Sleeping wet in a sleeping bag.

[AvidIndoorsman]

I've had a few wet bags over the years. I will tell you that I will never get in a bag with soaking wet cloths again. With any bag, down or synthetic, you'll find that the moisture will end up on the shell of your bag, take the head away and it will migrate back in. My experience is if its humid out, it can take days to dry out. We get our share of humid/wet weather. I've crawled in to both down and synthetic bags with damp cloths and come out dry many times, however one time I crawled in my bag after an afternoon of hiking and being soaked from the waist down. The moisture left my cloths, and stayed in my bag, reducing the insulation considerably. It rained/spit snow almost non-stop for 48hrs. My cloths and bag dried out about day 3 once it stopped raining/snowing and RH dropped. That first night wasn't much fun.

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What kind of bag do you use mostly?

 

[WyoDoug]

Another thought to think of. People who incur hypothermia often do not know it because it does degrade your cognitive ability. Then it's up to those around you to take action to prevent it from progressing further. I have experienced hypothermia in the military in a similiar situation during cold weather training. It is not fun. If it was not for a buddy that was paired with me and a medic, I might not be here today to talk about it.

(Most of below is cut and paste of what I quickly researched online to get accurate data.)

Just how dangerous is hypothermia?

A person who is immersed in near-freezing water at temperatures of 32.5°F/0.3°C will have symptoms of mild hypothermia in under 2 minutes and will be unconscious in less than 15 minutes, with an expected survival time of 15 to 45 minutes. A person who spends extended time in wet clothes (versus submersion in ice cold water) can survive hypothermic conditions longer depending on conditions. It don't have to be freeszing cold out. Just cold enough to cause your body temperature to fall. People have been known to experience hypothermia in temperatures of less than 60 degrees. Humidity has a play in it too.

What are the Five Stages of Hypothermia?

• HT I: Mild Hypothermia, 95-89.6 degrees. Normal or nearly normal consciousness, shivering.
• HT II: Moderate Hypothermia, 89.6-82.4 degrees. ...
• HT III: Severe Hypothermia, 82.4-75.2 degrees. ...
• HT IV: Apparent Death, 75.2-59 degrees.
• HT V: Death from irreversible hypothermia

What are the signs and symptoms of hypothermia?

• Shivering.
• Exhaustion or feeling very tired.
• Confusion.
• Fumbling hands.
• Memory loss.
• Slurred speech.
• Drowsiness

Left untreated, hypothermia can lead to complete failure of your heart and respiratory system and eventually to death. Hypothermia is often caused by exposure to cold weather or immersion in cold water. Primary treatments for hypothermia are methods to warm the body back to a normal temperature.

What should I do before hypothermia?


Then immediately take these steps:

1. Gently move the person out of the cold. ...
2. Gently remove wet clothing. ...
3. If further warming is needed, do so gradually. You do not want to do any quick warming by putting an HT victim next to a fire. Quick rises in body temperature can be just as dangerous. Put them in a dry sleeping bag instead and check on them frequently. It may be necessary to get into the sleeping bag with them to privide additional heat.
4. Offer the person warm, sweet, nonalcoholic drinks.
5. Begin CPR if the person shows no signs of life, such as breathing, coughing or movement.

Do not leave a hypothermic victim unattended. If they do not respond quickly after removing wet clothing and getting them into a dry sleeping bag, seek medical assistance immediately. How long this takes varies from person to person, but my experience in the military is people pop out of it in an hour or so of warming and getting dry.

Getting into a sleeping bag wet can extend the period you are at risk to hypothermia and will not likely warm you up before it causes severe health issues to develop. So I would not advice it under any circumstance unless you really do not have a choice.

 

[longbow51]

This would warm you up but would not dry you up. It retains heat but also prevents the moisture from escaping. This works if you strip all wet clothes off you then get under it. One of the keys to the question orginally posted by the OP is about getting into sleeping bags wet. I recommend stripping wet clothes and hanging them off the ground where they can air dry and then get in dry sleeping bag the way you were born. Hopefully you brought spare clothes but in a pinch once your clothes are drip dried, you can put them in the sleeping bag with you to warm up.

Once you are soaking wet you not only want to warm up. You want to get dry. As any military member can tell you, you do not want to be wearing wet socks very long or soggy boots. Wet clothes draw heat from your body rather quickly so you definitely would not want that in the sleeping bag with you. Sometimes they suggest you have another warm body in the sleeping bag with you though that can get kinda kinky and strange, but when you are fighting hypothermia you give up your pride sometimes.

Your method is great....to keep warm but not to dry. In the case the OP talks about, you need to do both and sometimes quickly.

All correct; specifically addressed the Mylar blanket, not the OP.

 

[thusby]

Gonna sound stupid, I went to bed with slightly soggy (not wet) socks for first 2 nights winter camping. I wanted to see if this would work. Might have just been laziness after a 7.5 mile ski with trail breaking.

You do wake up with dry socks.

This was a mountain hardwear-30 lamina

 

[PrairieHunter]

Ive heard a hand warmer in a sleeping bag can help dry things out in a pinch.

 

[Mallardsx2]

I woke up in Colorado with three inches of water in my tent. Does that get any kind of street cred here? Lol

 

[Huntin' Fool]

You ain't lived until you've slept in heavy rain, a wet sleeping bag with wet clothes and a wet tent.

Misery increases as temperature decreases. Wind can add too.

I'm an old timber cruiser. Anybody else here measure some plots?