Are footprints necessary with UL tents?

[ANTHEM76]

I need to buy an UL for a solo Grand Canyon trip. Normally I hike with husband and/or kids. I'm thinking of the BA Angel Springs. Does this tent require a fp (adds 7 oz)? Or can I get away without it?

[Lyle]

If the tent is floored, the footprint is optional. A footprint protects the tent floor from abrasion and possibly (but not guaranteed) from puncture. A footprint also keeps the floor of the tent clean if that is important to you.

I have never used an official "footprint", I use a piece of shrink wrap (http://gossamergear.com/shelters/she...th-medium.html). Extremely tough, extremely light, much less expensive than an actual "footprint".

The more care you take in site selection and policing for sharp objects, the less you will need a ground cloth/footprint. On the other hand, the more adverse you are to possible damage to your tent floor, the more important a groundcloth/footprint becomes.

No one correct answer, purely personal choice with pros and cons.

[colorado_rob]

Many (on here especially) swear by them, but in 45 years of backpacking, I've never, ever used one and to my memory, never worn out a tent floor. Unnecessary weight and cost. If you must have one, get a polycro ground sheet from gossamer gear, 2-pack for $12, 2-3 ounces depending on what size you cut it to.

[colorado_rob]

Hah! Lyle beat me to the GG polycro thing...

[Connie]

The tentmaker "footprint" is always heavy.

If you want a "footprint" I suggest Gossamer Gear polycryo ground sheet for lightweight and it is tough. It also packs well, both lightweight and low volume.

Set up your tent on the ground sheet and cut the "footprint" slightly smaller than the outside of the tent.

This last point is important so the "footprint" does not channel rainwater from outside into under the tent: thus "footprint" ground sheet.


Edit: I'm slow! Everyone beat me to it!

(One finger "touch type" on my iPod Touch.

[spidey]

Or get some window film like Duck Brand of fAmazon same stuff but cheaper cut to size you want.

[Lyle]

Just checked out the Angel Springs, it appears that if you wish to use the fast pack option (rainfly and polls only, leave the tent itself at home) you will need a footprint to fit the poles into. If you plan to carry and use the entire tent, then the footprint becomes optional as stated above.

[Dochartaigh]

I think a footprint is an absolute must to protect your ultralight tent investment. First time out with my Silnylon Tarptent, on a well cleaned campsite, and a couple pine needles went right through the SilNylon floor! ...we're talking about super small, not-that-stiff pine needles here... That shows you how delicate these ultralight weight materials are. Sure, those were only pinprick holes which sealed up with a dab of silicone, but from then on I always bring a tyvek footprint with me (believe it's 3.5 ounces for my tent).

Same thing with 0.51 oz/sqyd cuben. I don't have a tent made out of that material, but from briefly kneeling on one of my cuben bags at a campsite made a very small twig poke right through it. I think people are crazy to not use a footprint when they're dealing with a $500+ cuben tent.

[ANTHEM76]

Thanks for the feedback. I normally hike with a 5 person Kelty (big/heavy, but I have 3 kids). The floor in that thing is great. Haven't ever needed a FP.

I'm seeing the BA AS for $244.00 on STP or $288 w/FP. I don't want to break through the tent floor, but I'm trying to keep it as light as possible. I'll have to carry a lot of water on this particular hike. I will take the whole thing though, no fastpack option for me!

Thanks for the Gossamer Gear tip!

[garlic08]

Here's an answer to that question in Tarptent's website:

It depends on the conditions you expect to encounter and your style of camping. The sewn-in flooring is remarkably tough and does not usually require a separate groundsheet. We just never see floors come back for repair. Tyvek groundsheets are very tough and great for sleeping out or taking a break but generally heavier than you need just for floor protection. For use on very rocky ground and desert conditions where puncture wounds are possible, a light--2 mil plastic is fine--floor protector will do the job.

[jawnzee]

I think people are crazy to not use a footprint when they're dealing with a $500+ cuben tent.

what's cool about the hexamid is the bottom is mesh, so it's already just a bunch of holes. you put the groundsheet on top of that. then you just throw on a fresh $5 polycryo sheet whenever your old one gets wasted after a few months.

[T-Rx]

Anthem,
i have used a BA CS3 for several trips now and always use a footprint. However, I am a bit OCD when it comes to taking good care of my things. I also find the footprint to be useful when sleeping in a shelter. I place the footprint under our neoair mattresses for protection from splinters, etc.. on the wooden floor. I have also used it as a tarp for a brief respite from rain while hiking. So, IMO the footprint is an essential piece of gear.

[HeartFire]

I have seen my (LightHeart Gear) tents after a thru hike on the AT. It was quite obvious that a footprint had not been used. There were numerous abrasions and small holes in the floor. This was not obvious when you just looked at it, but held up to the light,you could see the damage to the floor. This was lightweight silnylon, other fabrics of different weights may be different.

[saltysack]

I have seen my (LightHeart Gear) tents after a thru hike on the AT. It was quite obvious that a footprint had not been used. There were numerous abrasions and small holes in the floor. This was not obvious when you just looked at it, but held up to the light,you could see the damage to the floor. This was lightweight silnylon, other fabrics of different weights may be different.

Judy
Do you rec using a footprint with the solong6? If so what material...tyvek or plastic?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Dochartaigh]

And for the plastic polycryo lots of people have mentioned: coincidentally I just finished doing a bunch of my windows with that stuff (it was friggin 1º here the other day!), with the type marked "heavy duty", and that plastic is still pretty darn delicate. I'm slicing the edges with a razor blade, and when it gets a little run through it that turns into a foot long tears in the blink of an eye (haven't done any puncture tests like a footprint would most likely get). I can't see the polycryo offering more than cursory protection for the bottom of your tent. Maybe the re-purposed type they use for footprints is different - I just don't know but I'll stick with my tyvek.

[Jake2c]

Reasons are pretty well covered by everyone here. I did not use them with my older style tents but all my tents were also of the "bathtub" type. I then used very light tents for a few years and did use a footprint for them and as noted above, you have many options. My current tent is about 3 years old with a fair amount of use on it and I used a foot print all the time. I have shifted to mainly hammock camping recently but still use the tent when my wife is with me. For a side note, my footprint has also not ripped but I am sort of careful in picking and preparing my site. I found that if I camped in a mucky area, it was pretty easy to shake the heck out of my footprint, or hang it over a tree limb to help in cleaning it before I folded it up to stick in my pack. Tent bottom is harder to clean for me.

[Lyle]

My polycryo sheets that I get from Gossamer Gear last about three years with maybe two or three small holes by the end of that time. I would guess this would equal about a quarter to a third of the AT. I just switch them out when I notice they are getting too ratty. I'm generally pretty easy on my gear, taking moderate care not to abuse it. That's a price you pay if you want your UL gear to last.

[DeerPath]

I need to buy an UL for a solo Grand Canyon trip. Normally I hike with husband and/or kids. I'm thinking of the BA Angel Springs. Does this tent require a fp (adds 7 oz)? Or can I get away without it?

I sold my BA Copper Spur UL2 and regretted it. So I just bought the BS Angle Spring UL2 with Footprint. However, the footprint does not attach to bottom of the tent, like the BA Copper Spur unless you just lay it down on the ground and stake it out. I personally believe its a good idea to protect your investment and the footprint could be used as a small tarp to cook under, etc., when necessary. When I found out the footprint would not attach to the bottom if the tent I emailed Big Agnes and the following is their reply, hope it helps your decision:

Big Agnes Case #23723 has been updated.

Inbox

x

Big Agnes <[email protected]>	2:05 PM (22 hours ago)
to me

Hey Michael, thanks for the email. The footprint will just be staked out with the tent body when using the tent. The footprint will only be connected to the tent fly when using in the fast fly mode. Thanks, the Angel Springs tent has been discontinued for 2015 to make room for our expanding product line. Thanks

Denton Turner
Big Agnes Inc.
1.866.554.8975
www.bigagnes.com

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Message History
-----Original Message-----
From: Signore, Michael
Sent: Sunday , February 15, 2015 11:09 am MST (GMT-07:00)
Subject: Angel Springs UL2

Just purchased this tent and footprint. How do you attach the footprint to the tent to use it for tent bottom protection? Also, I see you no longer list Angle Spring as an item, What gives?

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[DeerPath]

I need to buy an UL for a solo Grand Canyon trip. Normally I hike with husband and/or kids. I'm thinking of the BA Angel Springs. Does this tent require a fp (adds 7 oz)? Or can I get away without it?

I sold my BA Copper Spur UL2 and regretted it. So I just bought the BS Angle Spring UL2 with Footprint. However, the footprint does not attach to bottom of the tent, like the BA Copper Spur making it useless unless you just lay it down on the ground. I personally believe its a good idea to protect your investment. When I found out the footprint would not attach to the bottom if the tent I emailed Big Agnes and the following is their reply, hope it helps your decision: Big Agnes Case #23723 has been updated.

Inbox

x

Big Agnes <[email protected]>	2:05 PM (22 hours ago)
to me

Hey Michael, thanks for the email. The footprint will just be staked out with the tent body when using the tent. The footprint will only be connected to the tent fly when using in the fast fly mode. Thanks, the Angel Springs tent has been discontinued for 2015 to make room for our expanding product line. Thanks

Denton Turner
Big Agnes Inc.
1.866.554.8975
www.bigagnes.com

---

Message History
-----Original Message-----
From: Signore, Michael
Sent: Sunday , February 15, 2015 11:09 am MST (GMT-07:00)
Subject: Angel Springs UL2

Just purchased this tent and footprint. How do you attach the footprint to the tent to use it for tent bottom protection? Also, I see you no longer list Angle Spring as an item, What gives?

---

[HeartFire]

Judy
Do you rec using a footprint with the solong6? If so what material...tyvek or plastic?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

SaltySack, It really doesn't matter, the tyvek is tougher than plastic, but heavier, 5 oz (or so) vs about 2 oz for plastic. I have used both - the plastic (2 ml plastic sheeting from paint store) packs smaller and weighs less than tyvek. I'm sure the polycro would be fine too, just something to protect the floor from abrasion from the ground.