View Full Version : footprint needed??
I am tenting on this years hike. I have a Shires Virga Tarptent. It has a waterproof floor.
Do I ***need*** a Footprint underneath or is it an optional nice to have thing??
Thank You.
skinewmexico
03-13-2009, 11:52
I always make on just for piece of mind, out of tyvek. It saved the floor of my Lunar Solo last trip.
Frick Frack
03-13-2009, 11:56
I have a MSR Zoid that I have used for over 8 years and have never used a foot print. Even after our SOBO last year the tent shows no sign of wear.
Lone Wolf
03-13-2009, 11:57
I am tenting on this years hike. I have a Shires Virga Tarptent. It has a waterproof floor.
Do I ***need*** a Footprint underneath or is it an optional nice to have thing??
Thank You.
no, not needed. i've tented hundreds of nites. i never use one
Kinda like asking, Do I need to wax my car?
No, you don't. Will the finish (floor) last longer if I do? Probably.
skinewmexico
03-13-2009, 15:46
Depends on where you live.
garlic08
03-13-2009, 16:09
Not needed, and for me, not worth it. I got a new Contrail in '07, put over 4000 miles on it, (including plenty of miles in the Sonoran Desert, about the spiniest place I've ever seen) never used a groundsheet, and it still looks like new. Henry can replace the floor if needed for reasonable cost. I think it's worth not carrying the 6 oz Tyvek or whatever for all those miles.
Blissful
03-13-2009, 17:02
You don't need it per say. I used Tyvek sheet though.
Most newer tents (c. 1995+ !) are strong enough where you do not need a ground cloth. In fact, if you make the groundcloth too big and/or do not set it right, it ends up collecting water UNDER your tent.
I DO use a ground cloth when tarping/cowboy camping...but that's another thread. :)
if you make the groundcloth too big and/or do not set it right, it ends up collecting water UNDER your tent.Or if the manufacturer makes it too big! I bought the customer Sierra Designs footprint for my Lightning, and if I stake it out the way it was made/designed, that's exactly what happens. I have to not attach it and fold it in about six inches both length-wise and width-wise. Then it works OK. Should have just bought and cut a piece of Tyvak. :rolleyes:
I use a footprint/groundcloth for the simple reason that I'd rather a sharp undiscovered root, stick, whatever have to go through something fairly tough to damage my tent floor. Plus, in real wet conditions your tent floor will stay a little dryer if the groundcloth is set right. Worth six ounces to me.
i have found a vapor barrier is more useful inside the tent rather than outside. any uninvited water collects underneath
Tennessee Viking
03-13-2009, 23:37
I have heard people getting ground cloth from house construction sites. Some use regular tarp liner. Then others using a shower liner.
But if camp on solid dirt, and not on any rocks, roots, branches, or anything that can tear or poke through, then your ok.
I have heard people getting ground cloth from house construction sites.That is most likely Tyvek . . . good stuff! Get permission from the site foreman or you run the risk of the consequences of breaking the law!
thanks guys,
I'm going with the majority and leaving the footprint home.
If there are negative consequences, I'll report back late next month.
Feral Bill
03-14-2009, 11:17
I use one at gravelly car camp sites. Never on the trail.
daddytwosticks
03-14-2009, 11:25
Do you NEED a tent footprint? No. Does it help extent the like of the tent floor? Maybe. Glad you are willing to experiment and keep an open mind. :)
Survivor Dave
06-07-2009, 16:40
Rather than open a new thread, I'll just open this one.
The dilemma I havve is this. I got rid of my Hubba Hubba and toted the Tyvek with it. The floor in the HH is pretty durable. So is the new tent.
I bought a Henry Shires Contrail Tarptent and am really impressed. At 24.5 oz., I didn't expect to have as durable a floor as the HH.
Some folks take the Tyvek to put under their sleeping pads on the inside rather than under the tent. I figure outside will save the tent.
Personally, I'd rather save the 5 oz. of weight and take nothing. The only thing keeping me from it is there will be that one frickin' time that I wished that I had it.........:-?
Like a used car lot: location location location!!
I went without. tented half the time with no problems. (Shelters the rest)
daddytwosticks
06-08-2009, 07:51
I've heard the lightweight sil-nylon floors will pass moisture/water if enough body pressure is put upon them AND you are pitched on very wet ground...good luck. :)
garlic08
06-08-2009, 10:10
I've heard the lightweight sil-nylon floors will pass moisture/water if enough body pressure is put upon them AND you are pitched on very wet ground...good luck. :)
They certainly do! That's why location, location, location is so important in a silnylon shelter.
World-Wide
06-08-2009, 12:36
I am tenting on this years hike. I have a Shires Virga Tarptent. It has a waterproof floor. Do I ***need*** a Footprint underneath or is it an optional nice to have thing??
Thank You.
Hey Grinder....I'd avoid the area and setting camp atop this foot print! ;) Hope others are more helpful than me! Best of luck whatever you decide!! :D
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HXP2Z5GXFO8/SCHvAn-m9GI/AAAAAAAAClM/DVI-Hbk8iuE/s400/big_foot_print1.jpg
Now thats a FOOT PRINT!!!!!
I always make footprints,guess I am not all that stealthy....