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I've got a footprint for both my Wayfarer and also my Ontario 8.

• On a hard/stony pitch they offer that extra bit of protection.
• Make it very easy to position your tent in the correct spot.
• Keep the groundsheet clean.

Overall a good investment.

Hi all,

We came back yesterday from a week in Devon where there was a real mixed bag of weather.  The campsite boss (Moor View) very kindly allowed us a extra hour or two for our RW6 to dry off in the morning sunshine & breeze before taking it down after another night of rain.  Great, except that the four black straps that run under the zig from side to side of the tent were wet from the ground.  We were contemplating putting a footprint or tarp under the zig for the next trip but as a few of you are saying water can get between the footprint and the groundsheet, will we be wasting our time? 

I'd hoped all I'd have to do once home would be to clean the underside of the zig, but now I also have to get the great big, enormously heavy dry tent out of the bag and lay it on the clean side of the zig on the lawn upside-down to dry these straps, not to have to worry about any further damp!  Our beautiful tent is so precious to me, I couldn't bear to risk any damp damage. 

Now it's going to be a busy day of mowing the lawn to aid afore-mentioned post-camping sorting out, laundry, housework and preparation for a day's sailing tomorrow (I'm about to re-upholster the seats in the boat cabin)  All this leisure time fun is hard work!

I have noticed that when footprints are used they tend to yellow the grass much more than tents without. I can see some site owners in the future may have something to say about using them .

I just clean the underneath of my tent when rolling it up , quite easy and probably less time than pegging , unpegging and cleaning a footprint.

Dave.