Firstly I would like to say hello as I am new to both Camping and this site.
I have a Vango Orchy 600 and having given it a 2 night “test run” the family loved it.
I have noticed that you can buy a footprint for the tent so thought I would ask a few questions about there worth ?
Do you recommend getting one ???
Are they as important as claimed in safeguarding any holes in the built in ground sheet ???
And can they be pegged down first as all the pictures I have seen don’t show any pegging holes and I have a vision in my mind of it slipping around whilst trying to place the tent on it ?
There is quite a few discussions about foot prints.
However, I find them benificial as you can see where the tent is going to be pitched before you start (many a time we have put the tent too near a hedge and got guylines going into a bush of stinging nettles!)
They do help prevent damage and dirt to the ground sheet especially if you have a SIG (sewn in groundsheet) - comes in handy if its been a bit muddy - keeps the bottom of the tent clean for packing away. It also keeps the tent warmer as its another layer of insulation.
You don't have to buy an actual foortpint, but get a tarpulin which is a few centimeters smaller that the tent and that should suffice.
With ours I just put a flat 'grounsheet' peg in each corner just to hold it down before the tent goes on top.
personally i wouldn't be without our footprint...as has previously been stated it's great to be able to place the footprint in position first to enable us to pitch the tent in exactly the right place...plus it also helps to show up any nasty lumps and dips in the ground that might be hidden by grass before you go thru the effort of actually pitching your tent...
more often than not a footprint will keep the underside of your tent clean and dry which is a godsend when it comes down to packing it up at the end of a holiday, but there will always be exceptions to the rule...torrential rain non-stop for 3 days and nights and a tent pitched on a valley floor and you'd be hardpressed to keep muddy water from seeping between a footprint and a SIG...
the added protection factor for a SIG is also worth the cost of having a footprint (either an official one or homemade version)...i'd be very annoyed if i'd spend hundreds on the tent of my dreams only to have to end up patching the SIG after a couple of trips because i'd unwittingly pitched on top of something that had worn a hole thru it...having said that, we also make sure we have a protective cover over the top of our SIG too in the form of a carpet or rugs to prevent premature wear and tear from camping furniture and scuffling boots...
official footprints all come with either eyelets or loops to enable you to peg them down...if you chose to make your own footprint then simply add some rustproof eyelets at the corners and in the middle of each side...
I was in the "don't see the point" camp but bought one because I needed to be able to pitch the tent on my own and it would help with positioning. I now see the point!
Not onlly do we use a footprint, in fact I even bought a whole bunch of them on clearance at £2! each from B&Q dark green 4m x 5m which is the exact size of our tents ZiG, if the FootPrint becomes too mucky on leaving camp, I simply bin it.
For those hard baked almost stoney pitch's in the South of France, I place a 1mm thick Butyl Rubber sheet (aka PondLiner) under the FootPrint for added protection for the ZiG. although that was gifted to be from a landscape gardener friend, you can buy the 1mm thick Butyl rubber of the roll 12ft wide from most pond shops for around 50pence per square foot, which for our size would work out at around £90!.
we was new to the foot print this year and it is defo money well spent for all the reasons ppl have put above the groundsheet on our tent didnt get one piece of mud on it so no cleaning when we got back home only the footprint needed a scrub made life alot easier dont hessitate its a must buy for camping
I was a bit scepticle about footprints, just another lot of money! Do we really need one! but bought one after a rainy weekend and muddy tent. Money well spent and now I wouldnt be without one.
Just agree with everything already said, not so much the position of the tent but it saves the tent from getting dirty and damage.
We just put footprint on drive and wash it down if its really dirty, then put it on the clothes line. So much easier than washing a tent.
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Topic: Tent Footprints
