A camping tent is your shelter at the campground. It’s where you’ll sleep at night and where you’ll store your clothes and other gear. Remember that a tent is not a place to store food, and you should never eat in your tent. Your tent should have features that will protect you from the elements. You want it to be sturdy enough to stand up under windy conditions, and it should keep you dry when it rains. Besides having a good rainfly for a roof, it needs to have a good floor to keep out ground water that seeps under your tent. It doesn’t have to rain for water to accumulate under your tent. Morning dew will collect on your tent, run down the walls and settle under your tent too.
What To Look For
Separate tent floors add additional protection, support and waterproofing to an existing floor. The separate tent floor usually attaches to the inside or outside of the existing floor, providing another layer of protection against uneven and unfriendly outdoor locations. These tent floors also protect the permanent floor from shoes and can easily be removed to empty out crumbs and dirt that accumulate during a camping trip. Look for “footprint” floors that are made of quality materials, such as coated nylon, taffeta or other water-resistant materials. Footprint floors should also have hooks or loops to attach to tent poles.
Common Pitfalls
Problems with footprint tent floors generally occur when the owner of the tent purchases the wrong size. The right size and shape of tent floor is extremely important to produce the desired effects to protect the tent bottom and prevent water from seeping into the tent. It’s best to purchase the brand of tent floor that matches the brand of tent that you own. A few tent brands do offer separate floors. If this is the case for your tent, purchase a footprint tent floor that matches the size and shape of the tent you own.
Where To Buy
Most camping and sporting goods stores sell camping floor sheets. The larger stores offer a broader selection than smaller stores. REI, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Cabela’s and Bass Pro Shops all offer a wide range of tent brands and tent floors to match. If you cannot find the right tent brand at a physical store, most tent manufacturers have websites where you can purchase accessories. The manufacturer’s website may have a tent floor specifically designed for the camping tent you own.
Cost
Expect to pay between $30 and $100 for a separate tent floor. Most quality camping tent floors that have waterproofing and offer a snug fit and protection from damaging objects cost $50 or more. The Marmot Aeros 3P Footprint tent floor costs about $45. The REI Quarter Dome T2 Footprint tent floor costs around $27. Current discounts may lower the original cost of tent floors.
Written by Brenda D. Priddy
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