Floor vs No Floor

Overall -I prefer a floor. I usually find myself using a groundsheet with floorless shelters anyway and I hate bugs. So why not just go with a floored shelter which typically also adds a little mesh and voila you have a tarptent type of creature which happens to be my esteemed style of shelter. I hate bugs. I occasionally tarp it when the weather promises to be excellent so I can save some weight though. I hate bugs. For me the tarptent type of shelter is perfection all things considered. Perfection in this case being an integrated floor, BUG PROTECTION, excellent ventilation, and excellent weather protection in exchange for a reasonable weight penalty. I hate bugs. Why mess with perfection? The only reason I could think of messing with perfection is in the name of weight savings, thus the occasional tarp use. Did I mention that I hate bugs though?

So, you don't like bugs? ;)

So, Jeff, how do you feel about bugs????

;-)

p.s. I tend to agree with you – I really do not like bugs crawling over my face in the middle of the night! Once was enough!

I do both.

I go floor-less when I'm solo, sort of. I usually use a Meteor Bivy (half bivy/half bug net) or bug bivy to act as ground cloth and to keep the bugs off under my floorless shelters.

I also use a tarptent with floor when I hike with the wife.

The floor-less method allows for a lot more pitching options. I kind of have to find just the right spot to pitch a floored shelter.

I like both.

I like floors. More specifically, I like ones that are durable enough to be used without a groundsheet so you gain simplicity and have less of a problem with the slippery floor sliding around on the slippery groundsheet. I also like PU coated floors rather than silnylon because they aren't so darn slippery and they're more waterproof. A 50-70D nylon PU coated floor is great. The specs might not look UL, but when you take into account not needing a groundsheet it works out about the same as a 30D floor with a groundsheet.

I agree with you 100%.. Why have a UL silnylon floor and a ground sheet when a 70D ripstop urethane coated nylon floor is lighter, more durable, less slippery and more water resistant then both.. I even think a 70D urethane coated nylon floor would work great with a cuben fiber tent especially since its bondable and costs 1/10 of the price…

I've camped in quite a few places, especially on the east slopes of the Cascades, where there are a LOT of ants. Need I say more? Even if they don't get in my sleeping bag, they make my dog's life miserable!

"I like both."

So, you like bugs AND floors? ;)

So far, I've only slept in tents with floors, but I'm planning on giving the floorless thing a try this summer.

Florless shelters are great especially when weight is going to be a consideration..I actually prefer them about 75% of the time but there are times when I have to have a floor (sandy and muddy ground) and wouldn't trade a floor for anything.

My love for camping came from going to a summer camp in Northeast Georgia. I was 6 when I started going to the camp and we always would camp under a tarp strung between 2 trees with nothing on the ground. So it was the first thing I knew and loved the open feel. Other people probably started in tents and it might be the reason for wanting full coverage and a floor…

Yeah, bugs are a problem.
So are snakes and small mammals (both of which we have had around the tent), but the frog that jumped on my wife's face one night was lucky to survive!

Yep, always a floor.

Cheers

If pushed… I guess I would say I prefer a floor since most of my trips are three seasons in the Sierras. But what I want to say is "it depends".

When there are bugs or other creatures I want to keep out, I want a floor.

When I am snow camping I don't want a floor so I can dig out the space for extra room. I also prefer no floor when it's really wet because I can pack the ground cloth separately, and because I have found it's easier to manage camp life when I can pull back the ground cloth to make room for wet things rather than work in a more constrained vestibule.

–Mark

I like the idea of floorless when I'm at home looking at specs, but when I'm in the mountains and mice are crawling on and underneath my tent I'm happy I have a floor.

I like floorless for some of the same reasons that Mark gives and because you can come and go without taking off your muddy shoes. Probably starting with floorless canvas shelters in the Boy Scouts has something to do with my preference. If I lived in a place that has fire ants, I'd probably change my mind.

I've owned a TT Contrail and now own a TT Moment. With the econoomy of mamterial used in either I feel a floored tent is the way to go for lightness and comfort. Keeps out bugs, critters (other than bears) and water too.

I've woken up under a tarp W/ groundcloth in Pennsylvania to find centipedes and ants on my bag. 'Nuff of that for me!

Eric

I don't like bugs and wet, but many ultralight bivys and bug nets have floors to protect from bugs and water. So floorless under a tarp works for me.

I'm from Florida and heading to the Holy Cross Wilderness for a hike around Labor Day. New experience for me! I have a Shangri-La 1 shelter and a bug nest insert. The nest weighs a whopping 20 oz. I've considered leaving it at home and using a polycryo ground cloth, but I'm concerned about getting my down bag wet in downpours. I can get a tub floor (no netting) that weighs 7 oz. For those of you who are familiar with that area and season, would it be advisable to use a floor vs. the ground cloth? What about bugs there that time of year?

Hi Matt, I agree that the Golite nests are pretty heavy. When I did my early September Holy Cross trip last year, I just used a silshelter with a window shrink film (just like polycryo) ground cloth. In the higher elevations the bugs were gone for the season. There were still a few mosquitoes left in the lower elevations along Cross Creek but after annoying me in the early part of the evening, they disappeared for the night. A down bag shouldn't be a problem as long as you don't camp in a depression.

Ultimately, though, I would just go with what you are comfortable with. If you chose to bring the nest, you'll be in good company. Chris Townsend will be using a Shangri-La 1 with nest for part of his 1200 mile thru-hike of the Pacific Northwest Trail. When bugs cease to be a problem, the nest will be sent home.

I go floorless 90% of the time. It really is handy for me because my dog is always with me and always seems to drag dirt and sand inside the tent. With the floorless option, i just pull out my tyvek groundsheet, shake it out and throw it back inside. During the hot and humid summer around here i will use a double-wall tent, but its usually so humid that its not even enjoyable so fall and winter get most of my attention.

Thanks Dondo. I wondered what you used last year. I may try to go floorless with a polycryo sheet. If it was just an overnighter I would definitely do it. It is such a pain to climb in and out of the nest.

BTW, I emailed Golite and asked them if they would make a nest out of silnylon. With a few other modifications they could bring the weight down to under 10 oz. That would make the Shangri-La 1 with nest much more attractive to the BPL crowd–under 30 oz for a big one man shelter w/ bug protection. Alas, they don't do custom jobs. I'm not surprised since they are a big outfit and not a cottage industry.

There are lots of bug nets that you can add to UL shelters. They aren't pretty and neat, but you can tie one off to your tent pole and drape it over your bag. A little creativity with well-placed rocks or a bit of line to an outside stake can pull it off.

This should really come up in MYOG. I'll bet that a chunk of netting and some tyvek could be mated with some seam sealer for a quick and dirty bug SUL bivy/ground cloth arrangement.

I use a Golite Utopia and the floor option really completes the package.