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Luc Member
Joined: 05 Jul 2003 Posts: 1674 | TRs | Pics Location: accepting wise-cracks like no other |
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Luc
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Thu Mar 24, 2022 2:46 pm
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I need to confess that I've been using 6mil plastic for over a decade. I'm sorry.
Now I'm looking to fix that habit. I like the polycro weight specs but I've used the stuff for windows before and when it gets a little tear it quickly shreds.
How waterproof/resistant is tyvek? Of course I've seen it used many times, mostly by PCT'ers sleeping in the dirt like chickens. I want to use it under my tent to protect the floor and also to shield from runoff. Runoff doesn't happen to my very often, but one time last fall I woke up to almost 2" of water.....I was still dry inside the bathtub but not for long. Worst tent placement ever.
There are some footprints that spec-out similarly to tyvek, and I assume better water protection. Expensive though.
Tyvek water permeability?
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Snowdog Member
Joined: 21 Jul 2006 Posts: 1027 | TRs | Pics Location: on (& off) the beaten path |
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Snowdog
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Thu Mar 24, 2022 5:06 pm
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I've used Tyvek for many years. It is light, strong & waterproof. When I camp on snow, the next day when I take down my tent, the floor is dry. Friends I camp with use a groundcloth made specifically for their tent, and their floor is not dry.
Tyvek is also machine washable & gets softer with age & use. Mine is cut to extend a bit past the footprint of the tent.
'we don't have time for a shortcut'
'we don't have time for a shortcut'
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Bowregard Member
Joined: 05 Feb 2019 Posts: 562 | TRs | Pics Location: Sammamish |
Snowdog wrote: | Mine is cut to extend a bit past the footprint of the tent. |
Surely you mean past the footprint of the inner tent but short of the rainfly?
First time I set up a waterproof tent (car camping) I put a tarp under it that extended beyond the rain fly and it rained like Heck that night. Woke up to a 2" waterbed. Still can't believe that Sierra tent from the 80's had a waterproof zipper that kept me from getting wet (it had a zippered moon-shaped cutout in the floor and "chimney" in the roof - I guess for burning a stove inside).
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timberghost Member
Joined: 06 Dec 2011 Posts: 1316 | TRs | Pics
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The moon shaped cutout is so you could bail the tent out.
Bowregard
Bowregard
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HitTheTrail Member
Joined: 30 Oct 2007 Posts: 5452 | TRs | Pics Location: 509 |
I came up with the following numbers per square yard of different tent footprint material:
Tyvek home wrap: 1.8 oz (50g), $2-$3
Tyvek commercial wrap: 2.7 oz (75g), less than $5
Dyneema 1.0 fiber: 1.0 oz (28g), around $30
A footprint using two and a half square yards of each would be as follows:
Tyvek home wrap: 4.5 oz and cost less than $7
Tyvek commercial wrap: around 7 oz and cost less than $15
Dyneema 1.0 fiber: 2.5 oz and cost about $75
I think the commercial tyvek is better. So almost seventy $ to save around 5 oz of weight. Your choice gram weenie!
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JonnyQuest Member
Joined: 10 Dec 2013 Posts: 593 | TRs | Pics
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HitTheTrail wrote: | So almost seventy $ to save around 5 oz of weight. Your choice gram weenie! |
True gram weenies forgo the footprint altogether with the understanding that they will occasionally need to patch a pinhole or two in their tent floor.
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texasbb Misplaced Texan
Joined: 30 Mar 2009 Posts: 1153 | TRs | Pics Location: Tri-Cities, WA |
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texasbb
Misplaced Texan
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Fri Mar 25, 2022 2:40 pm
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JonnyQuest wrote: | HitTheTrail wrote: | So almost seventy $ to save around 5 oz of weight. Your choice gram weenie! |
True gram weenies forgo the footprint altogether with the understanding that they will occasionally need to patch a pinhole or two in their tent floor. |
You don't have to be a gram weenie to forgo a footprint. I'm far from weeniedom but haven't used a footprint in more than a decade. No pinholes, no problems.
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JonnyQuest Member
Joined: 10 Dec 2013 Posts: 593 | TRs | Pics
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texasbb wrote: | You don't have to be a gram weenie to forgo a footprint |
Very true, but I liked that term. I'm far from a gram weenie as well. Light is nice, but I'm far from obsessive. And I can't recall the last time I had a FP with me while backpacking.
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Malachai Constant Member
Joined: 13 Jan 2002 Posts: 16088 | TRs | Pics Location: Back Again Like A Bad Penny |
Made our own out of ripstop Only used on thru hikes pin holes are a bummer on long trip. Kite Tyvex too-thin regular too heavy.
"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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timberghost Member
Joined: 06 Dec 2011 Posts: 1316 | TRs | Pics
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Your all weenies, who even needs a tent?
Downhill
Downhill
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Navy salad Member
Joined: 09 Sep 2008 Posts: 1864 | TRs | Pics Location: Woodinville |
FYI, you can buy Tyvek by the foot on Ebay (typically around $2/foot). Just go to ebay and type in 'Tyvek' and the first item to show will likely be for 'tyvek tent footprint'. (I suspect home builders don't buy their Tyvek on ebay.)
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Bowregard Member
Joined: 05 Feb 2019 Posts: 562 | TRs | Pics Location: Sammamish |
timberghost wrote: | Your all weenies, who even needs a tent? |
Yeah? Yeah? Yeah?
That may be true but at least we know the difference between you're and your.
I went to buy Tyvek at Home Depot a number of years ago. After learning that they only sold it in huge rolls for a gazillian dollars (hope I spelled that right) I learned to make friends with the local builders at just the right time. They commonly throw away enough of that for many tent footprints.
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