What is the purpose of a footprint?

[zig-zag man]

I ordered 3 yds of 60" wide Tyvek from Amazon. I may trim it to fit under the floor of my tent, but don't know if I will go so far as to put tie-down grommets in the corners and all. Thanks for all the comments.

[Venchka]

I ordered 3 yds of 60" wide Tyvek from Amazon. I may trim it to fit under the floor of my tent, but don't know if I will go so far as to put tie-down grommets in the corners and all. Thanks for all the comments.

I use a piece of painter's plastic drop cloth under my MSR HUBBA HUBBA NX. Plain, no frills. If there's any breeze I have to use something to hold it down until I get the tent corners staked down. Easier to do than tell about it.
Wayne


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[Curious G]

I really enjoy the versatility of my REI QD2 footprint. As early/late season LASHERs (I only just learned that label applied to us if we had to pick one but now see on here there is some discussion as to how long a LASH has to actually be to be LA. Lol!) I've started to carry it in the external compartment of my pack for easy access. We used it to sit on, picnic on, sleep in shelters on, cover our packs, a privacy screen sideways, and as a quick overhead during stops in the rain with paracord at the corner loops it is great for this. Plus I'm definitely hoping to extend the floor life. Not from rusty spikes but from two XL folks with kids and dog rolling about all the time. Yes we all four fit.

[Curious G]

I really enjoy the versatility of my REI QD2 footprint. As early/late season LASHERs (I only just learned that label applied to us if we had to pick one but now see on here there is some discussion as to how long a LASH has to actually be to be LA. Lol!) I've started to carry it in the external compartment of my pack for easy access. We used it to sit on, picnic on, sleep in shelters on, cover our packs, a privacy screen sideways, and as a quick overhead during stops in the rain with paracord at the corner loops it is great for this. Plus I'm definitely hoping to extend the floor life. Not from rusty spikes but from two XL folks with kids and dog rolling about all the time. Yes we all four fit.

Probably should have mentioned we "Glamp" with the kids and dog (mini-van & tent) and lash when the grandparents are on duty.

[Another Kevin]

I carry a footprint sometimes.

More often on longer trips or in the warm season. It's a clean spot in the tent vestibule, a clean thing to have on top of the shelter floor so I'm not sleeping in mouse droppings, a mat to sit or stand on while having a bucket bath so I'm not standing in mud, and maybe some abrasion protection if I'm pitched on sandstone or spruce needles. Maybe even a non-muddy place to sit and have lunch.

On a shorter trip, I can do without a bath, and I can deal with more gear getting muddy. In cold weather, the snow ain't gonna hurt my tent floor, there are a lot fewer critters about, and bathing gets Too Complicated.

It's generally no more than a piece of Tyvek. Tyvek gets a lot quieter once it's been laundered a couple of times, by the way.

[LazyLightning]

not sure how readily available it is compared to Tyvek by Typar seems much stronger and not much more weight... it just has these fibers on one side that pick up leaves/dirt/ect easy. I'm actually using "Epilay superior" 'weathertite synthetic roofing underlayment' .... that's a tad bit heavier but not bad/it folds up nice and I'm not afraid to throw my tent down anywhere. With the big agnes cooper spur 2 I definitely need a footprint, got this stuff from work and it's probably stronger then their separate $80 footprint for the tent. It's a great tent so far so good camping throughout CT-MA but wondering how its gonna hold up for the thru hike next year, the thinness in spots has me worried.

[Time Zone]

I'd like to re-iterate something Tipi Walter said in one of the links he provided on page 1 of this thread:

Remember, in a heavy rain ground pooling can sometimes occur and if your ground cloth is below the tent it can gather pools of water with no adequate draining.

Last weekend I was at a frontcountry campground in an NC state park. Had my double-walled tent with me, on a tent pad, with footprint underneath. Heavy rain in the middle of the night. Although the footprint was both smaller than the inner tent's dimensions, and by extension, smaller than the area covered by the fly, I did get water running under the tent and in between the footprint and the tent floor. It just washed under there. This can happen in backcountry sites too, especially if you have to use established sites.

I had long viewed the footprint as a "wear layer" for the floor of a tent, to extend the tent's life (assuming the floor would be the first to go). Nothing wrong with that view, but reality is a bit more complicated - and TW nails it, those footprints can trap water and prevent good drainage. This insight strikes me as comparable to that regarding waterproof boots, which I first heard about via Skurka, though others may have highlighted it before he did. I'm not sure what I'll do about footprints in the future (perhaps outside for fair weather, inside for foul?), but this has given me some pause.

[hikermiker]

To waste your money.

[Another Kevin]

To waste your money.

Isn't it good, then, that my Tyvek was scrap from a construction site, picked up in a dumpster dive? I'll happily waste $0.00 for a footprint.

[MtDoraDave]

I have a 5x7 tarp that I carry with me for multiple purposes that several others have listed. I usually only use it for a ground cover under my tent if the only place to pitch the tent is muddy. On a few occasions, I have used it as a shelter. On several occasions, I have used it under my sleeping bag in a shelter.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Outdoor-P...-Blue/36547567

Sure, it's .75 lb, but its only $10. Compared to free, that's a lot. Compared to a Silnylon tarp, it's cheap. Compared to Cuben fiber, anything is cheap .

Perhaps now that I have a smaller tent than I used to, I may look into a smaller, and lighter item to carry... maybe.

[Turtle-2013]

You will clearly recognize my bias here ... but as far as I can tell the purposes of a footprint are as follows.
1. to allow water to puddle more easily under the tent in a rain-storm
2. to increase sales for tent manufacturers
3. to make campers "feel" better about protecting their tent investment
4. to artificially increase the weight in your pack

Personally, if the tent doesn't have a good floor, why did you buy it.....
and granted there are a few overused sites where there is a lot of plain dirt to setup on
... but it is nearly always possible to find a better place to setup.
(Even in GA, when I was nearly the last to the campsite, what was left was probably the best site since it wasn't just dirt.)

I've been camping, a LOT, for over 50 years ... I'm not a fan of foot prints ... except of course that I used a cheap one as the floor of my tarp-tent (my design) ....

BUT ... if it makes you feel better to protect your tent, and you like to carry more weight, and you like supporting your tent manufacturer ... go for it ... we all have to hike our own hike

[SouthMark]

You will clearly recognize my bias here ... but as far as I can tell the purposes of a footprint are as follows.
1. to allow water to puddle more easily under the tent in a rain-storm
2. to increase sales for tent manufacturers
3. to make campers "feel" better about protecting their tent investment
4. to artificially increase the weight in your pack

Personally, if the tent doesn't have a good floor, why did you buy it.....
and granted there are a few overused sites where there is a lot of plain dirt to setup on
... but it is nearly always possible to find a better place to setup.
(Even in GA, when I was nearly the last to the campsite, what was left was probably the best site since it wasn't just dirt.)

I've been camping, a LOT, for over 50 years ... I'm not a fan of foot prints ... except of course that I used a cheap one as the floor of my tarp-tent (my design) ....

BUT ... if it makes you feel better to protect your tent, and you like to carry more weight, and you like supporting your tent manufacturer ... go for it ... we all have to hike our own hike

Ditto^^^^^


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[Tipi Walter]

You will clearly recognize my bias here ... but as far as I can tell the purposes of a footprint are as follows.
1. to allow water to puddle more easily under the tent in a rain-storm
2. to increase sales for tent manufacturers
3. to make campers "feel" better about protecting their tent investment
4. to artificially increase the weight in your pack

Personally, if the tent doesn't have a good floor, why did you buy it.....
and granted there are a few overused sites where there is a lot of plain dirt to setup on
... but it is nearly always possible to find a better place to setup.
(Even in GA, when I was nearly the last to the campsite, what was left was probably the best site since it wasn't just dirt.)

I've been camping, a LOT, for over 50 years ... I'm not a fan of foot prints ... except of course that I used a cheap one as the floor of my tarp-tent (my design) ....

BUT ... if it makes you feel better to protect your tent, and you like to carry more weight, and you like supporting your tent manufacturer ... go for it ... we all have to hike our own hike

To your two points---Modern small tents don't have "good" floors in my opinion as the deniers are too thin, i.e. around 20-30 denier. Will it stop a thorn? Nope. Will it stop seeping ground water when your weight is on top, like a sponge? Do the backyard test to see. In a hard rain deluge with ground water will your tent floor seep up water thru the floor when your body weight and butt is sitting on top? Many fabrics fail in this regard.

As far a plain dirt or mud the solution is to gather dead leaves for better protection---and less mud---


Here's a bare spot in Slickrock wilderness where I place dead leaves.


Another dead leaf spot on the North Harper trail in Pisgah NF. Just take the extra time to fix an overused campsite.

[hipbone]

I really thought I'd never carry one but I've found it helpful and useful in multiple situations. In Colorado I used fast fly mode to break my tent down under the rain fly and pack up when the rain was relentless. After my gear was safe from rain I took the fly and footprint and packed it on the outside of my pack.

This fall on the Long trail I plan on using it under my tent, but also as a ground cloth in shelters so I don't have to place my sleeping pad on the shelter floor.

[RangerZ]

What is the purpose of a footprint?

I use them to backtrack after I realize that I'm off the blazed trail.


Sorry, please return to your usual program.

[HooKooDooKu]

...and granted there are a few overused sites where there is a lot of plain dirt to setup on
... but it is nearly always possible to find a better place to setup.

Clearly you don't camp much in GSMNP where camping is concentrated to designated areas and finding a spot that isn't bare dirt is the exception.

[clusterone]

In the tent...just changed my thinking. Thanks Tipi!

[Tipi Walter]

Clearly you don't camp much in GSMNP where camping is concentrated to designated areas and finding a spot that isn't bare dirt is the exception.

So use my dead leaf solution.

[HooKooDooKu]

So use my dead leaf solution.

Again, concentrated use often thwarts that plan.
Seems like at most campsites, there is only a thin layer of leaves... damp/wet leaves. Leave that have been trampled on.

I've tried collecting up a set of leaves before in GSMNP... just a few months ago, camping in the dirt with overnight rains expected. Wanted to line the edge of the rain fly with leaves to cut down on muddy back splash. Managed to find some wet leaves that had been blown up against some downed tree trunks in the area. But again, all wet and dirty and wouldn't have bothered messing with wet leaves except the fact that without them I figured my tent would be even dirtier.

Now I'll admit that a tent footprint isn't a requirement. I carry one, in part, for the neatness. On a typical camping trip, using a footprint means that in the morning the bottom of my tent is dry and only the bottom of the footprint is wet. That gives me a clean area to work to stuff my tent in the stuff sack, and if I want to dry things off, I only have to hang up the footprint (assuming it hasn't been raining and pretty much gotten everything wet).

So I totally understand those that don't want to use a footprint. But to call a footprint a waste of money would be like calling carrying a tent a waste of money. After all, it would be a lot cheaper and lighter to carry a blue tarp from WalMart. But carrying a tent provides certain benefits that carrying only a tarp does not. Same could be said for footprints.

[garlic08]

I wonder how many who use footprints have ever not used a footprint. On an experienced hiker's advice, pre-internet, I stopped using one over a dozen years ago and am so glad I did. I never missed it one bit. I've worn out one tent since then. The guy lines started ripping away from the canopy, but the floor was pristine. I've learned how to choose good tent sites and keep dry in a wet tent with no extra pack weight.

I really don't get the keeping the tent clean argument. A footprint becomes another wet surface to pack and eventually try to dry out.