Why does nobody talk about breaking down camp in the rain?

Last Friday I spent 45 minutes packing up a wet tent at Lake Apache, and the inside of my bag is still damp three days later. I've seen a thousand reviews on dry bags and tent materials, but nothing about the actual strategy of packing wet gear without ruining the rest of your stuff. Is it better to just air everything out and risk a late checkout, or do you all have a go-to system for this mess?

2 comments

2 Comments

abbyhall14d ago

Oh man, wet tent packing is the worst. So do you actually own a separate dry bag just for your tent, or are you trying to cram it in with everything else? I've found that even if you wring out the fly, that residual dampness will soak through a regular stuff sack in about 10 minutes flat. Like, are you one of those people who just shakes the tent off and hopes for the best, or do you actually have a dedicated waterproof sack for the wet bits? I'm genuinely curious because I still haven't figured out a perfect system myself.

knight.uma12d ago

Ha, I feel this pain in my soul. So are you team "shove the wet tent in its own trash bag" or have you actually invested in a pricey eVent dry bag that you're convinced is a game changer? I'm trying to figure out if the extra money is worth not waking up to a soggy sleeping bag.