The holes you cut into your fabric need to be the same size as your grommet, so make sure you trace the size of the grommet’s hole. It weighs 8.0 ounces and is 68-denier polyester. Considering your footprints’ purpose is to protect you and your tent from moisture and abrasion, most would consider a polyester groundsheet the better option (disregarding weight). Don’t just fold up your sheet and store it while it’s wet. DIY Tent Footprint If budget is an issue, there is a solution – you can resort into the use of DIY tent footprint. The material has a tendency to shrink a few inches when it’s exposed to heat. Best Fingerless Gloves: A Complete Guide to Choosing the Best Option for You! I mean, do you really need a footprint for your tent? A footprint (or groundsheet) is a lightweight sheet roughly the shape of your tent floor’s outline that lays beneath your tent forming a barrier or extra layer between your tent floor and the ground. If so, share any tips or questions you have in the comments below! Still very light, just not the lightest. If you let your tent floor wear out you may as well be using a tarp shelter or bivy sack. Footprints are cheap and replaceable but do an important job like preventing punctures and tears. A footprint acts as a protective layer against these abrasions and adds a barrier between you and the sometimes cold or damp ground. A second hand groundsheet is cheap, but the cost of how much risk you run into buying a used tent footprint is too high to pay. House wraps and tarps are the two best choices for a groundsheet, but we have a tendency to lean more towards a tarp just because it’s more readily available. Going camping in bad weather? The lifespan of your painter’s drop cloth, tarp or house wrap tent footprint could last you for years to come, but a window insulator groundsheet might only last you a season. But this does come at a cost: matching footprints range from $30 to $80 and are relatively heavy, depending on the material and size of your tent. Re: DIY tent footprint? Groundsheets for bivying or when you just don’t feel like setting up the tent. In his opinion, there are too many trails and options in US to go abroad. Compared to Polycro, an 84”x84” piece of Tyvek weighs 6.5 ounces (184 grams). Tyvek and Polycro are two affordable and lightweight options for making your own footprints. Deals on gear, new blog posts, inspiring stories, and more. And just like that, you now have your own DIY shelter footprint. If you’re a beginner camper, a self-made tent footprint is the right choice. It’s main purpose is to help protect your tent from punctures and tears since obviously we are not always camping on a smooth patch of dirt. A sheet under your tent. $34.95 (25) 25 reviews with an average rating of 4.75 out of 5 stars. Potentially, this can allow more water to enter the main tent than if the footprint wasn’t there in the first place. Some terrain will wear out your tent floor much quicker than others. For example, you can make an attachment on the front of your tent footprint that allows you to put your gear or shoes right outside of your tent. You can find scraps lying around construction sites or you can get a 3’x165’ roll at a hardware store for $66 (~$2.5/foot). Basically, repeat step 2. If that’s the case, then making a window insulator groundsheet is your cheapest and best option. A grommet kit is a package that comes with circular metal or rubber pieces that are used to help reinforce the holes you’ll be making in your fabric. This might be a plus, though, because just like a tarp, a drop cloth can be versatile and a helpful tool for some of your other camping needs. Buying a tent footprint that’s customized to your tent is definitely going to be more expensive, but it’s beneficial in the sense that you’ll never have to worry about your tent footprint not fitting properly. However, most of the time you’ll have to buy your own tent footprint, which can be pretty expensive. The footprint is highly useful to convert the tent into a tarp-tent among other things.. The tent footprint is also not that expensive, but it is rather heavy to … Tyvek is more durable and cheaper, while Polycro is much lighter but more expensive and more fragile than Tyvek. All rights reserved. However, a footprint will increase the longevity of your tent, prevent moisture and cold from entering your tent, and is relatively light. All it takes is just one twig, stick or sharp pebble for your sheet to slightly tear. Grab the two short edges of your sheet and fold them in vertically. But then again, maybe you only need your groundsheet for just one or two camping trips. Please note: Some links are affiliate links which help keep this website running. It’s also cheap, especially if you’re using a tarp as a groundsheet for a smaller tent. Takeaway: You can spend $500 or more on a six-person tent for serious car camping, or you can buy this cabin-style tent and put the savings toward your next camping trip. As an added bonus, tent footprints are useful for a lot of other purposes. Tyvek and Polycro are two affordable and lightweight options for making your own footprints. Nylon is lighter than polyester. The reasons we use … Damage to your tent can occur from sharp objects like sticks and rocks. There are a few alternatives to manufacturer-issued footprints that will perform better, be more versatile, and save you money. You know that white paper looking stuff they wrap houses in during construction? The last thing you’d want to do as a beginner camper is invest in a lot of expensive equipment you might not use after a few months. A tent footprint is traditionally made of the same material that the base of your tent is made of. A footprint is a ground sheet shaped to your tent outline that acts as a barrier between your tent floor and the ground. Daniel Carraway joined our team last … The prices vary, but you’re looking at spending anywhere from $30 to $70 on a brand new tent footprint, and sometimes even more. But whether you want to buy a tent footprint or make your own is completely up to you. You need to put holes into your groundsheet because you need to stake in your footprint when you’re using it. Once you’ve cut holes in all four corners of your groundsheet, put in your grommets. The tent footprint is designed to fit underneath the tent and it is usually a tough and thick cloth-like product that will protect the entire underside of the tent. You’d be right to think that paying that much for a protection sheet is a little steep. It cheaper, often lighter, and you can customize it just for you, just to name a few. After 14 days at sea, the 16-year-old Swedish climate-change activist Greta Thunberg has arrived in New York Harbor aboard the IMOCA 60 Malizia II.Now that she’s there, she plans to both continue protesting what she sees as the world’s failure to adequately address the problem of global warming and also take part in a … Once you know how long and wide your tent is, cut out your material of choice so that it’s 3 inches wider and longer than your tent. House wrap is what’s used to wrap a home with during construction in order to protect it from getting damaged from weather and other factors. All images are the property of their respective owners. This is a situation where polyester might not always imply more durability. A tent footprint, or ground sheet, is an added layer of protection placed between the bottom of your tent and the ground. It will certainly protect the floor of your tent over the long haul, especially if you buy a really lightweight tent that uses more delicate fabrics. If you already read our in-depth guide to choosing a tent and found your perfect backcountry structure you might be wondering if you need a footprint for your tent. As we discussed in another article, tent footprints, as well as old rain-flies, can be used in a number of useful ways: Your tent may come with a footprint, but most tents have a fitted footprint available for purchase. Being someone that’s always seeking the next adventure can be a tad intimidating. There are basically two buying options for a tent footprint. Example: if you measure your tent and it’s 13X13, then you’ll want to cut your fabric so that it’s 16X16. In the case of tent footprints, think of denier as a ‘burliness’ factor. If your tent is made from a low denier fabric, a footprint is something you’ll want to strongly consider purchasing or making to extend the durability of your tent floor. The content provided is not intended as an expert opinion or advice. A tent footprint is there to protect the bottom of the tent. Make sure your measurements are precise, and don’t hesitate to measure out your tent multiple times. See also: Tent Footprint vs Tarp: Which Groundsheet is Best for Protecting Your Tent? Half Dome 2 Plus Footprint. He was born close to the RMNP and his father was a ranger, so life surrounded by mountains and wildlife is a norm for Colorado. By using Crux Range you accept our use of cookies. So is a tent footprint worth it? Once you’ve done this, your sheet should look small, compact and ready to pack! Given that the tent itself weighs 3 pounds 5 ounces … See Disclosure & Disclaimer for more info. There’s no better example of this then building your own DIY tent footprint. But here’s the big dilemma for most campers: You don’t want your tent’s base to tear, but you don’t want to pay a lot of money for a tent footprint. Read on to find out everything you need to know about footprints and groundsheets. Also, the other simple answer is no. I am thinking I can make one WAY cheaper. This is pretty self explanatory. To avoid any risk, be sure to brush off any debris that might’ve collected onto your groundsheet while you were camping. If you choose to build a groundsheet with a house wrap or window insulator, you’ll probably be able to get away with rolling your groundsheet in with your tent. - Footprint to protect the tent base costs extra. A tent footprint is a sheet of fabric that will protect the base of your tent from any wear and tear it might encounter. DIY Tyvek Tent Footprint As you may know, we have a Big Agnes, Fly Creek UL2 tent that we use for pretty much every backpacking trip. ABOUT THE AUTHOR. A footprint protects the bottom of your tent from wear and tear. For double-walled tents, the denier is not as critical because the inner tent is protected by the rain fly. Being a DIYer myself, I completely understand this. More on this later. For example, the footprint for our top-rated backpacking tent, the Nemo Dagger 2P, weighs 8 ounces and costs a whopping $50. Both options are waterproof. By opting for something between the bottom of your tent and the ground, you can prevent tears, rips, and scrapes. by Daniel Carraway. Don’t be! In a rainstorm, this will cause water to pool there and run in between the footprint and your tent bottom. Your sheet should look half its size. @markjake Thanks for reaching out!. Best Garmin Watch: Which Timekeeping Model is Right for You? How to Hike the Appalachian Trail: Your Guide to the... How to Repair Leather Hiking Boots: Make Your Favorite... 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