How do you dry gloves, coats etc whilst camping

[fatboy]

Just back from a very wet few days camping in Cambridgeshire and Norfolk (so wet that I gave up a day early and took the train!). Anyhow the tent and my bags kept everything dry other than what I was wearing whilst cycling and my towel (actually it was me that got this wet but that's what they are for ). I couldn't get anything dry so I was packing up a wet towel and pulling wet gloves on whilst I was going.

Any "top tips" welcome!

[horizon]

The strategy is: you have one wet set that you wear and one dry set that you keep dry for evening/night. It isn't nice to put on wet clothes in the morning but they do dry out in time. Most of the time the weather is actually dry or at least dry enough for modern fabrics to throw off dampness - to some extent only your outer waterproof garments will get wet. Cycle camping is still a bit of an art/craft.

[johnb]

Anywhere like a bar, cafe, hotel, toilet that have those wall mounted electric hand driers can be used for putting your gloves over the nozzle for a quick blast same with coat.

[alicej]

Scrunch up dry newspaper and stuff it inside wet shoes, gloves, socks etc for a few hours to absorb water from them.

I usually take string and a few clothes pegs camping so I can hang things up in the tent overnight too. My cycling tent doesn't have room inside for a clothes line but socks etc can be pegged to the bits of elastic that hold the inner to the fly sheet, where they won't get dripped on and the air will circulate around them a bit.

It really helps to have lightweight clothing that dries out quickly, e.g. fleece and polyester instead of cotton.

When my feet get warm enough at night I sometimes stick a wet pair of socks in the bottom of the sleeping bag - they are magically dry by morning.

+1 for having another pair of everything so you can get changed and be dry when you stop cycling. And for the electric hand driers in pubs

[psmiffy]

Gloves Waterproofs etc - If it is dry then they get tied to the panniers - if it is wet they go back on- I tend to have spares of gloves because my hands suffer - but still looking for the ultimate touring glove.

proper towels are impossible if you get them properly wet unless you get fine weather and can lay over the back of the panniers or hang them at night - campsite with tumble drier is the best option - i have never managed to actually render a towel unusable - use sparingly and drip dry if i can - with experience you never really end up with a lot of wet stuff - although I once did do some washing in southern denmark and finally got the last of the socks dry in Poland (via Sweden -Finland - Baltics)

one of the reasons why rest days are so important - best to stop on a nice day to get the laundry done properly - ride on the wet days

[rualexander]

The main thing is keeping some stuff dry for when at camp and its not such a big deal putting wet stuff on in the morning for cycling in.
For helping to dry socks, shoes and gloves though, you can fill a one litre Platypus with just boiled water and stuff it into the wet item, or a Sigg bottle filled with boiled water will dry a pair of socks pretty quickly. Incidentally a hot Platypus or Sigg stuffed into a couple of dry socks makes a good hot water bottle!

[Nettled Shin]

When my feet get warm enough at night I sometimes stick a wet pair of socks in the bottom of the sleeping bag - they are magically dry by morning.

Somebody else once told me this, so I put my damp clothes at the bottom of my sleeping bag, went to sleep, and woke up with a damp clothes and a damp sleeping bag, too. I've also tried spin drying my clothes by placing them in a mesh bag and twirling it around by the drawstring, but it sprays water in every direction, and you get very dizzy. Hmm, I wonder whether your bicycle wheel could be used to do the job...perhaps by stuffing your clothes in a stocking, and laying the resultant sausage in between your spokes, baguette style?

[fatboy]

I used the hand dryer bit for the last morning and it worked quite well!

Strapping things to the rack would have involved there being some dry weather!

I use Exustar Stelvio leather shoes with Carradice Duxback overshoes so even in very heavy rain my feet and socks stay mainly dry.

Sounds like I did everything that I could but thanks for the ideas!

[alicej]

When my feet get warm enough at night I sometimes stick a wet pair of socks in the bottom of the sleeping bag - they are magically dry by morning.

Somebody else once told me this, so I put my damp clothes at the bottom of my sleeping bag, went to sleep, and woke up with a damp clothes and a damp sleeping bag, too.

I'm pretty sure the sleeping bag thing only works with quite a small amount of stuff, e.g. a damp pair of socks rather than a whole wet change of clothes.

But lightweight, fast drying fabrics can go from dripping wet to dry in just a couple of hours without really doing anything to them apart from not leaving them in a plastic bag, they're well worth it. Proper technical clothing is expensive but you need very little of it 'cos it'll be dry and wearable much more often.

I do spend a lot of time obsessing over having warm dry clothes, if you're someone who feels the cold then it can make all the difference between being happy and being miserable.

[johnb]

I do spend a lot of time obsessing over having warm dry clothes,

That is the secret to successful touring.

[LowPlainsDrifter]

Or, something that you can wear wet if need be and still be warm like Buffalo Systems gear.
I have a (although not cycling specific) Buffalo Special Six shirt and that is warm when wet and has a kangaroo pocket you can stuff things in and they dry out from your body heat and the excellent wicking of the buffalo shirt. The shirt dries out in no time too as long as you are moving somewhat. Pertex outer with fibre pile lining.

[slowpeddler]

If gear is wet, I use my morning coffee stop as a kit drying time. Otherwise I hang wet clothes on my panniers or bar bag as I go along.

At the risk of parading my underwear to you all
see photos attached

http://www3.snapfish.co.uk/snapfishuk/t ... napfishuk/

John

[rollinbone]

If the rain is persistant the only hope you have in the long run I find is to find a campsite with a laundry/dryer.

I assume your towel is a camping towel - these new fabrics are easy to dry on the bike if you get a break in the weather
I have been known to be so desparate in the English summer to resort to Tescos freezer zip bags

ready for a new day

Also if you pass a supermarket like Tescos you could buy new packs of dry underwear and socks quite cheaply.

[jochta]

Travel towels dry quickly - I would never take a normal towel, impossible to keep dry, bulky and smell bad quickly.

One tactic that I've used in the past is asking the owner of the campsite nicely if they wouldn't mind sticking some wet things through their tumble dryer. Looking bedraggled when you do helps. I've had it offered once too when I got soaked through after a downpour just before arriving.

John

[fatboy]

Travel towels dry quickly - I would never take a normal towel, impossible to keep try, bulky and smell bad quickly.

John

Actually the travel towel seemed OK even when soaking wet, just a bit cold to use!