So...who uses ground cloths?

[Praha4]

like 10-K, I always carry a small sheet of Tyvek, about 4' x 5'. I use it with both a Tarptent Moment and Tarptent Contrail..... it's handy for a small floor under the vestibule area, helps keep dirt out of the tent when you go in and out.... also use it as a ground cloth for lunch breaks along the trail. weight is insignificant, a few ounces

[garlic08]

...And where can you buy in in small quantities?

Hiker trash don't buy Tyvek. Scrounge scraps from building sites (ask first, and make sure it's clean). When I used to carry it, I could even find replacement pieces in trail towns.

That's assuming people are still building houses. If not, I do remember seeing one of the smaller tent makers selling small pieces. Also, if you need to buy something, look at Gossamer Gear's polycryo. It's a fraction of the weight.

[Bucherm]

I sometimes ask myself why anyone ever asks a question on this forum, because the wide range of answers you get can be astounding. You know what they say about opinions...

I was expecting a "Tent? Who tents??" response within the first three posts. I wasn't disappointed.

[frisbeefreek]

You can buy tyvek by the foot on ebay (generally $1 for 1x9foot).

I used tyvek last year, but switched to 0.8mil painters plastic. Saved 3oz (the plastic weighs about 1.2oz) on a 84"x32" groundcloth. It costs ~$1.49 at Walmart. Lasted 2200 miles this year, no problem.

I find the plastic keeps my tent cleaner, otherwise a lot of wet dirt and leaves get rolled up and gets on my gear.

[WalksInDark]

I won't give you the sales pitch for hammocking...LOL...and instead will give you my opinion on tent footprints.

I bought the footprint that was made for my tent ($50) and have found it to be both an excellent investment ----all most all of my tenting is up in the Appalachians and the ground is frequently strewn with sharp poking up rocks, downed tree limbs, and small bushes (many with sharp thorns or points); additionally, I am almost always using a tent once winter hits so frozen ground and/or snow cover is almost always a concern.

By using my tent footprint my tent (+$400) goes up much faster, my tent bathtub stays dryer and gets much less wear and my vestibules have a floor so that I can really use them for gear storage. Last winter when I got caught in an overnight 3’ snow dump, I kept knocking the snow off of the roof of the tent….so naturally all of the snow built up on the sides of the tent and bent the tent supports inward. Because my tent has fixed attachment points on the top of the tent…and so does the footprint, I had no problems with the heavy snow load.

I have a free standing tent (as long as it is mounted on the footprint) so that if I make camp late or am really tired, I don't even have to worry about staking the tent. Just put my sleeping bag, pad, etc. inside; my backpack and boots in the vestibules and I am good to go ’til morning. Yes, I always stake down my tent once I wake up....but boy is it easier when you have had 8-10 hours of restful sleep…and can do it in the daylight.

I should also add that I am not a gram weenie. I would much rather be able to kneel on my tent floor without worrying about getting wet from a wet/frozen floor or tent floor damage....than worry about the additional 10 oz weight of the footprint.

[Cookerhiker]

Looking at groundcloth options for my new Mountain Hardwear Sprite 1, I just returned from JoAnn's Fabrics with a piece of handcut ripstop nylon. Rolls up nicely. About $30 less than the tent's footprint would have been. Its first use comes next week when I cycle the C&O Canal.

[brian039]

For Eastern hiking I don't think one is necessary but it would extend the life of your tent floor. Would you still cycle through to a new tent before it wore out anyways? I don't know, I've had my tent for 2 years and took it on thru-hikes of the AT and Colorado trail without a ground-cloth and it's still doing fine so I would tend to agree with that. Out West I'd say they are more worth it to carry because the ground is rougher on your tent and would more likely end your tent's life prematurely.

[sbhikes]

I use the Gossamer Gear Polycryo. It helps keep the bottom of the tent clean and a couple of times I've actually used it for rain gear/extra warmth over my torso when I've been caught without any rain gear.

[peakbagger]

Heck, I carried a tyvek type product that I used in shelters (offseason). Even with a good sweeping, the floor could be quite dirty and I would rather just replace the tyvek on occasion then have to clean up my thermrests or sleeping bag, when I used my bivy sack, I usually used the tyvek.

[Sly]

Ground cloths are a waste of time/money.

If you want to throw away a $300 tent at the end of your thru-hike, don't tarp or cowboy camp, you could say that. Otherwise it's a cheap, sound investment.

[coach lou]

My Poncho is my ground cloth

[TyTy]

If you are going to carry a ground cloth, Tyvek would be the heaviest, painters plastic would be second heaviest (in about 1 - 2 mil thickness), polycro would be the lightest. Why carry a fitted, expensive footprint when ti basically can only serve one purpose? A piece of polycro or plastic can be serve several purposes and costs a fraction of the money.

As far as worrying about replacing a tent, if you do put a tear in your floor you can always patch it. If it gets worn out or several patches you can always replace the floor (cut it out, sew a new piece of the same material in there). It's not the end of the world.

[grayfox]

I found a tarp at wally world called a Soft Tarp. It is red non woven top and coated gray waterproof bottom. It is 5x7 and should make the perfect inside the tent ground cloth-nonslip top and moisture barrier bottom.

[Spokes]

I use 'em. Usually a sheet of Tyvek then more recently I transitioned to an Equinox ultra-sil nylon sheet. Nice inside the shelter too or even on the ground when spreading out and sorting gear or food.

[Cookerhiker]

...As far as worrying about replacing a tent, if you do put a tear in your floor you can always patch it. If it gets worn out or several patches you can always replace the floor (cut it out, sew a new piece of the same material in there). It's not the end of the world.

Also, a manufacturer may repair a hole in the tent floor or replace it under warranty. My tent floor tore on the Colorado Trail last year; Mountain Hardwear offered a new tent at a substantial discount. I took it.

[Lyle]

Reasons for carrying a ground cloth:

- Protect expensive tent floor from abrasion
- Clean place to spread out your gear in a filthy shelter
- Keeps small items from falling through the cracks in floor of some shelters
- Dry place to sit on rainy day breaks
- Dry place to lay your bag when cowboy camping
- Dry floor for tarp camping
- Good, dry place to spread your gear while breaking camp - dry and fewer lost items
- Possibly emergency shelter
- Possible rain cover for pack/gear when tent/tarp not up
- Keeps tent floor much cleaner
- Picnic blanket for fancy lunch breaks

[Mags]

My take on ground cloths...
http://www.pmags.com/ground-cloths-a-quick-overview

(Anytime I write the same response over the years...I tend to write an article. )

[miquest2012]

TYVEK!...lightweight and protection for your tent bottom...provides good emergency shelter in hailstorms too, trust me.

[kayaker4ever]

With my tarptent moment I haven't used a groundcloth yet and it has held up great in heavy, heavy rain.. pools of water starting to form around the tent..all that mess.. The seam sealed silnylon floor did great and got a little damp on the inside but a groundcloth right next to it probably wouldn't have helped much..

This is why I always advise not using the ground cloth under the tent. Use it inside because even if you use it under the tent you will still have moisture on the inside floor and a ground cloth, space blanket, Tyvek what ever between the floor and your sleeping bag keeps it from soaking up that moisture.

[Whack-a-mole]

I bought a small sil-nylon tarp at Wal-mart, and put my tent on it, marked the corners with a sharpie and cut off the excess around the edges and the grommets. Use it as a ground cloth to save my tent, but the best part is putting it on the floor of the shelters to simply cut down on the dirt and dust on my gear. It also did a great job of cutting down on the updrafts thru the shelter floor when it was 20 degrees. Once you cut off all the extra material it only weighs a couple ounces.