I have updated equipment and scrutinized every single piece of gear that I carry. Within reason about the only thing I can try putting on a diet right now is my ground cloth.

For years I have used a foil type emergency blanket cut to fit our various tents (getting smaller/lighter as time goes on) as a ground sheet. I acquired a piece of house Tyvek from my brother in law for $0 which I will cut to fit and see if there is any weight savings. I also understand Kite Tyvek is lighter and more soft of hand which may be a better way to go.

For those who use ground cloths for tents, tarps ect. I would appreciate any wisdom you could send my way. Also I was wondering if someone could tell me if the E-blanket could possibly be reflecting any radiant heat back at us as that may be somewhat useful information.

thanks, jimmyb

I have a ground cloth for my tent. It weighs around 3-4oz. Reason I keep it in my pack is just to protect my tent floor which in theory should prolong the life of the tent. I just like to take good care of my equipments.

I use a piece of kite Tyvek cut to 24" x 70" and use it under my tent floor where I sleep. The Tyvek weighs 1.5 oz and I use it mainly to protect the tent floor from sticks, stones and abrasion from my weight. I see no advantage to having a ground cloth cut to the tent footprint since damage to tent floors is largely confined to where body weight is located. I have never found a ground cloth useful in keeping the tent floor dry. YMMV.

I've used polycryo, tyvek, and 2 mm painter's dropcloth (plastic) - all are lighter than the marketed floors they sell for tents. A friend uses the cloth they sell for weed block. Any cloth should be smaller than the tent floor to avoid pulling water under the floor.

I doubt the emergency blanket does anything to reflect heat - I doubt that in any circumstance. Read a study once done by the British military that indicated that a regular old trash bag does about the same as mylar - they are moisture barriers and partially block radiation as well. That's about all they do.

I've used polycryo for quite a few years now. Tough to lay down or fold up in the AM though, it's so light/lite. Since getting a TT Squall some years back too, I'm used to gathering small rocks to lay around the edges before setting up my shelter.
Duane
PS, my Squall is floorless, so my gc is my floor.

I'm with Lori---we've used 2mm painters' plastic, and now we are using version of Tyvek. Yeah, it keeps the tent clean and somewhat protected. It also seems to add just a tiny bit of both insulation and padding.

And we used it for our morning stretches as well!

WOW, thanks all. Such a great number of responses so quickly. Im thankful to have found a forum like this.

I too am using the ground cloth merely for protecting the bottom of the tent, cut to fit (1-2inches short of the borders) to prevent water being drawn below and because we are sleeping two so pressure can be exerted pretty much anywhere as we fill the floor area.

Now off to experiment with your suggestions.

again, jimmyb

I use a hunk of a Neatsheet, which is two layers of soft Tyvek-like material, such as used for disposable hazmat jumpsuits. It is not crinkly or slippery and is warm to the touch. I don't think it's necessarily waterproof but I have never had it wet through.

Use it for sleeping in floorless shelters, not as protection under a tent floor.

Cheers,

I don't use a ground cloth with my tent. I haven't used one in many years, noticed no wear on the tent floor nor any moisture coming through. Even when I had an old SMD Lunar Solo with the lighter weight silnylon floor option, I had no issues.

I do check over my tent site to remove sticks and stones before setting up the tent. I'm also careful to avoid setting up my tent in areas which might flood in heavy rains, even if it means sleeping on a slope. The one time I did end up with a flooded tent site (30 years ago), I was using a ground cloth and it was no help at all.

The floor is generally the toughest part of the tent and the easiest to replace, although I've never had occasion to do so.

IMHO, a ground cloth or a footprint is completely unnecessary and just adds extra weight.

I fully agree with Mouse. I have a footprint, but the only time I use it is if I'm doing a fly and footprint only pitch without the inner tent.

I have a few different sizes of single layer bubble foil insulation I use, and it's tough stuff.

The smaller piece is 25" x 40" and weighs 4-5 ounces. I use it under my sleeping bag with a visqueen groundsheet and with or without a visqueen tarp.

The other bubble foil piece is used as the floor of my tent, no other groundsheet is used. It's pretty big, 40" x 80". It packs down to about a 6" diameter by 20" wide roll and weighs about 12 ounces.

Folded up, either of these pieces make a great sitting pad too.



Well you hooked me with that bait...

I've tested various reflective materials a lot for several years now in cold weather and, yes, the reflective surface absolutely does reflect your body heat back into your sleeping bag and tent. The tent I use is made out of SOL Emergency Blankets. Most of my nights are spent in below 40º, many of them in the 20ºs, and they're long nights, so I'm a big fan of the stuff. A small campfire will warm the inside of the tent to +80º in almost no time and a good bed of coals will keep warming it for hours after the fire has died out.

The key to using these reflective materials is to make sure there is air space between you and the material. This makes the bubble foil great for sitting pads and ground cloths, and the SOL Emergency blanket material works good for "Super Shelter" or "Campfire Tent" designs. The tent I made is a small version of a "Baker's Tent".

So, just laying an emergency blanket under and over your sleeping bag will keep you warmer, but it will also gather condensation. My tests in below 20º left a very small coating of frost on the outside top of my down bag, but I did not get wet from it. In 40º weather that might not be the case, the bag probably would get wet in humid conditions, but I wouldn't use it in 40º weather.

I encourage you to experiment with these materials. If you can have campfire where you'll be camping then make a tent or super shelter and test it out. It doesn't cost much and it's a good excuse to get out there and I'd like to hear about how it works for you. I'll be using the one I made soon here (our backpacking season start in about two weeks!)

Here's an old post about the tent I made. There are lot's of videos about "Super Shelters" on YouTube, but I honestly think the "Baker's Tent" design I copied was worth the extra effort and probably works quite a bit better at retaining heat than those you'll see on YouTube.

I also think that much better designs than mine can and should be made. I'm lazy, and I like my tent, so it might be awhile before I make another. But I won't go back now. That tent works so good here, where I backpack, that when it wears out I will make another. I'm thinking a half tube or half dome design might be cool

Bill, thanks for the link.

The temps you were able to achieve in your tent are very impressive. We don't have fires but the knowledge of design and use of materials is great to have.

thanks for sharing that, jimmyb

Just read of a place in eastern Oregon where I might want a nice thick ground sheet. It's in the brand new Cottonwood Canyon State Park on the John Day River, and it appears the camp sites are well infested with eastern Oregon and Washington's candidate for most noxious weed, generally known as puncture vine or tackweed and often by less repeatable names. It's the bane of dogs, bicycle tires, barefooted humans and inflatable air pads.

We have the bloody stuff where I live and I've had to switch to Slime inner tubes in my commute bike; otherwise I'd be fixing flats every day.

Grrrrrr.

Silnylon tent floors and sleeping on granite are two reasons I'd use a sheet under my tent. A painter's drop cloth can suffice.

Cheers,

Camping on coral like in the FL Keys is also a nasty proposition without some protection. We were down car camping in the Glades and spent a day/night checking out the keys on a winter break from New England snows with a new 3P tent w/o a cloth. Our neighbor who was down on an extended fishing trip saw the fix we were in and immediately handed us a blue tarp. Nice guy, found out he lived only hours from us.

FWIW one night was enough. Was glad to get back to the relative peace of Flamingo Bay.

jimmyb

We used the house tyvek this weekend. Cut the piece I needed and hand washed in a tiny bit of laundry detergent in warm water and let dry. The material was then quiet and flexible and IMO held its strength. It saved weight over our other cloth and worked very well. I wrap the tent poles in it to isolate them from possibly poking a hole in my trash compactor bag pack liner. Probably will try the lighter kyte tyvek when I can get my hands on some but this worked great for $0.

jimmyb