we dont have a foot print. We used tarp years ago but never got it positioned in enough and consequently ended up with puddles beneath or sig. We have been lucky that our tent bottom has kept reasonably clean and no detriment to the tent.
We do now have a carpet though because kids trip over picnic rugs we previously used.
x
------------- Dreaming of next adventure.....when my back is better :(
My tent is blessed with a ZiG and to help protect it, and keep it clean for packing I picked up a bunch of tarps from B&Q 5mx4m at £2 each! just the right size for under my 3.7m x 4.7m ZiG, after two weeks on the same site, I just chucked the tarp in the bin, as it was in such a state, yet the ZiG was still like new, I carry a lump of Rubber/Butyl 1mm thick PondLiner 12ft x 15ft, just in case the pitch is rough, as they often can be in the South of France, for those thinking of getting some rubber/butyl 1mm PondLiner, good garden centres sell it of the roll for 50p per sq ft.
We camp ALOT (most weekends) and the complete bain of my life is cleaning the sig when we get it home i hate doing it. With all the will in the world it does get damp underneath and bits stick to it, freshly mowed grass, mud, stones, the odd little slugs etc etc and when you have a large family tent i wouldn't say its a number one priority need but it certainly comes in handy.
------------- "Dogs are our link to paradise. They don't know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring -- it was peace."
--Milan Kundera
By tyhe way, we have bought a Killington 900 groundsheet for a Diablo 600 for our daughter hoping it will fit if we fold in the extra bit at the back. We should find out tomorrow when we have booked the playing field to try it out.
Pete
How did the Killington work out Pete? Am looking at a Killington 400 at the mo, with the thought of folding the bedroom pods back onemselves a bit.
We always use our footprint - the best thing is that it keeps the groundsheet clean enough for the kids to do their favourite job when it comes to packing the tent - rolling down the length of the folded tent to get the air out
Hi Anita. Just to let you know it's fine. We folded in the big flap at the back and those under the two bedrooms were a little long so we folded those on too. We also found something we were not expecting - it also covers the porch area so you even get protection there too. Can't guarantee the 400 though, but at the prices I've seen on the Bay it seems worth a gamble.
Pete
Ps. regarding using a doormat, I think someone has missed out on why you use a footprint!!
We use tarps under our sig. They're a lot cheaper.
We also use picnic mats for carpet in the bedrooms and living area but they do move a bit.
I have sewn picnic mats together and tapered the ends to fit the lviing area of the tent and stuck those back with duck tape. Doesn't move about now.
Also use cheap tarp. under the SIG, although sometimes I have left it behind and not had too much of a problem cleaning the SIG before packing, just gave it a quick brush down.
we bought the footprint for the Zanzibar, & boy were we glad the we did. Last year we were on a bit of a slope & it rained, & rained, & rained. When we packed up after 9 days the bottom of the tent was fine but the footprint underneath was stinking, literally - we washed it off best we could there & when we got home my husband had to take a scrubbing brush to it & then hung it to dry on the line - good as new - & couldn't do that with the tent.
1st thing we bought this season was the footprint for the Icarus & noticed the diiference in comfort under foot
------------- rescue - my favourite breed of dog :-)
We've just invested in a new tent - Gelert Corvus 6 + 2, which has a SIG. Our last tent didn't have one, had a seperate ground sheet, but we still used to put a tarp under it. The state of that tarp after some visits has convinced me that there is no way I would camp with our new SIG tent with nothing underneath to protect it, I can't imagine the hassle of getting it clean. So, as we'd got the new tent we decided we'd go the whole hog and get the footprinnt AND the carpet! When we go to Fforest Fields we're on an all weather pitch, which I don't have a problem with, but wouldn't want to do it without the footprint.
------------- Burton Constable 1st June
Fforest Fields 24th July
Jasmine Park 26th August
We've never bothered with a footprint - one more thing to pack and space is tight...but then our tent only cost us £150... so if it gets a rip in the Sig we'd patch it, or bin it...
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Topic: Footprint-essential?
