Dealing with the damp

[GoneCaving]

Just back from a 3 day trip and wanted to get advice from the forum. How do others stay dry (or even dry-ish) when bike packing in wet conditions?? My first night's camping on this trip had a heavy dew in the morning so the cycling kit, a bit damp from the previous day's exertions, stayed damp, and my tent was packed away damp. Second day again, I stayed a bit damp from riding fairly hard, and the night was worse as it rained fairly heavily, so I started the third day pretty sodden. My sleeping kit was fine as that's a change of clothes, and a down bag that's kept in a dry bag. But again the third day's cycling was in damp clothes, and it was cold and damp enough that nothing was drying during the day. Does anyone have a good strategy for avoiding this?

On a related note, does anyone else find that Wahoo chest HRMs die horribly in wet conditions? Are other brands any better??

[RIP]

An interesting and timely question GC. My immediate, maybe not very helpful, thought is - I'm not sure you can stay totally dry so I just stay damp. I've done several wet three-dayers like you, and just put up with it. My sleep gear stays dry during the day, obviously it'll get slightly damp during the night for whatever reason, but my body heat seems to keep that within OK limits for some reason. My layered day clothes are either bamboo or nasty polyester so they breathe fairly well and get dryer with body heat too. I pile foot powder in my socks before I go, and admit I do take two sets of "waterproof" socks.

So, I just put up with it, and allow body heat to try and burn some of it off.

Oh, and "embrace the suffering" - putting on a pair of wet socks in the morning is one of life's perverse pleasures .

Or sitting in the pub all day next to the radiator seems to work fairly well too for some reason.

More than 3 days.... bit more challenging...

A good question, yes

[redefined_cycles]

I'm working on a couple of hundred milers (well a couple of coupled hundred milers) for the next two months. Todays ride had ne thinking about this very question. I think I've previously somehow managed to keep dry feet on the winter rides! (or maybe they were tolerable, though I have a low theshold for that so they must've been dry).

Today I'm going out into the wet with a waterproof jacket and pants. The pants will overlap the boots enough to stop water ingress. But I guess I'll still be damp. Dunno. Timely question for everyones upcoming soggy rides! Look forward to seeing the strategies of the multi-dayers!

[whitestone]

As Reg says it's a case of "Toughen up princess"

Once you get into multi-day wet rides there's no practical way of carrying enough dry clothes for each day, plus of course those dry clothes will just get wet anyway. Much worse at this time of year when the cooler temps mean the wet kit isn't just wet but is cold and wet. A good trigger for hypothermia.

I find that I'm not too bothered about putting wet socks and pants on, it's the torso that I struggle with. A spare lightweight base layer or two is the best mitigation strategy and try and generate enough heat to start pushing out the dampness in the rest of the layers. If you can then try and dry any damp base layers on a radiator at a friendly café

Paradoxically once you get below freezing these problems magically disappear again and it's just a case of making sure you tread the line between being cold and over-exerting and starting to sweat.

[fatbikephil]

I tend towards trying to stay as dry as possible - Paramo jacket, goretex troos and gaiters, goretex boots and sealskins socks, sealskins gloves under jacket sleeves. The damp still gets in down your neck and up your sleeves, but this set up has kept me surprisingly dry on some long and wet rides (like last Saturday and Sunday...) The benefit of paramo is that if you do get damp underneath, you will dry out through the jacket. It's also nice and warm!

For bivvying, the SMD deschutes really scores - you put it up, get in under it out of the rain, get your wet kit off, unroll bivvy bag (borah), get into dry PJ's and into bag. The deschutes will still get damp on the inside from condensation but the borah bag will protect you from this. That said, when it's colder I'll expect the quilt to get a bit damp from condensation.

I'll still look to use cafes and pubs (and even a cheeky hotel / B&B night or two) to dry things off for longer trips. Also if the sun does shine, I'll get the tarp up to dry.

[redefined_cycles]

Gaiters... Never really understood how they keep you warm/dry. I suppose I get the warm bit as it's an extra layer, but fornthe extra weight I just assumed it's a bit of a much-ness

I'm obviously wrong though. Also, to keep feet warm I wondered today whether a wife-beating-vest (Brynje... are we allowed to use that term I'll delete if not) type set of socks would work. Like some thin mesh socks under the warm/merino.

If so, I'd beter source some.

[sean_iow]

I think the trick with gaiters is to have short-ish ones and put your waterproof trousers over the top. The water running down the trousers runs over the gaiters and over the boots.

If you put them on the outside of your trousers, like the ramblers, then the water running down your leg will tend to get inside them. I have worn gaiters over trousers when walking but this was to stop the bottoms of the trousers getting muddy.

[benp1]

Putting on damp clothes in the mornings save you the weight and extra space needed for dry clothes that will just get wet anyway. I always have a dry set for the night

Having clothes that can cope with being wet does help, but putting on cold, damp clothes in the morning can be pretty miserable.

My top tip is a Brynje mesh base layer for when it's wet (and cold enough to need a baselayer). There's nothing of it to hold onto water.

For me, in the damp, it's synthetic clothing all the way

[fatbikephil]

Gaiters... Never really understood how they keep you warm/dry. I suppose I get the warm bit as it's an extra layer, but fornthe extra weight I just assumed it's a bit of a much-ness

What Sean said - cover the top of your boots and covers the gap between the bottoms of your trousers and boots. Also enables damp free pushing through bog, tussock, puddles and snow. IF you go the whole hog and get yeti gaiters they will even tolerate some wading.

https://shop.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/monta ... m0QAvD_BwE
These have been brilliant

[Al]

Brynje and a paramo jacket if you know it's going to stay wet.

If not riding with mudguards (which makes the biggest difference) I made some waterproof short a few year ago from German army gortex cut off trousers. They have braces and a panel the extends well up you back under your jacket so no spray gets in.

I also experimented with some neoprene gaiters for really cold wet conditions last winter. They are called half chaps and meant for horsey riding. Snug fitting unlike hiking gaiters so no catching in chains etc and do a great job of stopping rain running into boots. Sweaty if it's not cold though.

And most importantly, find a warm pub / cafe and linger until everything is dried out!

[GoneCaving]

Perhaps also worth pointing out another facet of my situation. I suffer from chronic eczema. So while this particular "princess" is well used to climbing into damp clothing, after a couple of days my skin really starts to object! I suppose I'll just have to layer on the ointments a bit more heavily. And as mentioned, I managed to keep my sleeping kit (down bag, merino top, dry socks) relatively dry so the nights were ok (ish, I'm using a single wall Lanshan, and the inside was def a bit damp, but the 3L bivvy kept the down bag pretty dry).

I'm guessing that the tarp/bivvy bag options suffer a little less from condensation issues. Is that the case?

[whitestone]

Can't help with the eczema, not had any experience of it.

Condensation is a tricky one as there's a lot of variables. Sometimes the air is simply too humid to avoid it but location, ground cover, even soil type have a bearing on what you'll experience.

Generally a camp under some sort of cover, whether that's a building, a cave or trees will suffer less condensation, particularly on clear nights. Being near water will be more likely to suffer condensation as well as being colder anyway. Long grass and the like prevent airflow so lead to higher condensation inside the shelter as your heat and exhaled moisture get trapped. Peaty type soils tend to be more prone to encouraging condensation than sandy ones.

A tarp set a reasonable amount off the ground, 20cm or so from tarp edge to ground, will get good airflow. That does mean you need a lightweight bivy bag to stop that airflow flowing through your insulation, particularly as it gets colder. You can also be "creative" in having one side of the tarp set lower than the other which is useful if there's a strong breeze or wind - set the windward side just high enough to get a flow of air but have the leeward side higher to allow some backdraught as it were.

[Bearbonesnorm]

I'm guessing that the tarp/bivvy bag options suffer a little less from condensation issues. Is that the case?

Much will depend on the bivvy bag in question. Some will develop awful condensation while others only a little dampness at the foot end. Bob mentions conditions and this obviously plays a part with bivvy bags too.

[Keith74]

As has been said above there isn’t much you can do sadly other than embrace it. Bivy and tarp seems to work ok but again it depends on conditions. Living on the west coast of Scotland where seems to constantly be damp I haven’t found much to help. If I’m doing 3 days and it involves some bog and sections without paths then it’s ex army surplus waterproofs top and bottom with sealskin socks and gaiters over boots.

The only luxury I try take is a few pairs of dry gloves and can cope with everything else being damp but not my gloves first thing in the morning this teamed with pogies seems to keep my hands happy.

[yourguitarhero]

Not got too much to add to what others have said.

Wool baselayers are good - long sleeve top and tights. Dry quickly, keep you warm if damp. Pack a second set into a drybag to wear at night once under cover?
I'm a big fan of a two man tent with a one man inner - lets you change under cover and keep wet things away from your sleeping area

Putting damp stuff on again in the morning - it gets dried out by body heat when you cycle.

Synthetic insulation is good. The only down stuff I take when it is wet is my sleeping bag and I use the Irishman's way of packing it - to be sure, to be sure = drybag inside another bag.

One of my camping essentials in a square sponge dishcloth:


Can be used to dry off a wet tent. Or even dry yourself. Also works well as a washcloth.