Overpaid for a tent footprint I didn't need

Last weekend I was at REI in Denver and heard a guy tell his friend you absolutely have to buy the brand specific footprint for your tent or you'll ruin the floor. I bought one for my Big Agnes a few years ago and it cost like $50. Then I realized a piece of Tyvek cut to size does the exact same thing for under $10. I even tested both side by side on a gravel site last month and my homemade one worked better because it's tougher. Has anyone else just made their own instead of buying the overpriced one?

2 comments

2 Comments

simon_jackson8120h ago

$50 for a piece of fabric shaped like your tent floor? That's wild. I've been using a cut up piece of an old tarp for years and my tent floor is still perfect.

flores.emma17h ago

$50 is a lot for a shaped piece of fabric, but I think the real question is whether it's worth worrying about at all. I've never bought a footprint for any of my tents and never had a hole in the floor. Maybe if you're camping on sharp rocks every single time it matters, but most campsites are just dirt and grass. I put my tent right on the ground and it's fine. The whole "you'll ruin it" thing sounds like a sales pitch to me.