The ultimate tent floor thread

[Lonelake]

Winter tent floor? For those of you who use tents without floor. What is your go to floor set up? I personally used a Snowtrekker blue floor with ice house fabric sewn to one side. 100% waterproof, but very heavy. I have used tyvek, sil nylon, and regular tarps. The truck tarp floor that Snowtrekker sells is the most dependable I have had.

LL

[Hamingredient]

Winter tent floor? For those of you who use tents without floor. What is your go to floor set up? I personally used a Snowtrekker blue floor with ice house fabric sewn to one side. 100% waterproof, but very heavy. I have used tyvek, sil nylon, and regular tarps. The truck tarp floor that Snowtrekker sells is the most dependable I have had.

I've used nylon tent "footprints" in the past, but I was thinking about Tyvek as a lighter weight option. Could you add some color to your experience with it?

[Heavy Duty]

For me, it depends on what type of camping I'm doing.

Base camping - Snowtrekker I'll use my heavy blue floor that I purchased with my tent, it's awesome in every way.

Traveling light/solo toboggan - Solo tipi with a tarp I made out of 2.2oz coated poly 5'x7' (essentially a bit bigger than my sleeping pad) rest of my shelter will be snow pack or shoveled down to the ground.

Hot tent hammock - (haven't built the tent yet) I imagine i would use something that is not slick so I wouldn't slip and fall getting out of my hammock.

[Lonelake]

I've used nylon tent "footprints" in the past, but I was thinking about Tyvek as a lighter weight option. Could you add some color to your experience with it?

My experiences with Tyvek have been, that it is extremely light weight, affordable, and seems to last me about a season. The downside, if you use it in a heated shelter, but it is not insulated from the heat, it will stick to the snow/ice. You will have to chop it out of the ice/snow to remove if it is exposed.

LL

[Minnesotian]

Still refining my setup, but what I have currently settled on is using aluminum foam mats like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X2YTSKM/ref=dp_prsubs_1 with minicell foam 3/8" thick on top of that. The aluminum sheets provide the waterproof barrier and the minicell keeps me warm when sleeping on the snowpack.

However, I am looking at getting some nylon or even canvas for the bottom of the system so that the slipperyness factor is mitigated. The aluminum sheets aren't bad, pretty durable, but it could be better. Once I have that bottom layer figured out, I want to sew the whole kit together, basically making my own insulated tarp floor.

[kiggy]

I use same mat from Amazon or Aliexpress. it is little slippery but it does reflect heat and insulate at some point. very light weight too.

[Snowbound]

I've gone to converting nylon tents and just leaving the floor as-is.

[Heavy Duty]

does the floor become slick with that setup?

[Snowbound]

Not really. Everything is attached and staked/guyed/sod-cloth-packed to the snow so even if there is little friction between the nylon and the snow there is no slack for anything to go anywhere. You do have to limit the snow you track into the so it doesn’t melt on the inside.

[Michigandave]

When I'm out in my hammock hot tent (10 by 12), here's the system I use:: clear as much snow down to bare ground as possible, 6 by 8 harbor freight cheap camo tarp at head end of hammock for gear storage etc., Extra small tarp to overlap and fill in other end of needed, plus a couple of cut up sections of foam yoga mats for kneeling on by the stove or under my feet when I get out of my hammock. Since I've got entrances at both ends, I usually keep the floor uncovered since I'm coming and going and don't want to get snow tracked over the floor. For the stove area, I've got a sheet of flashing under the stove and usually keep that area wide open, with the exception of my short sled which I use to store processed wood.

[kiggy]

Michigandave, I have very good experience with XPE sitting mat for sitting on or kneeling. much lighter and better then yoga mats. I even plan to use it for my kid to stand on it for icefishing. last order took only two weeks to deliver to Canada. for $2 it is great deal

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32712755727.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.4ac04c4doUk9v9

[Greg]

This will be my second year hot tenting so I am still refining this set up . I recently grabbed a waxed canvas tarp at a yard sale and was thinking to use this as floor covering. Has anyone had experience with this as a flooring option? TIA.

[Scoutergriz]

I've used a piece of heavy waxed canvas for years. I have a heavy- duty blue tarp that's slippery as he** that I put down first as a water barrier and covers everything but the 3' strip where the door and stove resides, and I put the canvas (about 4x6') down on top as a mat, the wax coating does wonders for stopping it from sliding on the poly, and it doesn't need to go under my cot so can easily be picked up and shaken out if it gets too much dirt or snow on it. It also doubles as a wrap to contain any soot from my stove when travelling

[Lonelake]

This will be my second year hot tenting so I am still refining this set up . I recently grabbed a waxed canvas tarp at a yard sale and was thinking to use this as floor covering. Has anyone had experience with this as a flooring option? TIA.

If the canvas absorbs no water, it should work ok. I have found that most waxed canvas products are water repellant, not water proof.

LL

[Srobocop0615]

Snowtrekker just posted a pic of their set up from this weekend on Facebook. They look to have thick blankets down for their floor.... any idea what they may be using for their floor?

[Srobocop0615]

Maybe moving blankets.... has anyone used those before? Maybe with a tarp or plastic sheathing underneath?

[Minnesotian]

Hey all,
I just finished a quick 2 night trip where the temperatures got down to -2 F here in Minnesota. I think I have finally, after many many years, found my tent floor. There were a couple of criteria it needed to hit.

1. Lightweight and not overly bulky when packed.
2. No slip
3. Some insulation if possible.

A couple of weeks ago I got this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09BDPXD19...roduct_details Arcturus XL Survival Tarp - Insulated Reflective Thermal Camping Tarp
I was a bit skeptical when I ordered it, but for the cost I figured why not. But the size 8.5' x 12' was just right, it had large grommets and a reflective surface on one side. I wanted the large grommets because I wanted to tie off the tarp to my corner poles to mitigate slippage and the reflective surface hit criteria #3. It also came packed in a 2'x2' square that wasn't too thick and could go into the tent bag easily, so it hit criteria #1.

Used it this last week and it is perfect. I put it down, tied it off to the corner posts but I don't think I even needed to do that. On the other side of the reflective coating is a slightly textured, canvaslike fabric. It has just enough tooth that it catches the snow. It didn't budge all weekend. It was the most secure I have felt walking on a tarp in the winter. The tarp is waterproof and so no melt seeped through. And when I pulled it up at the end of the weekend, it didn't freeze to the snow like canvas can do.

I paired this tarp with these foil backed mats https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X2YTSKM/ref=dp_prsubs_1 my sleeping pad, and sleeping bag and I was perfect both nights.

I'll see how the durability goes, but for now, I think my quest for a tent floor is over.

[MRaske]

Minnesotian, that tarp does look nice. So do the foil tarps. I may look into that for my personal setup.

I thought I would show how we setup our floors. This is the way WE do it, and it may not be the best way for YOU. On this trip, three of us each packed z-rest style pads and we each also brought blankets. All of that goes on a tarp similar to the tarps that Snowtrekker sells, but this is a little lighter and easier to deal with.

The floor is very stable, warm and comfortable. I think the main reason we can get away with this is that we are not over packing and are also efficient and work together well when setting up camp for the night.

Hope this helps.

[Minnesotian]

Very nice set up. All those wool blankets look really comfy.

[sander07]

If you need a more robust and durable tent pole, you should consider aluminum or fiberglass tent pole. There are some differences between aluminum and fiberglass tent poles, if your camping activity requires only a standard tent pole, then a fiberglass-made tent pole is fine.