Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Footprints

What do you people use as a tent footprint?

- nothing
- cheap REI tarp
- footprint sold by tent manufacturer
- coated nylon tarp
- silnylon tarp
- painter's cloth (plastic) -- 1 mil, 2 mil, 3 mil, 4 mil, ...
- polycro
- Tyvek housewrap
- Kite Tyvek
- other

I have the manufacturer's footprint for both my Walrus (3#, 1.5-person) and MSR "Zoid 2" (4#, 2-person) tents. That said, I've also used 4-mil polyethylene cut to size on other tents. I have seen quite a few people using Tyvek House Wrap but I haven't found a source for small quantities thereof. If I ever do, I'd like to try and make a lightweight tarp/tent out of it.

...in all my spare time!

I use a plastic sheet, I think 3 mil, or sometimes a shower curtain.

When we put anything under the tent.. it's one of those silver space blankets... super lightweight!

Like most of you I have tried: Nothing, Plastic, again about 3 mil. A manufacturer's footprint. In speaking with my brother we came up with the idea of Tyvek also. As timing would have it I have been residing my house and have a substantial amount of Tyvek laying around. So next trip out I will try this, it is so lightweight and strong I think it would work great.

I've always used the manufacturer's footprint or nothing but with many of the lighter weight tents out now I realize nothing won't really cut it except in ideal conditions (when can we EVER count on that? ) so a footprint is almost a necessity. That being said, I'm getting rather annoyed at the high prices that the major manufacturers charge for such a simple item ($40++) so something like Tyvek is looking pretty attractive.

home depot

comes in a huge roll, cut to size and go to counter

still using same one from 8 years ago

totall price $4.39

First, a little history, because history never hurt anyone. Moss Tents, of Camden, Maine, used to have about the best mountaineering tents on the market. They pioneered “tensioned fabric structures” (e.g., the tents you see today), with patents going back to 1955. Moss got seriously into mountaineering tents 25 years ago, and then left it behind a while back.

MSR picked up their remaining stock and continued selling them, and hired Moss’s chief tent designer. Only a few of MSR’s current tents bear resemblance to Moss’s, however.

Anyway, Moss always recommended against the use of a footprint when camping on snow. Snow can easily get between the (waterproof) tent floor and the (waterproof) footprint. Then it can melt due to body heat, and later freeze. The resulting ice “gluing” the two layers together can result in damage to the tent. So use a footprint on dirt or rocks, etc., but not on snow.

I never see this explained any more, so I called MSR. The tech said this is still the recommendation. When I asked why they didn’t mention it on their web site, he responded that the question rarely comes up. He also said that their 4-season tents have floors that are double the waterproofness of their other tents, so a footprint is even less called for. I passed on that the slipperiness of the footprint on snow causes problems; he agreed.

I know this doesn’t address your question, but I thought I would throw it in.

I should also mention that I have a few manufacturer footprints, that came with used tents that I'd bought.

I'll never buy one, they are both obscenely expensive, and obscenely heavy (for backpacking.)

I've had some friends have some bad experiences with Tyvek: Apparently there is a version that is somewhat sticky on on side, and it picks up forest debris that is very hard to get off.
So, check out the surface before you buy.

However, that said, if I hadn't a roll of plastic around the house, I'd have gone to Tyvek years ago

Thanks for the history lesson, Bob. A friend of mine reminds me that canvas tents and flannel sleeping bags were the norm not all that long ago.

I personally feel that a footprint is less important when snow camping. First there's less of a chance that something sharp or abrasive might damage the floor. Four-season tent floors do tend to be beefier. And water leakage is less of a problem in the snow.

Ultra-lightweight tents present a dilemma. Since they are expensive and fragile one wants to protect their investment. But because they are so light most standard footprints are disproportionally heavy. Do you protect your lightweight tent by making it not so lightweight?

One solution I've read about is polycro. Gossamer Gear sells sheets of polycro for use as a footprint or groundsheet. Supposedly window shrink wrap is the same material. It doesn't sound like it would work very well to me. Has anybody here tried it?

http://www.antigravitygear.com sell Tyvek by the foot

TBT

Some sellers on Ebay also sell small pieces of Tyvek.

Tyvek housewrap is 1.8 oz per sq yd which is not especially light. The coated nylon floor of my car camping tent is the same weight. For example, if I were to make a Tyvek footprint for my summer backcountry tent it would add about 6 oz to the package. For a 51 oz tent that's a significant increase. Too much in my opinion.

Tyvek is lighter than 3 mil plasic sheeting as well as many manufacturer footprints.

Nobody has mentioned yet: A large plastic garbage bag slit down both sides makes a great footprint for a one-person tent.

I've done this to make a bivy groundsheet. It's worth noting that this is the same material as the plastic sheeting you can buy at Home Depot. As with the sheeting you get a choice of thickness.

I was originally hoping someone had tried the polycro or had some other ultralightweight idea. But as I've thought more about it I've realized that other than the occasional easy to repair hole, all the tent floor failures I've experienced over the years were due to the polyurethane coating finally giving out. The coating is on the inside. So maybe a tent footprint isn't very useful?

Hi ep, I tried the polycro and it was a mess within 2 days very usatisfactory, I ended up binnin it at the first opportunity; i've got a 'HUT2' tarptent with no floor cos the manufacturers footprint is almost as heavy as the tent itself so i'll be making my own this year if i can source some silicon material; I intend to hammer in brass eyes so that it'll peg out in the same position as the tent. I've slept without one plenty but the dust at most camp spots is annoying specially when youve had a dip in the river.

Thanks, Pike. You saved me a few bucks and some trouble.

Check OWF for cheap ($5.60/yd) silicone ripstop. It's about 1.3-1.4 oz per sq yd, not too bad. Thru-hiker sells a lighter version but it's more expensive. Silnylon is kind of slippery though. I've used this treatment with success. It adds a little bit of extra weight.