Ground sheet for floorless tent

[BPLwiia]

I just got a Seek Outside floorless tipi and stove for hot tenting in cooler months. I am looking the options available to use for a ground cloth on which I would put my sleeping bag, mat, and gear. The tipi has a 12′ diameter and I’d have a ground sheet for two sides each around 8′ long and 4′ wide.

What would be the best material to use for it? Painters plastic, silnylon, other? Not thrilled with tyvek so that’s off the list.

 

[Franco Darioli]

If you tell us what you don’t like about Tyvek it may help in suggesting something better for you.

I changed my mind.

Don’t tell us what you don’t like about Tyvek so that we are all free to guess.

 

[Brad Rogers]

Gossamer Gear Polycro(sp) is what I have used for years.  It’s light and pretty tough.

I second Tyvek if you don’t mind the weight penalty.  What do you not like about it?

[Matt Dirksen]

+1 to Gossamer Gear Polycro AND Tyvek, depending on use.

The Gossamer Polycro is pretty much the same as the 3M brand window insulation film (.75mils thick.) A lot of window insulation kits are .7mils, and will easily tear after a couple trips.

I’d be fine with polycro for 3 season use, but for hot-tenting in the winter, I’d  definitely consider something more durable, and probably choose Tyvek. While it’s bulky, it’s waaay more durable and I wouldn’t slip around as much on it.

Polycro is very slippery, especially on snow.

[Elliott Wolin]

If you are not worried so much about weight there always is SilNylon, SilPoly, or urethane coated nylon.  They are much tougher than Tyvec and PolyCryo, although silicon coated fabrics can be slippery, but not as slippery as PolyCryo.

[Rob P]

Seek Outside has a groundsheet…pretty rugged and not slippery, but maybe heavier than you want.  I’m not sure what kind of weight you want.  What shelter did you get?

[Michael Sirofchuck]

I am just back from a week in a floorless tipi with wood stove at Red Lake, Kodiak, Alaska.  Daytime temps 50s, night time low 40s, one solid day of rain.  I have camped with this setup many times with a group of friends on elk/deer/goat hunts and archaeology surveys in all four seasons.  I am the only one of the group (I think) who uses any type of ground sheet; I use a DCF Hexamid Twin floor staked out at the four corners for a groundsheet under my sleeping pad.  The rest of my gear is in various DCF waterproof bags or ziplocks and usually piled on top of my pack next to my sleeping area.  Never really had a problem with stuff being wet, etc.  More than a ground sheet under my pad seems like more of a hassle than anything else.    The ground is usually drier than I anticipate, especially if we spend more than one day in the same spot.

I solo camp in either a DCF Solomid or DuoMid and use either a polycro or DCF ground sheet only under my pad.

I have used Tyvek, Polycro, silnylon, and DCF ground sheets.  They all work just fine – I find that the DCF is not quite as slick or slippery as the polycro and silnylon.  Tyvek is just too heavy to my current thinking.

[Ryan Smith]

Some of the PU4000 variants from RSBTR would be good. Lightweight, very waterproof, and the PU coating is not slippery compared to Sil.

Ryan

[Michael Sirofchuck]

I would like to add that the beauty of a floorless tent is being able to get in and out with your boots, water not pooling on a ground sheet, being able to pee inside the tent (emergency situations only, of course), etc.

 

[David Thomas]

I avoided PolyCro for years because it just seemed so flimsy.  Then I helped Manfred butcher a bear on a PolyCro sheet over really sharp gravel.  Two grown guys on their knees wrestling a 250/300-pound carcass around for an hour is a real torture test.  And while it had cuts and tears in it by the end, it did the job in a tiny size and weight.  A few dollars for a super-light groundsheet that lasts 30 nights of normal use?  And which I won’t be heart broken about if a hot cinder lands on it?  That works for me.

I now look in the window-screen / weather-stripping aisle at WalMart each Spring when they close it out.  It’s not expensive to start with in those window-sealing kits and really cheap at 75% off.

[Ethan A.]

I’ve used Duck Brand heavy duty patio window kit polycro – it’s often on sharp discount in the off season. It’s designed to shrink in heat (so that you can a taught seal over a window with a hair dryer) so it’s possible it could shrink from your tent heating stove.

Might you also consider an AMK SOL emergency blanket? Very light and quite strong for the light weight.  56” x 84” weighs only 2.5 ounces

[BPLwiia]

Great suggestions. I have the 4-man SO tipi. I have never used tyvek but have read it is not waterproof. Where I go it is always wet so something waterproof is preferred.

I’m not crazy about anything expensive as embers could easily cause a problem.

 

[Michael Sirofchuck]

In all the years we’ve camped with a stove in the tipi, embers have never been a problem.  When possible, we put flat rocks under and around the perimeter of the stove, especially below the door.

[jimmyjam]

Go to Lowes or Home Depot and buy the Frost King patio door seal kit, 84″ x 112″ under $13 and it will be enough for two ground sheets. Same stull as MLD plus you get some good two sided tape that can be used on cuben or other things. Made by 3M. I’ve been using for years and have gotten 100s of miles from a single piece.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Frost-King-E-O-Heavy-Duty-Patio-Door-Shrink-Kit-V86-18/204856298

[Boyan B]

What do people use for anti skid on polycro? I was thinking of  buying some silicone antiskid buttons (the smallest size) to keep my sleeping pad from sliding around. Or maybe some seam grip dabs?

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