From: medic@hardy.u.washington.edu (Travis Lauricella)
Newsgroups: rec.backcountry
Subject: Re: Neophyte tent groundsheet question
Date: 7 Oct 92 02:17:57 GMT
Article-I.D.: u.1992Oct7.021757.5168
Distribution: na
Organization: University of Washington

(Caution:  Long explanation to follow!)

jcj@tellabs.com (jcj) writes:

>What's the best way to keep dry when sleeping on the floor of
>a relatively cheap tent?  Most books suggest a plastic groundcloth 
>under the tent, but a few say that the nylon/cotton will wick up 
>water that might get trapped between the floor and groundcloth and 
>you should put the plastic inside on the floor. 

I've seen it done a number of ways.  Some people (myself included) prefer not
to use a groundcloth at all.  If you have the tent on bare (or nearly bare)
ground, the only concern would be stray rocks, etc. poking through the bottom
of your tent.

If I put my tent on grass, I'll use a groundcloth if I have it, but won't be
concerned if I don't.  The transpiration (?) will make the bottom of the tent
a little wet, but not enough to be worried about.

When it rains, I will either use a groundcloth (again, if I have it -- not
backpacking) or do without.  Without a groundcloth, the ground under the tent
should stay dry, unless you are on the side of a hill or in a depression.
The tent is only getting rained on from the top and sides, not underneath.
If I do have a groundcloth (usually a tarp or a sheet of plastic) I make sure
that no part of the tarp is sticking out from underneath the tent.  Countless
times I have seen my Scouts create their own waterbed by lining a depression
with plastic and pitching their tent in the middle of it, with plastic
sticking out on all sides.  It rains, water is funneled underneath the tent,
and you are wet, cold, and miserable.

Others will disagree, and say you should always use a groundcloth.  If they
don't mind the extra space and weight it takes up, more power to them.

(Of course, if you have a tent with no bottom, disregard the above.  Use
a groundcloth, but DO NOT let the plastic stick out where it could catch
rain water.)

As an illustration: My family invited my fiance and I to go camping on the 
northwest coast of Washington State.  My father and I set up our tent on bare
dirt.  My fiance and mother set up a groundcloth (sticking out) on grass.
And my brother built himself a lean-to out of a rope, two trees, and a tarp.
His lean-to was on an open cliff facing the ocean, while my parent's tents
were back under the trees.

Add rain.  Lots and lots of it.  1.5 inches.

My mother and fiance had large puddles inside their tent.  Everything in the
tent was soaked.

My tent was, for the most part, dry.  A few spots of water where my shoes had
rested against the inside wall, and under my foam bed pad.

My brother's set up kept him as dry as a bone.  Until he got out, he was fine.

Again, however, it's largely a matter of personal preference.  I didn't
expect to be rambling for so long.  Maybe I just like the sound of my own
typing. :)


J. Travis Lauricella     | In the 1500's, we called it witchcraft.
<medic@u.washington.edu> | In the 1900's, we called it Murphy's Law.
                         | In the 2300's, we call them chronotron fields.
"Be good, and you will be lonesome." -- Mark Twain
Newsgroups: rec.backcountry