footprint alternatives…suggestions?

Do you plan to use the footprint for a rain fly only pitch? If so, either you use the one sold by BA or sew up one like it of light materials. The cost would probably be the same. If all you want is something to keep the underside of the tent floor somewhat clean then get some of the polycryo sheet that Gossamer Gear sells. It is light, waterproof and tough.

With our tents, we've been using a Space! All Weather Emergency Blanket that I cut to be a couple inches smaller than the tent for print all around. It's a tarp like emergency blanket, so very tough. I also put grommets into it and tied cord/shock cord to it with grommets tied to the ends so I could use it to pitch the tent with the fly only.

Course, all that either 7 oz. In going to make some with window heart shrink film soon, as I hear it's great stuff and really light/dirt cheap. Maybe you could try that as well.

Like Xerox selling toner cartridges, tent manufacturers probably make more of a profit selling their custom footprints (and with ZERO warranty issues) than anything else they make.

If you wish to further sustain their success, then get the footprint (a legitimate question, btw). But just know that you spent a hell of a lot of money on something which will never see the light of day, is intended to get trashed in a matter of months to years, and must compete with many products on the market which can likely do the job better, but at a fraction of the cost.

Whatever you use under your tent, pick something that you are fine with seeing get damaged. Personally, I use Tyvek, polycro, Reflectix, and will occasionally use kiddie snap together foam pads when family camping. A certain percentage of UL'ers do not even use something under their tent. That could certainly be just fine as well. The worst thing that could happen might be that you have to fix a little hole once in a while – certainly not the end of the world.

I just bought a FC UL3 as well, and love it by the way. Nice sunny color and just the right size for 2 people. Weighs about the same as my older Seedhouse UL1.

I cut some .7 mil window film (there's a thread around here somewhere – Walmart was clearancing out kits) to be several inches shorter than the tent-size, and upon first use, discovered a small hassle. A mfr-footprint will normally have a method to secure the edges, whether it's grommets, or elastic or other, to connect to the tent or fly. It was windy, and the UL3 is large enough that the floor billowed up and the film footprint would blow away before we could get gear inside.

Like I said, small hassle, but I've purchased some basic elastic and plan to search this website for an idea to reinforce the corners and add some stake-loops.

Kelly

Nothing. Preen your site first. Save your money.

Yeah. Nothing is one alternative. But having just spent a few hundred dollars, I'll carry the very few ounces of a sheet of film, and know that I'm adding a bit of insurance to the longevity of the floor.

Kelly

The film keeps the bottom of the tent clean. I have my doubts in effectiveness against punctures.

We have the FC UL2; I assume the 3 is similar. The nice thing about the factory footprint is that you can set up in "fast fly" mode if it's raining, then hang the inner without it getting rained on (practice this when it's dry). You could probably save money and weight by using ribbon or string around the triangle made by the pole ends; I haven't tried this.