No doubt it has happened to you at least once on a camping trip. Even though it’s a dry night, your tent and all the gear inside your tent is damp. It feels as though it’s raining inside your tent rather than outside.

Condensation on the inside your rooftop tent or swag is one of those things that if you get on top of, you won’t ever have troubles again!

It’s impossible to prevent the laws of nature from, happening, but there are a few things you can do to reduce the moisture in your swag or tent and keep condensation to a minimum!

What Is Condensation?

You may or may not remember this lesson from your high school science so we will recap the basic principles of condensation.

There is moisture present in the air all around us, that has been evaporated from breathing, sweat and even just from the foliage and water sources around us. When the temperature decreases to a level low enough (dew point), the evaporated water in the atmosphere, collects and “un-evaporates” or “condenses” on the cold surface as liquid water.

As the moisture-laden air moves away from the warmth of your body it eventually meets with the cold air seeping into your swag from the outside, usually at the inside face of the outside skin of your tent, the condensing water collects as droplets on the cold canvas surface.

If not dealt with this condensation will rain back down on you putting a dampener on your camping experience!

Good Ventilation

Above all else, good ventilation is the best way to reduce condensation when you are camping. To ensure you haven’t stopped air from circulating, open up the windows and doors. Adventure Kings Swags are all fitted with plenty of ventilation from windows to large mesh doors.

An open window or door increases airflow within your swag or tent. It allows the breeze to enter which helps to draw condensation outside your swag!

Mesh panels on the tent doors are great for ventilation and also provide protection against bugs and other creepy crawlies.

Air Out Your gear

Drastic temperature changes, such as warm days and cold nights, increase the likelihood of condensation. Before you retire to bed at night, open up all your vents.

Doing this will flush out most of the humidity and heat that has accumulated through the day.

What to Do If It Rains

If it is raining, you will have to find a good balance between rain cover and ventilation. This is made easy with the massive mesh windows in the Adventure Kings Roof top Tent Range,  and the Adventure Kings Swag range, with large flaps over the windows, no matter what the weather is doing, you will stay dry!

Choose a Favorable Location

Whenever you can, choose a camping site with conditions that will minimize the conditions for tent condensation.

The whole range of Adventure Kings Swags uses thick waterproof PVC bucket floors that are fully waterproof, this will prevent moisture rising through the ground fabric.

Points of Higher Elevation

If you can, choose higher points of elevation, areas with warmer temperatures, and more chance for wind.

Low-lying valleys, for example, have a diminished airflow, cooler air, and more ground moisture. A valley will accumulate cool air and ground moisture because of the lack of airflow. That, of course, leads to tent condensation.

Do Not Walk Moisture inside!

Avoid bringing wet gear and clothing into your tent. The moisture trapped in those items evaporates and turns to vapor quickly in the enclosed space. Pretty soon you’re feeling sticky and even your sleeping bag feels damp.

Fully Peg Out Your Setup

By pegging out your setup you can keep the outside fabric of your setup taught which allows air to circulate past the fabric and will also keep the fabric from touching your sleeping bags and bedding.

This will improve the likelihood of waking up to a dry sleeping bag in the morning!
Dry your gear out before Packing Up

If you can avoid the rush to pack up camp first thing in the morning, by cooking breakfast, or other tasks that can be done first, you will allow a lot of the condensation formed over night to evaporate out. This means when you are packing up firstly, you don’t get wet, but secondly, when you are stuffing your sleeping bag into its stuff sack and rolling up your swag mattress, you aren’t squeezing the moisture all the way through resulting in all of your bedding being damp throughout the day, and cold the next night!

Stay dry at camp by avoiding your campsite condensation!