In my younger days, I used a ground cloth and when it rained everything got wet, so I had to tear everything down and lay it out on the rocks to dry. If I use one now, I just bring it inside the tent. I use a ground cloth to save wear and tear on the tent, plus on summer trips, I have a floorless Tarptent so the super ultralight groundcloth is my floor at around 3-4 oz. In the snow, sometimes I bring a ground cloth sometimes I don't.