Cold & Wet · 1 hour · Basic
Stay Dry in a Downpour: Tarps, Ponchos and Condensation
Wet is the fast road to hypothermia even at 50°F. How to keep your body, your bedding and your spare clothes dry for days.
This is for educational purposes only. Not professional medical, electrical, or safety advice.
- 01
Make a poncho in two minutes
Cut a head hole in the bottom corner of a heavy trash bag, wear it over everything, tape any tears. It's ventilated at the bottom so it doesn't steam you up like a cheap rain suit.
- 02
Pitch the tarp steep
45° or steeper so water runs off instead of drumming through. Ridge line high, corners staked wide, ground cloth under the sleeping area extending out past the tarp edge.
- 03
Drain the water away
Dig a shallow trench on the uphill side of the shelter and a small diversion channel so runoff goes around you, not under you. Never camp in a depression or a dry stream bed.
- 04
Sleep off the ground
A cot, a platform, or a thick debris bed. Ground water and cold ground are what wet you out at night, not the rain falling from the sky.
- 05
Protect the one dry set
A sealed bag with your sleep clothes, spare socks and matches never gets opened for anything else. If that bag gets wet, you've lost your backup system.
- 06
Fight condensation, not just rain
Your breath wets the inside of a closed shelter. Vent the top, don't touch the inner walls, hang wet clothes outside, and air the bedding every morning.