Great episode. I have three different sized Oztent RV's and they all get condensation, Ben is right about using a fly but it does not completely get rid of all the condensation. As I get older I now put a hot water bottle in in my sleeping bag on very cold nights, and the heat really increases the condensation - but it feels great when you jump in the sleeping bag!
This is great feedback thanks, Chris. Your comments back up exactly what we are trying to help people understand, condensation is inevitable on cold nights and it needs to be either managed or lived with. ~ Ben
I usually sleep under an awning with my swag which I seasoned. I sleep with the door open and vents open. Even in winter tent has always been dry You nailed heaps of points with this discussion 😎
@@SnowysOutdoors cheers Ben. I get you. I'm about to head off again on the bike to Western nsw. If the moisture in and on the tent doesn't get me the mice will......
Good topic especially heading into The colder weather. I find when pegging my tent out that the outer skin pegs out further than the inner floor which allows pretty good ventilation on a cooler night. Being a 2 room tent I normally leave the outer door open as well or set as an awning. My smaller tent however does have issues with condensation but again pegging the outer skin out further does help but what do you expect for a Kmart tent.
Thanks for your feedback, Mick. Often smaller tents will experience more condensation than larger tents as the smaller capacity warms up quicker and there is less space for the moisture to dissipate, so it ends up condensing quicker. ~ Ben
Loved the episode ben and Lauren. As a family of four we camped at island bend (snowy mountains) the first weekend in june 2021. Just used our brand new darche -12 sleeping bags. We Have Coleman instant tent. Our bags were cold and a bit wet to touch in the morning on the outer shell. Is this condensation too? Can you explain in a future episode. We used Coleman air mattress with a space blanket underneath. Would love to know what we should upgrade on budget and space. In a future episode please.
It is likely to be condensation, Rachel. As your body warms up inside the bag, moisture moves through the insulation to the outside where it can either evaporate if it is dry enough, or if the air inside the tent is moist, it will turn to condensation on the top of the bag. I don't think your air mattress would have had any impact on this, just another reason to keep your tent ventilated. There are probably quite a few options with which you could upgrade your mat, but if you are warm enough with the space blanket underneath then there is no immediate reason to do so. A foam-filled self-inflating mat would be a good upgrade though, something like the Zempire Bomberpad or Monstamat are good value upgrades. ~ Ben
i have no problems always water proof it dont just buy it and go out camping etc...hose it down leave it out for a few days etc.....born in convict land she gets cold down here i love it campfire are allowed haha thats the main thing and banter and beer under the stars, snow frost mornings yes its bliss lol
I'm not clued up on all the science here, Charlie, but it is very interesting. You've piqued my interest though, maybe you can shed some more light. What I do understand is that the dew point is the point at which the temperature and moisture content of the air reaches a certain threshold at which the moisture vapour becomes a liquid?? Hence why we see moisture on the outside of a tent or on the ground after a cold night without rain... is the moisture essentially 'dropping' out of the air. Am I also right in saying that this is the same science that applies to condensation? So the air inside is becoming more saturated, and it is the lower temperature at the outer skin of the tent that causes the water to condense. ~ Ben
@@SnowysOutdoors Hi there Ben great to hear back from you, I’m by far means, no expert on the topic. Just tried once upon a time to get my head around what goes on with humidity and the forming of condensation. Any surface below the dew point will cause condensation. Good discussions you have on your show. A car full of people sitting in a stationary car on a cold winters day with all the windows up is a classic example, crack the windows open slightly and it reduces the build up significantly, similar to a tent.
@@SnowysOutdoors If you have a humidity gauge you could try this Ben. Suppose the temperature on gauge is 20 degrees Celsius and the Humidity reads 60%, now subtract 60 from 100 and we get 40 then divide the 40 by 5 and we get 8. Therefore 20-8=12. 12 being the dew point, any surface at or below 12 degrees celcius will form condensation. Hope I didn’t bore you with that explanation.
@@charlienzcharlieyou didn't bore me at all but you did make me actually pay attention to the formula, which is actually relatively straightforward... provided you have a humidity gauge. This is all handy information to keep in mind when it comes to managing condensation in your tent though, if more people are able to get their head around the basics here then they can take more mitigative action to prevent a flood of condensation in their tent on a cold winters morning. ~ Ben
Possibly, the more ventilation the better, I like to open the top section of the side windows too. If you haven't already, consider adding a flysheet as this will help immensely in reducing condensation. ~ Ben
No way! seams on a cheap family tent and a more expensive hiking tent leak. No excuses, the fabrication of tents is generally poor. Tents tend to leak around seams, windows and vents. Thay are simply not seam sealed properly!😮
If the water is coming in through the seam then no doubt the construction is the issue, but if you have sheets of moisture on the entire surface fabric then it's most likely condensation. ~ Ben
Great episode. I have three different sized Oztent RV's and they all get condensation, Ben is right about using a fly but it does not completely get rid of all the condensation.
As I get older I now put a hot water bottle in in my sleeping bag on very cold nights, and the heat really increases the condensation - but it feels great when you jump in the sleeping bag!
This is great feedback thanks, Chris. Your comments back up exactly what we are trying to help people understand, condensation is inevitable on cold nights and it needs to be either managed or lived with. ~ Ben
I usually sleep under an awning with my swag which I seasoned.
I sleep with the door open and vents open.
Even in winter tent has always been dry
You nailed heaps of points with this discussion 😎
Ripper video gang. Geeze I love this channel!! Keep up the great work 🍻
Glad you like it, Task, we've got some fun topics coming up soon so keep an eye out. ~ Ben
Last camping trip was to Tassie a fortnight ago. A week of condensation and lots of overnight dew. The joys of camping. :)
I think you've gotta embrace it when you're camping in winter. ~ Ben
@@SnowysOutdoors cheers Ben. I get you. I'm about to head off again on the bike to Western nsw. If the moisture in and on the tent doesn't get me the mice will......
Surprisingly this a really useful and informative episode! Thanks!
I'm glad you liked it, Alex. ~ Ben
Very helpful, thank you 🙏
Awesome - stoked to hear it
~ Lauren
Good topic especially heading into The colder weather. I find when pegging my tent out that the outer skin pegs out further than the inner floor which allows pretty good ventilation on a cooler night. Being a 2 room tent I normally leave the outer door open as well or set as an awning. My smaller tent however does have issues with condensation but again pegging the outer skin out further does help but what do you expect for a Kmart tent.
Thanks for your feedback, Mick. Often smaller tents will experience more condensation than larger tents as the smaller capacity warms up quicker and there is less space for the moisture to dissipate, so it ends up condensing quicker. ~ Ben
@@SnowysOutdoors very true. The smaller one still isn't too bad compared to a single skin
Loved the episode ben and Lauren. As a family of four we camped at island bend (snowy mountains) the first weekend in june 2021. Just used our brand new darche -12 sleeping bags. We Have Coleman instant tent. Our bags were cold and a bit wet to touch in the morning on the outer shell. Is this condensation too? Can you explain in a future episode. We used Coleman air mattress with a space blanket underneath. Would love to know what we should upgrade on budget and space. In a future episode please.
It is likely to be condensation, Rachel. As your body warms up inside the bag, moisture moves through the insulation to the outside where it can either evaporate if it is dry enough, or if the air inside the tent is moist, it will turn to condensation on the top of the bag. I don't think your air mattress would have had any impact on this, just another reason to keep your tent ventilated.
There are probably quite a few options with which you could upgrade your mat, but if you are warm enough with the space blanket underneath then there is no immediate reason to do so. A foam-filled self-inflating mat would be a good upgrade though, something like the Zempire Bomberpad or Monstamat are good value upgrades.
~ Ben
Hey guys my tent leaks like a sieve Bugger I just realised it,s a mosquito tent and I forgot to put the fly on 😂😂
Hahaha. You may think this is far fetched, Drew, but you'd be surprised at some of the questions we get. ~ Ben
@@SnowysOutdoors No I wouldn’t, worked in sales for 20 years 👍
i have no problems always water proof it dont just buy it and go out camping etc...hose it down leave it out for a few days etc.....born in convict land she gets cold down here i love it campfire are allowed haha thats the main thing and banter and beer under the stars, snow frost mornings yes its bliss lol
I'm a warm weather camper myself, but I do enjoy campfires and crisp morning occasionally during the winter. ~ Ben
Td = T - ((100 - RH)/5.) Dew Point is interesting, like when you grab a beer out of the fridge, moist air condenses on the bottle.
I'm not clued up on all the science here, Charlie, but it is very interesting. You've piqued my interest though, maybe you can shed some more light.
What I do understand is that the dew point is the point at which the temperature and moisture content of the air reaches a certain threshold at which the moisture vapour becomes a liquid??
Hence why we see moisture on the outside of a tent or on the ground after a cold night without rain... is the moisture essentially 'dropping' out of the air.
Am I also right in saying that this is the same science that applies to condensation? So the air inside is becoming more saturated, and it is the lower temperature at the outer skin of the tent that causes the water to condense.
~ Ben
@@SnowysOutdoors Hi there Ben great to hear back from you, I’m by far means, no expert on the topic. Just tried once upon a time to get my head around what goes on with humidity and the forming of condensation. Any surface below the dew point will cause condensation. Good discussions you have on your show.
A car full of people sitting in a stationary car on a cold winters day with all the windows up is a classic example, crack the windows open slightly and it reduces the build up significantly, similar to a tent.
@@SnowysOutdoors If you have a humidity gauge you could try this Ben.
Suppose the temperature on gauge is 20 degrees Celsius and the Humidity reads 60%, now subtract 60 from 100 and we get 40 then divide the 40 by 5 and we get 8. Therefore 20-8=12.
12 being the dew point, any surface at or below 12 degrees celcius will form condensation.
Hope I didn’t bore you with that explanation.
@@charlienzcharliea good example there with the car, thanks. Glad you are enjoying our podcast. ~ Ben
@@charlienzcharlieyou didn't bore me at all but you did make me actually pay attention to the formula, which is actually relatively straightforward... provided you have a humidity gauge.
This is all handy information to keep in mind when it comes to managing condensation in your tent though, if more people are able to get their head around the basics here then they can take more mitigative action to prevent a flood of condensation in their tent on a cold winters morning.
~ Ben
Ask Lauren how she slept in the cold of Northern Finland!
Lauren told you to shush, Leece. ~ Ben
I just had my first trip with the oztent R3 and I opened up a top vent but still had condensation. Should I be opening up more windows?
Possibly, the more ventilation the better, I like to open the top section of the side windows too.
If you haven't already, consider adding a flysheet as this will help immensely in reducing condensation.
~ Ben
Condensation makes for a fun way to wake up that lazy bones who always sleeps in.
Hahaha, just give the tent a good shake once you and your contents are all safe from shower of condensation. ~ Ben
You guys should do graphs, instead of discussion.
I reckon that'd be a bit boring, JRR31984, we like to think we're a bit more interesting than a graph.😂 ~ Ben
No way! seams on a cheap family tent and a more expensive hiking tent leak.
No excuses, the fabrication of tents is generally poor.
Tents tend to leak around seams, windows and vents. Thay are simply not seam sealed properly!😮
If the water is coming in through the seam then no doubt the construction is the issue, but if you have sheets of moisture on the entire surface fabric then it's most likely condensation. ~ Ben
Yes, to be sure, to be sure.
Ventilation and location, i always say!.
Keep up the great work guys!