mastertangler wrote on Jun 28^th, 2014 at 3:34pm:



The pleasure of sleeping with just the mesh between you and the sky is worth the occasional inconvenience of the rain scramble. Dew is rarely an issue. Obviously if it's threatening rain the fly goes up.

I almost always pitch a tarp over my tent, but not down close to it (above the tent roof 2-3 feet).  It keeps the tent in the shade and dry if there is a sudden rain storm.  If I think it will rain eventually or overnight I tie rope to various rocks/branches where it will need to be if I do have to snug the tarp down to stay dry.  Then if I have to get up in the dark it is a quick project to re-tie the tarp for a storm.

If an unexpected rain moves in, I usually hear it out on the lake, and have a few minutes to drop the fly.
Another approach is to hang the fly a little higher using nearby trees and ropes.

As for dew, it's never been a big issue . Just sun the bag next day.

It's bad enough waking up in the middle of the night getting pelted and having to scramble just to drop the tied up portion of the fly. Having said that I probably wouldn't purchase a tent where I couldn't roll up one side and get ventilation.

Rain or not, if the fly is left off don't you all wake up soaked from the dew?

I use ST's evaporation trick on my entire food pack (the one with cheese, salami, etc) by soaking the hand towel, or one somewhat larger, and keeping the pack in the deepest shade I can find and draping the wet towel over it.

I wear a -33 brand mid-weight merino wool t-shirt, white to reflect light and heat. If it gets really warm I just soak it in the lake, wring it out and put it back on- much more comfortable wet/damp than cotton or synthetics. If you get sweated up on the portage it dries quickly as well. At the end of the day, rinse in the lake and hang to dry. Also a very wide brimmed off white hat that can also be dunked for extra cooling. Stop for quick swims. Wear shorts. Sleep with the fly off, clips connected at the head and foot of the tent- fly bunched along it's length, if I wake to rain coming through the mesh it's just a matter of seconds to shelter the sleep chamber.

I wear a "doo-rag" I made out of Bug-Off brand handkerchief under my nylon/mesh baseball style fishing cap. If the sun isn't an issue, I just wear the doo-rag paddling and on portages.

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Protects ears/neck from sun/bug bites and can be dipped in lake to get a cooling effect.

I don't like to drink warm water but you have to stay hydrated so I use this simple trick.
If you using a standard size water bottle, take a old cotton tube sock and cut off the toe end.

Sleeve the bottle with sock and keep the sock wet and store bottle while paddling out of the direct sunlight.
The evaporation will cool your drink.
If you have bigger water containers, I have a couple of 1-2 litter Naglene Canteens and use a canvas bank coin sack secured with a Bungee/Bob around neck and do the same as I would with tube sock.

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This evaporation method allowed me to keep a LT I caught and cleaned on Jean lk, cool/fresh all the way down to Sturgeon lk and then to Scripture Island campsite on a day that was in the high 80's. Just keep the sock/bag wet and out of direct sun and your good to go.

I take a terry cloth towel, small hand size, and will soak it at beginning of portage and drape around my neck.  Helps a lot to keep you cool as you walk the portage.

Bandana - dipped in the lake and tied around the neck helps a lot - repeat when it dries out.  so does dipping your hat in the lake for evaporative cooling.  Occasionally, I'll even drop a hatful down my back - amazing how cold that feels on a hot day.