cheap foot print material

[Sweep]

Have you tried wild camping at 11pm ? If you have the luxury of sticking out a shower curtain, polycro or anything else as a footprint under the light of a headtorch when the rain is falling, the wind is howling ,you cant control this flailing beast, car headlights or barking dogs are doing there thing on nearby farms then fair play to you.
t.

Sorry, i don't see what the big problem is in chucking something on the ground before i plonk a tent on top of it. If i did see it as a big problem i wouldn't be cycle touring.

[mercalia]

The nice thing about my new tarp tent is that it dont have a base so just put it up then put down the "footprint" nice and dry no flapping

[ossie]

My shower curtain gets rolled up with and laid out with the tent. It takes no additional time or effort.

Also it doesnt pool water and the last few inches of the tent where the shower curtain doesnt reach is always the only bit that is wet with condensation.

This is the issue with some of us (obviously not you). We buy the lightest tents, sleeping mats,stoves weigh our gear,clothes etc
indulge in topics over weight management yet some people rock up and happily slap a shower curtain in with their tent.

That said it sounds like a decent idea for a foot print if needed so fair play (what pattern works best )

[meic]

Dolphins.

Of course when the weight really matters, you can leave the shower curtain at home.

[Gattonero]

You confident you can spot every sharp bit when pitching?

Maybe in the dark?

Maybe wild camping?

Maybe in a wood?

Have you tried wild camping at 11pm ? If you have the luxury of sticking out a shower curtain, polycro or anything else as a footprint under the light of a headtorch when the rain is falling, the wind is howling ,you cant control this flailing beast, car headlights or barking dogs are doing there thing on nearby farms then fair play to you.
...

How about looking at the maps in advance, and marking the potential spots for wild camping?
There's plenty of grass fields in the UK, or woodland where's there are no brambles. The only problem you'd have is increased condensation, otherwise is an easy choice: risk a bad sleep from stones and whatever poking your body, or spending 5 minutes checking those 2sqm been free from big objects.

[Sweep]

In my experience gatto, checking maps in advance, of even google maps or google earth satellite isn't worth the bother.

I have done a few 2 day rides where I planned to bivvy the night in between (quite often various routes Birmingham to London) and carefully checked the route for possible bivvying places at appropriate distances. And put them on the GPS.

But even with the "miracle" of easily available satellite images there is no substitute for sussing on the ground. Often the pre chosen spots will have problems you could not have foreseen, sight lines etc, rubbish indicating that others have thought of the spot as well.

These days as long as I am travelling through a non urban area I just vaguely start looking for places to bivvy 2 hours before sundown. Often you spot places in the unlikeliest of locations** and can do a quick reccie to suss any problems - and if you find that good place relatively early, no probs, get in the bag, look at the sky, reflect on the day's great cycling and life etc, knowing that no one will find you befrore first light.

** This summer on a ride extended beyond the Dynamo towards Norfolk I ended up bivvying on a grass verge only just off a dual carriageway near Caister. All was fine, as my quick suss told me it would be. A satellite reccie would have ruled the spot out as madness.

Even in developed areas there are good spots - I have seen spots I could have used, if pushed, on small out of town light industrial parks.

Cycle on and keep your eyes open.

[ossie]

How about looking at the maps in advance, and marking the potential spots for wild camping?
There's plenty of grass fields in the UK, or woodland where's there are no brambles. The only problem you'd have is increased condensation, otherwise is an easy choice: risk a bad sleep from stones and whatever poking your body, or spending 5 minutes checking those 2sqm been free from big objects.

I tour in France / Spain / Germany. Wild camping for me is a massive failure of my ability to find a camp site and as such there is no planning - its just last minute chuck it up in a wood / field after dusk where I cant hear dogs barking at me., then bugger off at first light after naff all sleep.

If I was to intentionally wild camp then yes I'd plan it somewhat (and take my shower curtain)...

That said in late evening there's nothing better than cycling along perusing the landscape / fields / verges looking for that ideal wild camping spot...just in case.

[Gattonero]

...
That said in late evening there's nothing better than cycling along perusing the landscape / fields / verges looking for that ideal wild camping spot...just in case.

I've done it a few times

[pete75]

Whatever Hilleberg use for footprints is cheap. The 80 quid for a Nallo2 footprint is definitely cheap compared to the price of the tent.

[mercalia]

Whatever Hilleberg use for footprints is cheap. The 80 quid for a Nallo2 footprint is definitely cheap compared to the price of the tent.

well at that price you need a footprint for the footprint to stop it getting dirty or damaged

[psmiffy]

That said in late evening there's nothing better than cycling along perusing the landscape / fields / verges looking for that ideal wild camping spot...just in case.

much better in the late evening is the sign that says "camping 500m" when you think you have no chance of finding something that night

[pjclinch]

Whatever Hilleberg use for footprints is cheap. The 80 quid for a Nallo2 footprint is definitely cheap compared to the price of the tent.

It looks to be exactly the same stuff as the groundsheets are made from. Which is rather chunkier than most groundsheets these days, which makes them less necessary than many.

The price of the whole tent is, I think it's safe to assume, significantly influenced by machinist time as well as basic material cost. And there won't be very much machinist time in the case of a flat sheet with a couple of joining seems and a toggle at each corner compared to a whole tent like a Nallo. It's a fair point to say they cost a fortune and far more than you need to pay to get an adequate tent, but if you've got the money and appreciate the details...

well at that price you need a footprint for the footprint to stop it getting dirty or damaged

Also fair comment. What I don't understand is the folk who buy the footprint to protect their incredibly expensive tent every time they use it, which is as light and expensive as it is because much money has been thrown at making it robust and light together. If you're going to make a Nallo heavier to preserve your investment then (a) you've missed the boat when it comes to paying more for a lighter tent, and (b)why not get a Nammatj instead?


Pete.

[pete75]

Also fair comment. What I don't understand is the folk who buy the footprint to protect their incredibly expensive tent every time they use it, which is as light and expensive as it is because much money has been thrown at making it robust and light together. If you're going to make a Nallo heavier to preserve your investment then (a) you've missed the boat when it comes to paying more for a lighter tent, and (b)why not get a Nammatj instead?


Pete.

They may buy the footprint because it floors the porch as well as the area beneath the groundsheet or maybe , like me, have one because it came with the tent at no extra cost. Would you say no I don't want it because it makes the tent heavier? Possession of a footprint doesn't mean it's compulsory to use it every time you pitch your tent.

Hilleberg tents are not particularly lightweight and anyone so concerned about weight they wouldn't ever want to carry a 390 gram groundsheet would surely spend their money with someone like Terra Nova who make very light tents indeed.

[Sweep]

That said in late evening there's nothing better than cycling along perusing the landscape / fields / verges looking for that ideal wild camping spot...just in case.

much better in the late evening is the sign that says "camping 500m" when you think you have no chance of finding something that night

well not if they are going to charge you some barmy amount (quite common these days) and because you've turned up late, and may seem a bit in a of corner, a "move on" from your enquiry might seem (to them) to be a bit sad.

When car camping I always sussed places out before commiting.

I like the freedom that potentially wild camping gives me - mix and match.

[Sweep]

Fond memories by the way of the cheap Vango tent (with fibreglass poles) that originally got me into camping when car camping - never used a footprint for that - but then the bottom of the tent was like a builders rubble sack anyway

Not criticicising Vango - their various tents must have given mllions of folk some happy special memories. Oodles more than Hillebwotsits, despite their their undoubted excellence.