Tyvek

[corvus]

Anyone else using Tyvek as tent footprint/groundsheet/tarp??

[norts]

Yes I do. I use it as a footprint
It isn't as water proof as plastic, but it is so light.
After awhile it gets abit tattered and is harder to keep clean.
Roger

[Joe]

Ill be needing a footprint for tent im about to get.

What is best (with $ constraints) to use.

[Son of a Beach]

OK, I hereby declare my ignorance... what is the difference between a tent footprint and ground sheet?

[Joe]

OK, I hereby declare my ignorance... what is the difference between a tent footprint and ground sheet?

im glad someone asked that. i only used term footprint cause others were and i didnt want to appear dim. I always called it groundsheet.

[norts]

I think of a footprint as being cut to the same shape as the tent.
Don't forget it should be slightly smaller than the tent.

I got my tyvek from a builder. Drove past a building site and saw they were using it and just asked if I could buy some. Got enough for my two tents.

Roger

[kramster]

Lacking a nearby co-operative builder, you can get the stuff chopped off a long roll (often double thickness) from most hardware suppliers (Bunnings / Mitre10 etc) - in your choice of lary orange or black. Can't remember the price, but its pretty cheap (<$10 per m).

[corvus]

kramster Tyvek is not builders plastic and is only available by the full roll or from a friendly builder,
check out this site en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyvek

[DonQx]

Another option that works for us:

Go to opp / tip shop, buy any thrown-out tent for a $ or 2, cut the bottom out, cut to shape, use as groundsheet.

Or cut the top/fly out and use as extra-light ground sheet if required.

Pretty good choice of colours available that way .

a.

[kramster]

Tyvek is not builders plastic and is only available by the full roll or from a friendly builder

Thanks for the clarification (apologies for confusing the discussion)
Builders plastic works fine in my experience, however I would be interested in trying out this Tyvek stuff (looks a lot lighter and more compact)

[slick41st]

I've always used the cheapest nastiest tarp I can find, usually at Chickenfeed, then cut it with a hot knife. It is light and all I am really worried about is saving my tents from receiving a hole from a stick.

Not sure how it compares with this Tyvek stuff.

[corvus]

The main difference (apart from the price ) is that Tyvek breathes will not puddle water under your tent and its around 1/2 the weight of polytarp of the same size.

[Son of a Beach]

I have a mate who uses shade cloth, weighs even less still, and puddles even less.

It has the potential to let very, very small sticks, poke through I guess, but on the walks I've done with him, it's always worked perfectly well (except when he shakes it out in the morning, and I get sprayed with a fine mist of stinky last-nights tent water).

[tasadam]

I bought a roll of Tyvek, I will sell it to forum members by the metre. Check this thread for details...

[Nuts]

Did you pay yet?
You can buy this stuff (cut lengths) off ebay.....
Another one is 'soft structure' tyvek. Same as the builders stuff but it comes soft (like silk) not hard (like paper). Have read of tarp tents made from it (entire tents..) Anyhow, all the best. I'm sure you'll sell the excess.

[tasadam]

Did you pay yet?

Yes.

You can buy this stuff (cut lengths) off ebay.....

I didn't think of eBay. However I have checked the prices there and they sell it for $1.75 US per foot, or $7.95 US for a 3 foot length. Makes mine cheaper.
I'll know by this time tomorrow whether it's the soft stuff, so we shall see.

[tasadam]

It seems there isn't just one Tyvek. Or two, or...
Applications - http://www2.dupont.com/Tyvek/en_US/index.html
Product types - http://www2.dupont.com/Tyvek/en_US/prod ... _type.html
Homewrap info - http://www2.dupont.com/Tyvek_Constructi ... ewrap.html
I think it's homewrap I am getting, but can't be sure until tomorrow.
That's the stuff the builders would have been using, as mentioned in previous posts.
Regardless, I'm sure it will do the job - provide some extra protection for the underside of my new Hilleberg Nallo2 tent, without the sacrifice of much weight.

[Nuts]

You have the nallo 2 2...
It will be interesting to see how they go. I hope it lives up to the reviews.

Tyvek has a lot of different uses. From what I could gather the types most useful to us are the soft and hard structure (and in one of the sub-types (different weights/porosities etc.) that I carn't recall). They are similar and I guess no big deal but the hard stuff takes a bit to 'loosen up' the soft stuff is already...well, soft so it can be stretched into pitches and made into tarps tepees etc. I believe it is harder to get (soft stuff) I tried getting a roll direct from Dupont's contract mill in the us but -no response.

I have a piece of the builders tyvek. I am yet to use it but it seems that washing/drying will soften it if yours is similar.

[corvus]

Tasadam I have been using Tyvek as a footprint for a while as you can see from the start of this thread,what Nuts said about washing and drying is correct but I have also discovered that really scrunching it by rolling it up lengthwise and twisting it as tight as two of you can then repeating this crosswise then diagonally both ways will help soften the paper stiffness .
I did this with the one I use with the Microlite but not with the Stellar and the difference is obvious,good luck with selling off the rest who knows I may even buy a length for the Snowcave

[scockburn]

I have been trying to get hold of some and have not been able to find any. In my efforts to locate , someone suggested trying some of the older style light shower curtain. So I did and I found this option really great and so light . I will keep looking tough. . Steve C

[tasadam]

I have been trying to get hold of some and have not been able to find any. In my efforts to locate , someone suggested trying some of the older style light shower curtain. So I did and I found this option really great and so light . I will keep looking tough. . Steve C

Did you overlook my earlier post?
I'm selling some.

[lance.house]

so, I got a big sheet of tyvek from Adam a few days ago. Id been looking to getting some from the US for a ground sheet so was very happy to get it local. i didnt know you could, but that was based solely on the fact that I'd never asked for it, just hadnt seen it on the shelves.

i have plans to make - a tub floor/groundsheet, a double bivy and or a two person tarp. (I have a homemade cat-cut trap i use for lightweight fair weather trips)

anyway,very first impression - very crinkly! very light, cant rip it with my bare hands.
crinkliness was helped very easily by scrunching a section all up into a ball and rubbing it all around for 10 seconds. Before I sew anything Ill wash it as recommended ona a number of us sites.
on further exam, I actually can tear it, but it seems to tear more easily from a cut edge. Once it goes it tends to go fairly quickly. Sometimes it tears 'normally' sometimes it more delaminates.
to be honest, would I pull on my tent that hard? Im not sure I would...

trialled sewing and glueing intially. First sewing was with a normal needle in a felled seam on a long stich length. I could not rip it myself, but two of us strapping young lads ripped it apart with a fair bit of force - it tore straight across the seam once it started. I also kwik-gripped another bit, again into effectively a felled seam (rolled over on itself - two layers of glue). this also required two of us to rip apart, but it went in two goes, one for each glue side, which implies to me a stronger bond. It also actually delaminated some sections rather than pulled the glue bond apart. this was also only after 12hours cure (kwik grip tube says 24hour for full strength)
assuming that the glue would be better, I then emailed Henry Shires (of Tarptent 'fame') about how he bonds his commercially made tyvek tarp tent. He recommended sewing it using a flat needle which makes slits rather than punches holes, also using the longest possible stitch length. He siad that ultimately glue will not last as long in the weather. He recommended gluing afterwards for sealing if required.

having got that advice, I went out and boughtthe nearest thing I could here - it turned out to be a leather needle, and I got it from a small shop where they answerd my questions. Spotlight was no good at all.
I sewed another section witha felled seam last night, longest stich possible, and pushed some silicone into half the seam. I also seamed both ends to more realistically represent the fabrication of a complete tarp. Gluing the seam woulndt give any extra strength and I dont think would be as water tight as silicone.
I havent given this the two perons rip test yet, but again I couldnt do it myself. I ll also be interested to see how the silicone vs non silicone section rips. If we cant rip it, ill unpick the extra seam and have another go, but thats for tonight.

REalisitcally, I wouldnt pull on my PU-coaten nylong tarp myself as hard as I can, so I can see its plently strong enough. I think the weakest point would potentialyl actually be the stitching not hte tyvek, as Im mean to aim for 6 stiches per inch (long!) which my sewing machine doesnt even do without me pulling the fabric through. Ill have to make sure I use good polyester cotton on it.

At this point, Im looking at makign a single wall tarptent with bug netting and a separate tub floor. I may also make the double bivy but will need more tyvek for that. Id rather have a tent anyday anyways, but it would at least guarantee two layers of protection between the rain and my sleeping bag It should get a good trial in Jan on the overland, but will have shorter tests on single nighters before then.

well. I certainly wrote more than I meant to then. I leave more to questions if perople have any.

cheers

Lance

[ranger-jules]

we have just bought some tyvek for tent foot prints after seeing a bushwalking friend on a recent overnight walk with a commercial one she got from the U.S. it is light and supposedly waterproof. We have cut it up and made up shapes for our MSR tents. It is lighter than the foot print we purchased with the tent from the U.S TIme will tell wether it is up to the real ground sheet material. I guess this is the only way we can give it any credit. We do overnight walks quite a lot, so it should not be too long before we know.