Just like every tent, the material will always be quite thin even though some tents come as double layering the flooring will always be cooler and that’s due to the fact that the ground will produce more cooler air that comes through the flooring of your tent.
So, what camping tent flooring options do you have? There are many options on the market these days, some are obvious while others are not so much. You can use rugs, to floor padding, to even camping floor mats, these are a more foam-like quality.
You will need to look at what is going to work for your needs if your camping with the family and you want your flooring more comfortable then the camping mats would do well.
What should I put under my tent
When your pitching your tent outlaying your tent down on the ground directly will make your tent flooring quite cold as it’s hitting directly with the earth. If you have chosen an area where there is some pebbles or some gravel it could potentially rip your tent material and it will certainly feel uncomfortable when you are sleeping.
You can place a tarp on the ground and pitch the tent on top so that the flooring of the tent is not damaged of any sort or even can rip the material. If you don’t have a tarp you can always use some form of plastic sheeting to help cover the ground and protect your tent flooring. This will help aswell incase it does rain the plastic sheeting won’t soak up the water.
The main thing is to make sure that your tent flooring from outside does not get damaged amongst the gravel or ground.
How Important Is A Tent Footprint
A tent footprint has alot of benefits to it, it simply acts as a barrier between your tent flooring and the ground. The tent footprint is a sheet where your tent will sit on top of, you can get them in different sizes, so depending on how large your tent is you can get single footprint sheets or double footprint sheets.
The tent footprint will protect will your tent from any wear and tear and help prevent your waterproofing from coming off the bottom of the tent. Depending on how experienced you are as a camper with tents and you know what you’re doing, I would say that a footprint would be important, especially since you have invested a certain amount in your tent you would want to look after it as much as you can.
The thickness of your tent flooring will depend on the rating of the tent that you have brought, the more thicker denier you have the more tougher the tent flooring is, but it does add weight to your camping. It won’t matter as much if your camping using a car but for backpackers, it will matter more on how much weight you wish to carry.
So depending on the kind of camping that you will be doing you will need to decide how important using a footprint will be for you. If you do decide not to go for a footprint then you will certainly need to be wary of where you decide to pitch your tent and on the type of grounds, you will be placing the tent.
To give you an idea when you are pitching your tent make sure that the ground is alot smoother try to stay away from rocks, rubble, sand, pebbles any of these can be uncomfortable and can also pierce through your flooring if you are not careful.
With camping the equipment will not be cheap it will be pricey but the average cost of a footprint can vary from $50 – $80 depending on the brand and the quality of the footprint. Most tents that you invest in offering their own type footprints and can be color matched to your tent.
In general look into what will work for you and benefit you in the long run for your tent.
Are Tent Footprints Waterproof
The simple answer to this is yes!. The reason why the footprint is waterproof is that it sits on the floor between your tent and the ground so when it does rain or the ground is wet the footprint will take most of that away from your tent so it keeps you dry, and most of the tent floor dry aswell.
How Do You Insulate A Tent Floor
When it comes to insulating your tent floor there are a few ways in which you can do this they are the following:
Buy a smaller tent
Wear a hat
Floor Padding
Warm sleeping bag
Pitch with a natural windbreak
Wear thermal clothing
Buy A Smaller Tent
This does sound so obvious but invests in a smaller tent if your camping on your own then you won’t need alot of space, the more space there is the more you will need to heat up so do take that into account. Buy a tent that is for the right amount of people camping and sleeping together.
Wear A Hat
At night the temperature will definitely drop, so wearing a hat will keep your head warm especially on the crown of your head and that is because of the cold temperatures so your head will be the first thing exposed and will get cold overnight, so you will need to cover up.
A floor Padding
Using a floor padding would do well to help heat up your tent flooring, you will simply place your sleeping bag on top of the floor padding. The floor padding has thicker padding between your sleeping bag and the tent flooring so it lifts your body off the ground and traps the heat into the floor padding.
A Warmer Sleeping Bag
You can buy a sleeping bag that is quite thick and warm, the material used for these sleeping bags will have the ability to capture the heat and keep it in the sleeping bag so that you are kept warm. If you’re looking for a sleeping bag search for one that is padded well and will work for your own benefits.
Pitch Your Tent With A Natural Windbreaker
To keep your tent more insulated and warm it makes a huge difference when you pitch your tent between a natural windbreaker. Find a rock to pitch behind this will help break the wind to the tent. If you pitch your tent where the wind can get to the tent easily you will find it to be alot colder.
Wear Thermal Clothing
Clothing is very important when it comes to camping depending on the season that you go. But during the night always keep in mind that the temperature will drop so it will get rather cold. Investing in thermal clothing will definitely make a difference and layering up will certainly keep you warm at night.
Tent Floor Mats
There are other options for keeping your tent flooring warm and comfortable especially if your camping with children or teenagers. Now I came across these by accident and when I did some research I found out that there would be a great way to create flooring in your tent to give a more warmly feel and comfort.
These camping floor mats are designed for other types of flooring aswell as camping, they are the foam puzzle mats. If you are camping with friends and family in a tent large enough for all of you to rest together these mats would be ideal to use in the tents.
The mats are made out of foam they are ideal to sit on the floor and cushioning if you are walking barefooted in the tent, you can also sleep on them with ease and be comfortable and warm. You certainly will not feel the gravel or any rocks on the ground.
The foam mats that you will need to look for are the ones that allow you to connect the mats together through a jigsaw type seal. You can get mats that you place together but you will find they will move and slide and ruin your tent or even move your tent. The mats that fit in place together that lock in place will keep the mats tight and your tent warm aswell.