Adventure Bike Rider Forum

rcently talking to a mate he was after buying a footprint I told him to just buy some groundsheet & cut to size, as only for groundsheet protection.

Was I right or wrong he commented on condensation from the footprint other than brought footprint, which is treated?
I admit last year I just used the internal base,

comments

I use a piece of tarpaulin that's coated with a water repellent spray on the underside but not on the top and it's always worked perfectly well for me.

AndyB wrote:I use a piece of tarpaulin that's coated with a water repellent spray on the underside but not on the top and it's always worked perfectly well for me.

+1 on the above

I had the footprint for the Kyham Biker, which worked great and when I bought the Coleman Phads I could not get one so I just bought some waterproof tarp and origami'd it to the shape I needed with some gaffa tape too (sticky back plastic - can I have a Blue Peter badge now?)

Never had any condensation problems

Condensation is not the problem for the footprint, its water coming up from the ground.

I just use a sheet of clear plastic cut to size. Cheep as chips.

When I used to camp in Scotland in the winter I always put two knackered old closed cell foam roll mats under my tent to act as both a footprint and to give some extra insulation. Obviously this isn't as practical if you're on a bike but on some of the horrible stony places we used to camp it makes a big difference.

I didn't know what you were talking about so I googled it and this came up:

http://sectionhiker.com/what-is-a-tent- ... -used-for/

Seems it also reviews the effectivness and alternatives. Guess I should google tyvek next. What exactly did we do before the internet?

Ha, googled, I thought I'd heard of it, I wore it every day at work for months!

I've never used one and camped all over the world mountaineering and biking. It's just more weight and space, I only travel with a giant loop now when travelling so space is at a premium.

treated? dont know about that, the footprints ive ever had have just been pieces of tarp (the pressure welded stuff, not the woven stuff) with nice edges and a couple of eyelets.

depends on your tent, if its got a thin tent floor (eg khyam biker) then id use a footprint of some description because thin stones and sticks go straight through it. if its got a tent floor thats noisy tarp already, i wouldnt bother

Selous wrote:rcently talking to a mate he was after buying a footprint I told him to just buy some groundsheet & cut to size, as only for groundsheet protection.

when you say buy some groundsheet, do you just mean tarp?

i ask as i was going to buy a big piece of tarp and cut it to make a footprint for my Phad x3. but.....

what happens when you cut tarp? does it fray?

to me tarp is tarp so is there a special type i should buy? (dont want it too bulky)

What about cutting some damp proof membrane to size? Would that work?