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Apr 8, 2011 at 1:07 pm #1271919
Hey all
Just wondering where you get your tyvex ground sheets? Do you just buy it from a hardware store, or there a backpacking site that sells them with grommets?Thanks
DanApr 8, 2011 at 1:14 pm #1722077Dan, you will have a much easier time searching if you go after TYVEK.
Home building supply stores sell it, but often only in a huge roll. Some smaller stores sell it by the foot. Some outdoor equipment stores sell it online, typically in short lengths or else precut for a ground sheet.
Grommets may be difficult unless you have your own grommet setting tool kit. Everybody wants a different size and spacing. I still purchase my loose grommets from the same store where I purchased the tool thirty years ago.
–B.G.–
Apr 8, 2011 at 1:22 pm #1722083My mistake….TYVEK. Thanks for the help though. Are there any online sites you use to buy it?
Thanks
DanApr 8, 2011 at 1:25 pm #1722086Yes, but they change with the seasons. Some dealers do not stock it during the winter, and then they have trouble getting stock in a hurry in the springtime.
I don't use Tyvek, myself. I found spinnaker fabric was slightly lighter.
–B.G.–
Apr 8, 2011 at 1:26 pm #1722088.
Apr 8, 2011 at 1:27 pm #1722089+1 Bob
I bought my Tyvek off of ebay 5-6 years ago. Something like this seller, who is selling Tyvek by the foot.
I've never added grommets. I've never used grommets on any of the ground sheets I've used. I'd want grommets or tie outs on a tarp, though. You can buy a grommet kit at any hardware store- very easy to add them to most fabrics.
It's worth noting that there are a million kinds of Tyvek. Saying "Tyvek" is not unlike saying "nylon." Different types of Tyvek are as different as silnylon and 1000D Cordura. The kind a lot of folks here seem to use is Tyvek Homewrap. Read some of the threads here, and you'll end up finding someone giving the particular Dupont model number.
Apr 8, 2011 at 1:31 pm #1722091"You can buy a grommet kit at any hardware store- very easy to add them to most fabrics."
I agree. What you want to do first is to practice with your grommet kit on some scrap fabric. It may take you five or ten tries to be able to set one reliably, and you don't want to mess up your Tyvek. Tyvek is non-woven, so it does not react exactly like a normal woven nylon or something. It does not rip straight.
–B.G.–
Apr 8, 2011 at 1:31 pm #1722092Several vendors on Ebay will sell you slices off their larger rolls. Search for Tyvek and narrow down by "sporting" or whatever.
Keep your eyes peeled — they sell by the foot and they charge varying rates for postage — one guy is 99 cents per foot (from a 9' wide roll) but $3.50 to mail the first foot and 65 cents for each foot thereafter. Another may be $1.50 per foot, but postage is less.
I'm making these numbers up but they're close and you get the idea. Your total will depend on how much you want to buy and from whom. In no case does it seem as though you'd spend more than $10 for a groundcloth for one, though.
As far as I could tell they were all selling the same type of Tyvek.
P.S. I found a couple of cottage gear vendors selling Tyvek but for what I wanted (9×3 feet, roughly)the Ebay vendors were a better deal.
Apr 8, 2011 at 1:34 pm #1722097I got roughly a 4'x 6' scrap piece from a guy on a consruction site… just asked if they had any left overs and he pointed me towards the trash heap. Keep your eyes open (I was even willing to offer up a few bucks, but he went straight to the take what you want phase).
Apr 8, 2011 at 1:34 pm #1722099I don't know. Dan seems like the kind of guy who would buy a 500-foot roll of it and then sell it off the boat this summer. It wouldn't require any tools to sell it by the piece other than a knife and a yard stick.
–B.G.–
Apr 8, 2011 at 1:42 pm #1722106HAHA I havent even thought of that. I could bring up some essential BPL stuff and be a life savor for a few thru-hikers! I am really hoping ill have a chance to run into a few of you up there this summer!
In reality, I have recently got a poncho tarp and just need a ground sheet for underneath. While I am working up there I am gonna have a lot of chances to get some trips in, so just working on dialing in my gear before the summer sneaks up on me.
Apr 8, 2011 at 1:45 pm #1722108"Dan seems like the kind of guy who would buy a 500-foot roll of it and then sell it off the boat this summer. It wouldn't require any tools to sell it by the piece other than a knife and a yard stick."
But then Ben would flame him for making a profit : )
Apr 8, 2011 at 1:57 pm #1722116Actually, I would expect that backpackers will have nearly all of the gear that they need, and then some. There's one thing that a typical thru-hiker might want. Food. Not just any food, but something that they could not carry on the trail or in a bear canister. Or, a cold beer.
But then the Forest Service guys would close you down for not having a license to sell alcohol.
–B.G.–
Apr 8, 2011 at 2:14 pm #1722122Kite Tyvek (type 144R)is a lighter and softer option. It is not as readily available as the regular stuff but can be purchased by the yard from kite making suppliers online.
Apr 8, 2011 at 2:15 pm #1722124Bob
Very true! But hey, I can always keep an ice chest of cold beer on board and just give a fellow backpacker an ice cold beer…one friend to another. hahahApr 8, 2011 at 4:43 pm #1722186If you are going to use a groundsheet, going with a multilayer, cross-linked polyolefin film (a.k.a. polycro) instead of Tyvek is one of the cheapest dollar-per-ounce weight reductions you can accomplish.
Apr 8, 2011 at 4:53 pm #1722188It should be noted that polycryo folds down to just a small, small fraction of the size of Tyvek!
Apr 8, 2011 at 6:00 pm #1722206It should be noted that polycryo folds down to just a small, small fraction of the size of Tyvek!
That's the main reason I switched.
Apr 8, 2011 at 9:23 pm #1722272Ok…so where do I find polycro? Are there different types or what?
Thanks!
DanApr 8, 2011 at 9:41 pm #1722279For polycro, I bought a 62"x210" window film kit at Home Depot for $6.49. A 31"x96" section is 1.4oz. You can get 4 sheets that size from the kit, plus a little more. You can wrap your tent stakes in a small section. I use that for kneeling to get in my shelter, like a doormat.
What I bought is a Frost King Extra Large Window Insulation Kit, part number V95, bar code 0 77578 01812 6. You get a handy-dandy roll of super sticky double-sided tape with it.
Apr 8, 2011 at 10:05 pm #1722283Perfect ground cloth is a dress bag from a drycleaner the long ones there about 6 1/2 feet make a cut down one side and cut of a couple inches from the top you have a 4xjust over 6 foot ground cloth that weighs about 1.5 ounces and cost almost nothing "especially if your wife mom has one " just my 2cents hope I helped
Apr 8, 2011 at 10:09 pm #1722284The drycleaner bags won't last very long.
–B.G.–
Apr 8, 2011 at 10:15 pm #1722285I bough some polycryo and the dress bag is just as
Durable as the polycryo If not more just my experience thoughApr 9, 2011 at 6:24 am #1722328I have stopped by several construction sites and been given enough for my needs. They usually have scraps they are throwing away and do not mind giving out a piece. If you know someone who builds houses, just ask for a small piece a scrap.
+1 for free giveaways :)
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