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  1. #1

    Default Big Agnes Fly Creek HV UL2 footprint... Plz help with alternative!

    Yes, the infamous 100$ or so footprint that is basically just a trapezoid tarp with 3? grommets.
    I found one nice tutorial on it but it used Tyvek, which, however hard I tried, I could not find near me (Montreal).
    So I used a lightweight blue tarp, marking it and then cutting it with scissors, but I also don't have sufficient space in my apartment
    to lay out something more than a few feet long. Lol. And the end result is not one I would like to go on an adventure with.

    I was wondering if any of you had special tips (maybe even just to say that one can get by without that footprint),
    or even would be willing to make and sell me one such footprint. I don't think it would be a very big endeavor if you have space,
    glue and Tyvek (and grommets, though I can even put those in myself).
    I just can't possibly afford to buy one of the 'real' footprints - the price is beyond ridiculous. They're just banking on the fact that
    people with the money to buy this tent will have a 'small' 100$ more to dish out for the footprint, and... there's a reason I live in such a tiny place

    I got the tent from REI on a massive sale, internationally (to Canada), and after exchange rate and customs, paid 330$ USD instead of the
    520$ USD I would've had to pay here. The customs alone were 60$ USD on that total... (they really screw us here in Canada!)
    I went from Marmot Traillight 2p (5 lbs 7 oz packaged, 7x26 in. stuffed) to this (2 lbs 5 oz packaged, 4x19 in. stuffed), which is nothing short of MIRACULOUS!!!!!!!!!!!

    But I'm afraid of going out without that bloody footprint!! And wrecking my millionaire's tent that I feel like I shouldn't even have!
    And I can't possibly afford to buy the official footprint or, God forbid, repair/replace that tent adequately.
    Thanks for the help, everybody

    -A very anxious Spork

  2. #2
    Registered User Crossup's Avatar
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    Default

    Many will tell you the FC will be fine without a footprint and back it up by using it that way. I feel its important to help minimize water intrusion as under the right conditions water under the floor will be pushed thru it because of the pressure of your weight exceeding the coatings pressure rating. And it has to help the long term durability which few of us actually test because we dont use them that much.

    I dont know why people just go to REI etc. and pony up the big bucks. All popular camping gear is sold at huge discount in the off season, you just need to shop and be patient to find a deal. I purchased the FC HV UL2 current model year for $157 and the footprint for $25. A week later some other company had it for $139 so I did not even get the best deal. Keep in mind when you sell it to get the latest and greatest you will not get more than pennys on the dollar so why buy it at or near full price? Winter is upon us, so the deals are coming.

    But as to your situation, its all in your head. Buy TYVEK on Amazon/eBay etc. its dirt cheap. Take it into your apartments hallway, sidewalk, work, a subway station, where ever there is room and cut it to size. You dont need to hem it or do anything else.
    Buy stick on pull lloops to attach guy strings, you only need 3. This is something a 10 year old can do, dont over think it.

  3. #3
    Super Moderator Ender's Avatar
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    Default

    I don't use a footprint with my Fly Creek, but were I to I'd just go to a local hardware store and buy the thinnest plastic painters drop cloth I could find... I think Frost King makes a 1.5 mil that would work more than well enough. They make even thinner stuff, you'd just have to replace it more often. Which is honestly the route I'd go, it's easy to cut that stuff into shape. Or just go on Amazon and buy some tyvek there... it's heavier, but it lasts forever.
    Don't take anything I say seriously... I certainly don't.

  4. #4

    Default

    I really legit cannot get Tyvek here as you can there in the USA, but knowing that you use yours without a footprint helps me a lot. Also, I'm starting to think, deep inside my head, that gear is meant to be used and, GOD FORBID, be damaged. I carry patches and stuff, along with lifetime warranties. I've already been thinking that way about pretty much everything I own... I just hadn't dared to yet with such a valuable piece of gear as my FC tent.
    Anyway, thank you

  5. #5
    Furlough's Avatar
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    On ebay for $14.12 - Tyvek tent footprint "kit" w/4 UL Grommet Tabs for Big Agnes Fly Creek HV UL2.
    Tyvek Homewrap Rectangle SheetGround Cloth Sheet KIT
    size: 52 in. by 86 in.

    with 4 peel and stick grommet tabs


    Trail Weight: 7 ounces


    This "KIT" will fit the

    Big Agnes Fly Creek HV UL 2

    Need a certain size Tyvek sheet with a set of lightweight grommet tabs, drop us a line and we can make a listing for you.
    "Too often I would hear men boast of the miles covered that day, rarely of what they had seen." Louis L’Amour

  6. #6

    Default

    REI has a new store in Williston VT. I expect it may be worth driving south an buying stuff directly on sale.

  7. #7
    Registered User colorado_rob's Avatar
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    Have you looked at using Polycryo? It is about half the weight of Tyvek, about 1.6 oz (40gm) vs. twice that for Tyvek for a typical tent footprint. Pretty tough stuff, when I backpack with my wife she insists on using it, whereas I don't bother carrying a footprint. Gossamer Gear sells them, I bought their medium size two-pack:

    https://www.gossamergear.com/collect...d-cloths#specs

    But the window-shrink-wrap stuff sold in Home Depots (or whatever you have up their in Canada) is apparently the same material.

  8. #8
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    +1 on polycryo. I used it on my last section. Got a window insulation kit from big box hardware store and trimmed it. Best to trim it to just under the size of the bathtub so it doesn’t stick out and let rain water collect.

  9. #9
    Registered User Elaikases's Avatar
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    Well. I always use polycro instead. It doesn’t absorb any water and is light, cheap, and available everywhere.

    https://www.trailjournals.com/journal/entry/596227

    examples of DIY and how.

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