan it like it's always wet. either keep covered what can get wet or learn to adapt to the damp.

as in fire lighting lots and lots of kindelling, two ways to do this, small branches with lots of twigs,or splitting for a long long time. pine (and I'm informed birch) twigs the best.

seconded's


when bivvying as others have said, the rucksak goes into the strap side of the rucksack, the straps face the floor and either the poncho or a bit of plastic goes over the top and is weighted down by the bag.

Always take more socks than teeshirt, ( they ain't that heavy)

dry kit -in the summer accept you'll get wet, which makes stream crossing a doddle, but that doen't factor in the winter. Dry kit a pair of pumps doesn't weigh much but is very good to have, give your boots and your ankles a rest. my pair weigh 300g

keep everything you can dry, special importance given to the sleeping bag. always take the opportunity to drystuff, even though crispy dried socks aren't that appetising, it helps keep the damp out. damp accumulates so to dry things sun or fire ( or canvas shelter) should be taken.

condensation and humidity will not disperse in the damp, keep all humitity source away, hot drinks cooking, breath, make sure humidity is kept to a minimal

.

 

[Joonsy]

I have my hammock which will keep me off the floor but you still need to cook and do the usual camp chores

it may keep ''you'' off the floor but not neccessarily your ''feet'' if doing chores, therefore:-

As you said you were hammocking:- if the ground is wet and muddy (whether it’s raining or not) lay a bed of sticks on the floor under the hammock to stand on when you get out of the hammock. Better to stand on sticks than mud. Just use whatever materials/foliage is available to make a raised bed to stand and move about on, if you don’t the wet muddy ground will just turn into a quagmire if you constantly move about on it. Much nicer to jump out of your hammock onto a bed of sticks than onto squidgy mud.

 

[Jared]

Talk of using talc reminded me of this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGwy4uzY2zw

 

[bambodoggy]

Loads of great advice below

Only thing I can think to add is the use of an Alter fire if it's very very wet or even a fire raft if it's seriously swampy