Wet Synthetic Sleeping Bag

[AllDay]

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?

[porthunter]

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.

[AllDay]

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

[whitlers]

Sounds like your bag isn't breathing properly. I could be wrong. What were the Temps like over night?

[AllDay]

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

[AllDay]

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

[Huevos]

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..

[NMO]

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.

[BRvalley]

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

[AllDay]

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.

[NMO]

What are you using for a tent? I have found bomber 4 season double walled tents tent to have a lot more condensation, and if you don't orient them properly to the wind they wont vent out like a lighter hiking tent (think Copper Spur, or Hubba Hubba). or if you are pitching in a valley bottom that holds a ton of moisture at night/morning, that will also cling to your tent and soak you. Maybe not the case if you are sharing a tent with your buddy and hes fine.

[firebird]

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.

yes I too have used a bag rated for well below freezing in warm weather and same thing

[corywilson13]

My wife and I both have Laminas. Mine has seen much more use and lost its insulation value/breathability over time. Hers is still in great shape - keeps her warm, not sweaty. I upgraded to the SG bag last year - so far so good. I think sleeping bags are one of those pieces of gear that just doesn’t last forever without degrading over time.

[Springer]

Are you possibly breathing inside your sleeping bag to keep warmer. Lots of condensation if you do.

[Onesock]

Put a flannel sheet inside problem solved.

[porthunter]

I'd have to guess that your bag definitely isn't breathing properly, and like noted above, the rain gear inside the bag would have more negative then positive affects I'd think.

I spent the last 8 days on the North Coast, in super wet conditions, I made the mistake of not properly re treating my boots before heading up but luckily packed 2 pairs of socks. Every day I switched socks as they were getting wet, as well as the synthetic booties I had. I boiled water, put it in a soft platypus, put it in my sock, which then went into my synthetic booty which then went into the bottom of my synthetic bag(kind of like a turducken idea). By the end of the day, the socks, booties, and bottom of bag was dry and water was still a bit warm.

[kootenaycarver]

Synthetic bags definitely do degrade over time, a good quality down bags will outlast synthetic many times over with good care.

[xlcc]

I'd turf that bag and get a new one.They break down over time.
Over the years I have tried lots of different sleeping bags and prefer the synthetic over down.The problem with down is when it gets wet it takes a long time to dry.

[Night Hawk 3]

I have done a lot of camping, and switched to down bags a really long time ago. A good down bag is far better than a synthetic in almost every imaginable situation. Hydrophobic down adds a tiny amount of weight, but it's very good.

To me, it sound more like your tent was in a bad spot, or it was not venting properly. Camping near bodies of water, on low lying ground such is a small depression, areas that don't have some wind or air movement, closing up your tent too tightly, don't bring wet stuff inside your tent, and so on. Tents love lots of ventilation, single wall tents can very wet too when compared to double wall tents. If it's cold out, there won't be bugs - open up the vents and doors as much as you can tolerate to get air through it. Angle your tent for air flow.

NH3

[the hopper]

Your bag is probably packed out, and not breathing properly anymore. Were you storing it in its stuff sack?

[Alpine Hunter]

It sounds like you need a new bag. But for future considerations I find it helps to sleep with a thin merino layer on and sleep with the bag unzipped rather than sleep in your ginch with the bag fully zipped. Bare skin against the thin synthetic bag material tends to cause sweat no matter what the fill is. That coupled with with eating 500% of your recommended sodium every day in those Mounatin House meals causes your body to do some strange things.

[Redthies]

Synthetic bags do not last forever, and even less time if they aren’t washed properly on a reasonably regular basis. A good quality down bag with Gore Tex outer is always the way to go. My Marmot bag (-18*) is 20+ years old and I’ve never had a problem with sweat. In hotter weather I have to leave it unzipped, but that’s true of any bag rated the same. As posted above, the newer waterproof down, in a Gore Tex bag is the way to go. If you are doing 14 day trips regularly, you will be wanting a very good quality bag. Be prepared to spend the bigger dollars. Nobody ever regretted buying quality products!

[SR80]

are you peeing the bed? :-o

[REMINGTON JIM]

are you peeing the bed? :-o

LMFFAO ! spit my coffee out ! :lol::lol: Thanks for that one Scott ! :wink: RJ

[HD95]

Try a silk sleeping bag liner

[Springer]

I'd have to guess that your bag definitely isn't breathing properly, and like noted above, the rain gear inside the bag would have more negative then positive affects I'd think.

I spent the last 8 days on the North Coast, in super wet conditions, I made the mistake of not properly re treating my boots before heading up but luckily packed 2 pairs of socks. Every day I switched socks as they were getting wet, as well as the synthetic booties I had. I boiled water, put it in a soft platypus, put it in my sock, which then went into my synthetic booty which then went into the bottom of my synthetic bag(kind of like a turducken idea). By the end of the day, the socks, booties, and bottom of bag was dry and water was still a bit warm.

Great idea... I boil my water before bed and put it in a 2 litre nalgene bottle. Keeps you pretty toasty warm for a couple hours and safe water to drink in the morning when you get up....

[AllDay]

I think my problem was that I would sleep in my wet and dirty hunting gear. After hearing about the re-warming drill, I decided to sleep in my moist-wet hunting gear so that I would wake up nice and dry and not have to put on wet clothes to go and glass on a ridge in the morning. I am thinking that doing this regularly probably destroyed my 200 dollar mountain hardware lamina bag. I am thinking the breathability got affected seeing as I never washed the bag either. Between everyones post, I have been able to soak in lots of tips moving forward. I appreciate the experience/tips/knowledge from people.

[REMINGTON JIM]

I think my problem was that I would sleep in my wet and dirty hunting gear. After hearing about the re-warming drill, I decided to sleep in my moist-wet hunting gear so that I would wake up nice and dry and not have to put on wet clothes to go and glass on a ridge in the morning. I am thinking that doing this regularly probably destroyed my 200 dollar mountain hardware lamina bag. I am thinking the breathability got affected seeing as I never washed the bag either. Between everyones post, I have been able to soak in lots of tips moving forward. I appreciate the experience/tips/knowledge from people.

You now have answered your own question ! NEVER EVER sleep in wet Gear - where is all that moisture water gonna go ? :frown: RJ

[AllDay]

You now have answered your own question ! NEVER EVER sleep in wet Gear - where is all that moisture water gonna go ? :frown: RJ

Well it worked for a while! Went to sleep wet and woke up dry on many nights. Used the synthetic bag properties to dry my gear. Check out the re-warming drill by John Barklow - made me rethink my layering and sleeping systems.

The major moisture issues happened sleeping in dry, synthetic base layers. I think sleeping in wet-dirty gear affected the breathability of the bag, but there could be other factors as well.

[BRvalley]

it's good to know the rewarming drill, but I consider that to be emergency survival, I don't think that is a smart practice for regular usage...very likely could have contributed to your bag losing breathability, and then your last camping trip in the right conditions just exposed the issue more

sometimes i'll put a wet shirt or socks down into the feet of my bag while I sleep, and will dry it good enough while I sleep....but heavy raingear that is soaked I would never put in the bag

whether or not it looks dirty, I wash my sleeping bag after every hunting season, and using whatever soap the manufacturer recommends (right now using Nikiwax tech wash)...and always store the bag out of the compression sack