Bushwalk Australia

Hello,

Need one as a footprint for a tarptent. Floor dimensions are 223.5x102cm. The problem is that all space blankets sold on eBay are limited to the max. length of 210cm.

Has anyone been able to find one longer than that (and the vendor which supplies them).

Cheers!

13cm short will probably work anyway because there should be almost no pressure at all above thsose last few cm all around. In fact it is better to have it a bit shorter than a bit longer.

Why "Space Blanket" ?
RFL simply doesn't work without an air space, ordinary plastic sheeting would work as well I think.
If you really do want something reflective look around building sites for an off-cut of Sisalation.

Why not polycro? https://ultralighthiker.com.au/products ... loth-sheet

If you've got more demanding requirements, Evan from Terra Rossa Gear can make something custom.

Cool! Thnx Franco.

Moondog55. It's the lightest footprint you'll ever find.

camm wrote:Why not polycro? https://ultralighthiker.com.au/products ... loth-sheet

OK, not bad it's light too but more expensive. Thnx.

Yes but also the most fragile, unless you are talking about the HD real Space Blankets and those weigh about 250 grams, more if you buy the ones with corner grommets.

gbagua wrote:Need one as a footprint for a tarptent. Floor dimensions are 223.5x102cm. The problem is that all space blankets sold on eBay are limited to the max. length of 210cm.

Has anyone been able to find one longer than that (and the vendor which supplies them).!

Aliexpress has one at 2.4m x 1.9m - https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002140135741.html

... or you could customise a 2.1m one with scissors & some duct tape ?

I use a scrap of something like the engineered flooring underlay in the link.

https://www.bunnings.com.au/qep-silver- ... y_p6650148
A leftover from the renovations in my case so a bit heavier than a space blanket and I've never bothered to weigh the bit I use.

You don't need a footprint for Tarptents. The bathtub material is thin but surprisingly durable. I've camped on sites that I was sure would stick holes in the floor but it's never happened.

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Ah! Good to know...BUT when it rains I hope the floor doesn't soak water; hence the idea of using a footprint.

moondog55, the space blanket lightweight is very durable; I have used it for bivvying and not a single hole. Rough alpine surface.

gbagua wrote:
moondog55, the space blanket lightweight is very durable; I have used it for bivvying and not a single hole. Rough alpine surface.

You have had better luck than me then, I find them very poor strength; especially where they have been folded to get them into those tiny packages.

gbagua wrote:... when it rains I hope the floor doesn't soak water; hence the idea of using a footprint

In that case, 210mm length is perfect. If any of the footprint sticks out under the tent, it catches the rain and funnels it under the floor. If the footprint is a few cm smaller all round, it's perfect. As Franco says, you don't apply much pressure around the edges of the tent.

I find that abrasion is a concern. Seems wherever I go the soils are sandy or have a sand-like content, even up high. It would be wearing off the lovely coating on the floor and tent fabrics.

So using a UL groundsheet is something I always do. I like Tyvek, am currently trying the polycro listed above for one tent, did use a space blanket for a while too. Have dabbled with black builders plastic but it's a bit heavy by comparison.

Length-wise as Franco said the middle is where the benefits are. I even have some just 1.5m long, being a cheapskate and cutting two bits from a 2x1.5m sheet.

I back Moondog here. At least try some of the silver/reflective builders 'foil'. Yes it's a slightly heavier than polypro BUT it folds up very nicely (like a map) and quickly, is reinforced, waterproof, reflective (additional warmth R-value!) and can be cut to size. I've bought and tried ultralight polycro a few times but it's just so thin and lightweight AND mostly it was a total pain in the bum packing up (imagine packing a 2.3x1.3m piece of 'sticky' gladwrap!) and not very durable. (After 2 UL trips I chucked it away out of sheer frustration) Black builders plastic is strong like the foil but does not have any insulation properties and is quite heavy. Sometimes saving ~50gms does not outweigh the actual point of having an effective useable footprint. There's 3 types of builders foil light/medium/heavy - light should be fine. If you want to try some I can send some light stuff for free as I have a lot left over from a Covid lockdown project that I'll never use again. The stuff I have is 1350mm wide.