Tyvek Ground Cloth

http://zpacks.com/accessories/tyvek.shtml

ebay too tyvek groundsheet

Several of the cottage gear manufacturers sell Tyvek by the foot (by nine feet wide), and they are quite used to customers wanting to buy three feet at a time.

Tyvek seems to be practical for this. However, it weighs most of 2 ounces per square yard, and that is two or three times the weight of some alternatives.

–B.G.–

I was going to offer to sell you some off of a 9-foot-wide roll I have at whatever Home Depot would charge (but pro-rated per foot), but Jake gave that zpacks link and they are all set up to do the same thing. PM if zpacks can't set you up with what you need.

Amazon also sells it under kite making material. Usually 1443R is the most common variety for these purposes. You can buy it by the foot and they often have premade groundsheets available for a nominal fee in various sizes. But nothing wrong in supporting your local cottage manufacturer as well!

Tyvek is a line of fabrics, not a single product. Most of the time when one hears Tyvek being discussed House Wrap (at 2.1 oz per yard) is what folks are talking about. Kite Tyvek, at 1.3 oz per yard is different, it is used for chemical suits and kite making. It is nearly as water resistant as House Wrap, has a much softer hand and can be purchased by the foot online from kite supply businesses. It can be sewn should one feel the urge. I use a piece 20" x 76" as a ground cloth under my tent floor. It weighs about 1.5 oz and is tough enough to keep pine needles and such from poking through the tent floor. It folds to the size of a deck of cards. I also use a piece of Polycryo the same size if waterproof-ness is an issue. Static cling is a minor problem with both kite Tyvek and Polycryo.

First of all, thank you everyone for your responses. I know a lot more now than I did a lunch today.

I wanted to cut out a piece to make a footprint for a Golite Shangri-La 5 I'm planning on buying and I wanted another piece I could use as a ground cloth for an 8×10 tarp. Golite didn't have anything on their site about footprints or cutting Tyvek so I figured I'd do it myself.

Thanks again,

Al

I personally made a Tyvek ground sheet for my SL3. I purchased a 9ft x 9ft piece of Tyvek home wrap off of Ebay. I used the inner to draw the outline to cut. I reinforced the corners with two small layers of Tyvek adhered with contact cement (Dap non-flammable contact cement), and put on some grommets. Used it once and haven't used it since. It does not compress well and in your case with the SL5 it is going to be quite a large item to pack. I now leave the inner at home and use a 5ft x 7ft coated nylon tarp as a ground sheet for my sleep system. I picked it up from Walmart for $4.99.

Good luck!

fwiw, i've seen Tyvek homewrap listed as 1.85 oz/yard2, but i haven't weighed a square yard of it myself.