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Thread: Wet Synthetic Sleeping Bag

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2015
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    197

    Wet Synthetic Sleeping Bag

    Thinking about my next sheep hunt. On the last sheep hunt I was on, I kept waking up literally soaking wet. It happened most nights. I have a Mountain Hardware Lamina synthetic sleeping bag. I have never had this issue before. I literally had to sleep for two weeks in my gortex rain gear inside my sleeping bag to stay dry. This was an August sheep hunt. Part of me thinks this could be sweat, but I still can't understand why my sleeping bag was getting so wet that I had to sleep in my rain gear to wake up even partially dry.

    Has anyone had any experiences like this or any thoughts on why the sythetic bag was retaining so much water?

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  3. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    Lower Mainland
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    343

    Re: Wet Synthetic Sleeping Bag

    What were you wearing for clothing? How wet were you when you got in the bag? What was the humidity like in your tent?

    I've never had the inside of the sleeping bag wet, just the outside. Generally the heat from your body should push the moisture out through your synthetic bag and help dry you out over night.
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  4. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2015
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    197

    Re: Wet Synthetic Sleeping Bag

    It was insane! I was dry as a popcorn fart hopping in. Wake up just drenched. The tent was fairly humid, but my buddy with an eberlestock sleeping bag was perfectly dry. All of this started the first night sleeping in fairly decent weather. If I had to guess, I would say sweat must have played in, but I would honestly qualify the insane wetness as a sleeping bag failure. Could this have to due with a dirty/unwashed sleeping bag or something like that? I tried sleeping with my rain jacket above my sleeping bag. I just can't imagine sweating so much that the whole bag and myself came to the point of being soaked. The only way I could possibly stay slightly dry was sleeping inside my bag with my rain gear on

  5. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
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    1,676

    Re: Wet Synthetic Sleeping Bag

    Sounds like your bag isn't breathing properly. I could be wrong. What were the Temps like over night?
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  6. #5
    Join Date
    Nov 2015
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    197

    Re: Wet Synthetic Sleeping Bag

    First few days it was probably around 3-5 degrees. As the trip went on, we got snow and probably closer to the zero mark. It’s hard to tell if the moisture problem got better over time or if it was the rain gear. After sleeping the first 3 nights soaking wet I didn’t want to risk not sleeping in my rain gear. Hard to get warm after being soaked to the bones. Never had that problem on the other sheep hunts or any hunts for that matter. Same bag. Maybe it needs a wash? I’d have a hard time going back in with that bag after sleeping soaking wet for 14 days

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2015
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    197

    Re: Wet Synthetic Sleeping Bag

    In fact, two years ago I was sleeping in my sleeping bag with soaking wet gear and would wake up very dry (re-warming drill by John Barklow). Weird that sleeping dry I would wake up very wet after previously sleeping in wet gear and waking up dry. It was insane. My bag was literally sopping wet each morning on this last hunt

  8. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Posts
    193

    Re: Wet Synthetic Sleeping Bag

    how tired were you? Did you drink a lot of hot chocholate before bedtime?? Did it smell like pee? Seriously though, that sounds crazy. Never had this happen to me yet..

  9. #8
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    North Van - North Rockies
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    118

    Re: Wet Synthetic Sleeping Bag

    Quote Originally Posted by porthunter View Post
    What were you wearing for clothing? How wet were you when you got in the bag? What was the humidity like in your tent?

    I've never had the inside of the sleeping bag wet, just the outside. Generally the heat from your body should push the moisture out through your synthetic bag and help dry you out over night.
    What he said ^ I've used a -18 C bag in August and got sweaty with it zipped tight, woke up with a very damp bag. But i've never woke up drenched. Wearing rain gear is going to aid in heat retention, which will probably get you all lathered up in there.

  10. #9
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    1,792

    Re: Wet Synthetic Sleeping Bag

    agreed it sounds like the bag is losing its breathability, would start with a proper wash and see how much the condition improves

    I've woken up in a mildly damp bag many times, but never soaking wet like you describe...if you have a double zipper on the bag, you could try keeping a gap open by the feet to help with ventilation, that helps me on warmer nights when I'm sweating more
    Unfortunately, the rifles are getting lighter because we are getting heavier and more unfit as a society. This is the key to the mainstream acceptance of the short magnums. - Nathan Foster

  11. #10
    Join Date
    Nov 2015
    Posts
    197

    Re: Wet Synthetic Sleeping Bag

    Usually sleep in my synthetic base layer up until this last trip. I have ran this system for 6 years with no issues. Sometimes I wear merino base-layers and other times I use synthetic. It must be sweat. I just can't imagine sweating that much on limited water on a sheep hunt.

    After 3 nights of being soaking wet in a synthetic sleeping bag with synthetic base layers, I tried sleeping with my rain jacket ontop of my sleeping bag - no luck. Sleeping with my layered clothing system alone didn't work either. I had to sleep in my sleeping bag with my layered clothing system + my rain gear to wake up not drenched. It must have been sweat now that I am going over this again..

    I will probably end up going with a new sleeping bag though just for peace of mind.
    Last edited by AllDay; 03-02-2021 at 01:41 PM.

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