Why ground cloths if tents have floors?

“When I started camping/BPing in Scouts so many years ago, the tents were canvas and had no floors. So we spread a ground cloth or our poncho. Then came the miracle of nylon tents, w/o floors at first. Then someone added a floor so a ground cloth wouldn't be needed, but the material was a bit heavy. Then they got the floor material lighter. Brilliant. But then I turn around one day, and all the gear places and magazines are pushing ground cloths -- commercialized as footprints -- to protect the tent floors. Isn't that just adding back the weight and being redundant at the same time -- a ground cloth to protect the built in groundcloth?

I know the tarp-ists will be chiding all of us for our tent floors anyway, though I note that the mesh inserts for some of the tarp and pyramid tents have floors.”

“You can wash a ground clothe off, even dunk it in a stream to get all the dirt off. They generally dry very fast. I wouldn't want to dunk the whole body of my tent though.
I think that's the intent of footprints.”

“Most of the floors are what are considered "bathtub" floors that means that they are waterproof, yet vey thin, to save weight! Ground cloths are meant to keep the floor clean and dry as well as protect from small punctures and abrasion and extends the life of the floor. 2cents and experience. Tyvek weighs next to nothin. Plastic needs to be at least 3 mil thick.”

“another handy hint....I love you guys...lol”

“The ground cloth is primarily to protect the tent floor from punctures. I use a very light, thin nylon backpack material my wife found on sale at the yardage store.Indestructable. We cut it to the exact footprint of each tent. It is so small it fits in the stuff sack with the tent.”

“funny........I got my tyvek from Jerbear in the Savage gulf, I wonder if he's really a tyvek salesman”

“It helps the floor last longer,
especially if you are camping on rough gravely sh!t.”

“Okay - what is tyvek???
I've always used plastic and cut my own.”

“Well, just to keep playing devil's advocate, if the concern is punctures because the floor material is so fragile, then couldn't the floor be made stronger for about the same weight as adding a thin ground sheet? And if washing it off is the issue (though the concept of keeping outdoor gear "clean" seems contradictory at some point), why don't they just make tents modular (as with the pyramids and tarp tents) and have the floor zip or Velcro off in case of severe muddiness? Yeah, zippers are weight. And Tyvek is cheap and light and easily replaced. Anyway, it just seems like one solution, floors in tents, spawned new problems (though not as many as they solved, IMO).

And no one has brought up those who use a liner INSIDE the tent to protect the floor on that side.”

“Inner liner???
Just be careful not to spill your drink inside the tent.

Having a floor makes for a tighter tent.”

“I've always used a footprint. Just use some heavy duty poly, and cut to fit so it doesn't stick out at all.

The best part is that I can give the ground sheet a quick rinse to get all dirt and duff off of it and have the tent and gear packed by the time it dries. Black dries quickest.

Definitely worth the weight and when it gets old, just cut a new one. It's cheaper than a new tent.”

“Now dont go makin heavier tents! wITH BULLIT PROOF FLOORS! The GC keeps the scruff and muck off the floor of the tent and can be carried outside the pack to dry, If that is a concern. Use inner liners ifin ya sllep with a dog with claws! Yo bear!”

“Thanks jerbear for the dog advice, since I'm hoping I can eventually get Keksi trail trained, and she does have sharp little claws (that are set to be trimmed soon).

I must say, in the years I used a tent without having a ground cloth beneath, I never poked a hole in a floor or got it so dirty I couldn't wipe it off pretty well as I rolled it, and I camped on bare soil designated campsites that were hit with rain. In those situations, the fly and floor were wet, but does a ground cloth really keep all the water off the floor bottom, or just the mud?

The Tyvek sounds very promising considering its truly minimal weight, and it seems it would be quieter than polyethelyne sheeting.”

“null”

“Oops, now I know how those other blank postings I've seen happened!

BTW, I've also camped in very unimproved campsite, including the Canadian bush, without puncturing a floor. And maybe this is all just one more reason to switch to hammocks.”

“Another topic that divides backpackers, groundcloth or not. Never, in any of my tents, have I ever used a ground cloth. I have never punctured a hole in the floor of any of my tents. This doesn't mean I wouldn't use one if I was given one, but I'm too tight to buy one (until proven neccessary) and too lazy to make my own.”

“Never used one either!”

“i have to weigh in the on the side of "NO" footprint or ground cover.

next to a campchair, a footprint is the second most useless item to pack.

i don't the need the extra weight, so i choose my sights carefully, to prevent damage to tent floor.”

“I use my campchair as a footprint, so it doesn't look like we'll get along general”

“that's general sir, to you”

“It will save the bottom of your tent. You can get a new groundcloth for less money then a new tent. It's pretty logical. I use a tarp sometimes. I have an old Kelty Zen tent, and I don't care to much about it, I just patch the holes when they appear, but if I had a nice new expensive tent, I would use a foot print.”

“I did a quick search and found Tyvek on DuPont's web page. Unfortunately, I didn't see any way to order a piece. Where did you buy your piece of Tyvek?”

“For some its a major concern, general, SIR”

“That's SIR YES SIR SIR SIR!”

“Go to paddysgear@aol.com. Get his email and send his a order. You pay when it get to you. Honor system.”

“Scratch the tyvek source. He is out of business.”

“I guess the honor system didn't pay off. :)”

“there is no honor among TTers.”

“Willow How much tyvek do you need?”

“Even easier solution: Just stop by the local hardware store and pick up a roll of 4mil clear plastic. I'm not sure what its typically used for...but its cheap and every hardware store has it. Im using it now....and it weighs almost noghting.”

“Jerbear, That is so kind of you. However, my brothers are in the middle of building a house and have already said they will give me some. Thank you for the offer.”

“Tyvek is great. I thinking of selling it in my store. Better than anything I have ever used.
Barbara
PS and cheap”

“I pack a emergence blanket anyways almost all the time and normally just use that as my ground cloth.”

“When you're set up on top of snow, your body heat will melt the top layer which then refreezes. As you roll around and break that into sharp little bits, you'll be glad you packed a ground cloth.

I never used a ground cloth in warmer months in my old cheap tent but since I shelled out some bucks, I now use one.”

“Does anyone know if tyvec outgases?”