Wildernest, Flip-pac, and other folding soft sided campers in damp conditions.

[Rando]

I have a wildernest, and have a question for those with similar campers who use them in wet conditions. What do you do about folding wet campers with mattress and bedding next to the tent fabric?

Here in the drier parts of the country this is not normally an issue as even if it does rain, it almost never rains for two day in a row, so you things dry out in the morning, or at worst when you flip the next evening. However we have been having a fairly rainy spell in the mountains, and I am planning a trip to some of the rainier parts of the world in the not to distant future.

I was considering making a waterproof mattress cover (like fitted sheet made of coated nylon) to put over the mattress and bedding before closing the nest. Any thoughts on how well this would work?

 

[abeaudin1971]

I had a wildernest and I dumped the mattress and used car camping thermarests instead which removed the waterlog issue

I have a flippac now and with the fly, this is a non issue.

Both campers are useful but the wildernest tent was just plain worn out. I bought it when I lived out in California and it worked well out there but with the rain and bugs here, a flippac was the proper solution.

 

[DaveInDenver]

This can happen even when it doesn't rain and you have a good tent due to condensation, but definitely multiple rainy days will eventually end up with wet inside. I've said it many times, the material on WilderNests was waterproof originally and the biggest reason good tents (e.g. no urethane peeling) leak is that the seam seals have either never been done or need to be redone. But that urethane coating on the inside of the nylon also does not breath well and condensation can form in humid or cool weather very easily.

I deal with the wet mattress problem one of two ways. First, I generally carry a big wool blanket or comforter that we use as extra warmth (we mostly use a fitted sheet and top sheet, blanket, comforter on the mattress rather than sleeping bags). If you open this up and lay it out it helps with typical condensation or light rain. If the material is soaked I lay out a tarp over the mattress, usually a plastic one instead of canvas so that the bedding doesn't get oily. It helps to sandwich a couple of towels between the tent and tarp to keep the water from pooling and working it's way out. I put the blanket and/or tarp over the mattress and under the outside support bar so that when you fold the bar down the cover is held in place.