Just brought a tent and realised I have not got a footprint do I need one?

[NotInTheMood]

I've managed to buy a tent in the sale . We are going away saturday only for one night to test it out before winter comes so will be too late to order online. Do you think I would need one?

You'll be fine without it. Though you might have to wipe dirt off the bottom off your tent when packing it away and make sure you check for sharp objects such as stones when you go to pitch!

? What's a footprint??

It protects the bottom of the tent. Its basically a gorundsheet you bulid you tent on

Is it just another groundsheet/tarp?

No you don't need one. All that will happen it the bottom of your sig, as Ginger says, will get a bit wet/muddy/ grassy. Wipe as much off as you can when you strike camp and when you get home you will need to take your tent out of the bag and give it an air to make sure it is bone dry before you pack it away for the winter.

Ok, thanks. I bought a stupid big all in one tent so it is very difficult to dry out. Am hoping I managed it before it went away.

Mine is pitched in my back garden right now to dry after it poured down yesterday whilst packing down!

Mine is pitched in my back garden right now to dry after it poured down yesterday whilst packing down!

I would of done that but was told a tale about how cats climbed all over somebody's new tent and literally pierced it all over. I would cry a lot if that happened to mine after spending most of the summer with bin bags over the air beds and sleeping bags I absolutely love this tent :)

Buy a tarpaulin and put that down under it. As others have said it helps keep the sig clean. It will also help protect it from anything on the ground tearing your sig and it will add an extra layer of insulation between you and the ground.

Will do!

The cat thing happened to my friend. Her boys were camping in the back garden in the summer holidays and their new kitten climbed over and left a trail of claw-holes. luckily it went under the flysheet first and only went over the inner dome so the tent is still waterproof.