Bivy BAGS...

[muskeg]

Ken .....

You are right about the condensation problem. You cannot possibly get away from it in this country.

And there is rain. It is true that Mossie is coming up to your neck of the woods and not on an underwater SE style hunt.

I have guided hunts in the artic and ak pen region and I consider that a desert compared to SE Alaska. I have had hunters from all over and most start out as saying that they know what rain is. "I thought I knew what rain was" or "I will never complain about rain again" are common remarks after a good SE experience.

Take for instance my late Aug hunt last season for Goat. The only partly good days were day one when we were able to fly out to camp and day 8 when we were able to get back to town. Every day and night inbetween it rained. On one of those days 5 inches of rain was recorded in Ketchikan and I'm sure we had more. When 60 or 70 MPH winds a clocked at sealevel in Ketchikan, which is common, you know what it is doing up at 3000 feet in the Goat rocks. That makes for real wind driven rain. No matter what type of tent or what you do in prep you are going to get wet.

I will look for the seamsealer brand that you recomend as I don't think I have tried that one in the many I have used.

I also use the Eureka 4 season expedition series tents and have been very pleased with them over the years.

Johnnie

 

[Moosie]

Why not fire up the Stove to remove condensation with the Flaps open ? Won't that work ?

 

[KC]

Moosie:

You don't want to be running a stove inside a backpacker tent. The tent has a floor and you'll burn a hole in the floor. The ventilation in a tent that doesn't leak is generally not all that good so CO poisoning is a concern. Also if you boil water inside the tent that will just increase the condensation.

Sierra Designs offers top drawer products. I own a Sierra Designs "Clip Flashlite" 3-season tent that works great in the summer.

Some people confuse condendation with leaks inside a tent. But I've dried wet clothes in side my VE-25 while it was snowing outside.

Also one of the main challenges is to keep the water outside and not carry it inside on your clothes. For that reason I suggest that you GET A SLEEPING BAG WITH SYNTHETIC INSULATION AND LEAVE THE GOOSE DOWN AT HOME along with the bivvy bag.

Good luck and have a great hunt.

KC

 

[Alasken]

Johnnie,
The Seamgrip is definitely the way to go. It's pretty much a one time application. Here's a link to it:
McNett
Click on the outdoor link and you'll find the info. I'm working at Barney's for right now. We have it there. If you want to get some, give me a call, 561-5242 from 10 am to 7 pm. Once you try try it you'll throw all the other stuff away.
Moosie,
You'll be fine with the set up you have.
Ken

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 03-17-2003 23:13: Message edited by: Alasken ]</font>