What does footprint mean ?

[travellingwilbury]

I am looking at tents atm , and in my day you just bought a tent . Apparently now I have to worry about whether it has a footprint on not .

Please help a novice .

Thank you .

I would say its the size the base of the tent makes on the ground???

Well that's what I thought but some tents are being advertised as footprint not included .

How the buggery does that work ?

Is it a special levitating tent ?

Hee hee. I reckon it could be!

Upon second thinking - are they referring to a ground sheet perhaps? Some tents don't come with them (quite old school I thought)... maybe that?

What a strange think to say on tent packaging! :o

A footprint is just a custom groundsheet for that make of tent. Footprints are usually used to keep your tent's groundsheet clean/dry.

Ah maybe you are right about the groundsheet not being included , so are they saying you don't need it then ?

I always thought that was a bit of a given in a tent .

These new fangled tents are so confusing .

I have spent an hour , actully more like 2 looking at the bloody things and I am still non the wiser .

Thanks by the way

Most modern tents have a SIG (sewn in ground sheet) this means that should your groundsheet get knackered, you tent is pretty much knackered too (though you could always patch it).

So nowadays you buy a 'footprint groundsheet' a groundsheet that is specifically the same size as the 'footprint' of your tent and hopefully will protect your SIG. It also makes striking much easier as you can pack your tent away with a dry, clean groundsheet and then wash and dry your footprint when you get home. It also gives some extra insulation from the ground.

You can of course, make your own footprint, but they are generally not that expensive.

Thank you WTWTW , that makes sense , just seems to be a lot of extras to this buying a tent lark that I hadn't known about .

Sorry stan , I missed that you said that yesterday ,

I am quite enjoying looking at tents for longer than is probably healthy .

Yy, you need a lot of extras.

I have a kitchen cupboard.

(I am not joking).

Its all about the extras.
Wait till your first trip, you'll be wandering round the site eyeing up everyone else's tables, chairs, pans, washing bowl, fairy lights blah blah.

Fairy Lights .... Oooooh ..... hadn't thought about that - wouldn't dare at home as DP would just take the piss incessantly, but camping - now there's an idea .....
Sorry - irrelevant to thread and question has been answered.

I found some fab fairly lights but wasn;t able to buy them (am already pushing my luck with bunting!!!)

Travelling - what tents are you looking at?

We just got a 2010 put up once in garden Outwell Hartford XL with footprint & carpet for £200 - I am still dancing with glee at my cleverness. DP thinks I'm insane but when we put it up he was quite impressed

I have been looking at the Montana and some from Skandika .

I know that Outwell and Vango are good names but they do seem a tad expensive .

I have already been eyeing up the extras , I mean carpets for goodness sake My dad is going to laugh at me long and hard .

His idea of camping was taking me hitch hiking and only taking what you could carry .
And now his daughter is lusting after shite like fairy lights .

There's a site that'll check misspelling on ebay and that's always good for cheaper deals. I'm sure we only got ours so cheap because the seller hadn't mentioned the word outwell and had put nearly no information in the listing. We used to go camping with two tea chests strapped to the roof of a renault 4 (we'd be uber cool now I'm sure) in a tent that was really 3 tents sewn together. I'm sure thats where I learnt to swear. And my dad loved the new tent although he did mutter something about 'kids today' etc.

needanewname - where did you find these fairy lights you speak of ?

My dh moans at me because I cannot do minimal camping and our zafira is packed to the gills with all manner or crap including (but not limited to ) a kitchen shelving system, table, 4 campbeds and 4 fold out chairs. I don't get the attitude that you have to be uncomfortable and have no stuff to do proper camping.

Dh doesn't like camping. I say thats because his idea of camping is lying on the floor in your sleeping bag. So it might be back to basics 'proper camping' but I say thats why he doesn't like it. He would piss himself at fairy lights though.

Maybe we should send him off with your dad travellingwilbury and you can come with me!

Should we manufacture MN Camping fairy lights ? And bunting [grins]

DH wont hear of fairy lights, although he did admit last time out that the solar garden lights that some of the carvanners had would be a good idea to stop the kids tripping over the guy ropes.

I thihnk he would actually leave me at home if I suggested bunting

I found them on Amazon - Belltent.co.uk also sell them but I refuse to buy from them! I think they are everbright ones - I've heard good reports but don;t have any myself - yet!

The site that looks at Ebay misspellings is FATFINGERS

Thank you for that site Ranty , I will have a nosey .