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 As a newbie and have only just got a tent (no camping out of garden yet!) We have looked at a site that says breathable groundsheets.  I can understand why but they are so expensive. (We are doing cheap until we know we are going to enjoy!).  Can anyone recommend an accepatable alternative or where to get a reasonalbe one.  Also out tent is 4 x 5 metres and the groundsheets do not seem to be that large.  Help needed

if your tent has a sewn in ground sheet it will not be a breathable groundsheet and I dont see the point of putting down a breathable sheet and then sticking a tent with a SIG on top of it defeats the object of the breathable sheet

also if you have a tent without a sig and you use a breathable groundsheet on a long trip the grass will grow throught the sheet and if it rains then ground water will come up through the sheet as you walk on it

Why do some sites ask for a breathable groundsheet? I wouldn't like ground water coming up ... I have just bought a tent with an sig as I want to minimise drafts and creepy crawlies etc, . (We plan to camp next year - I have not camped since 1983 and hubby has never camped, he has caved under pressure!)

Nicky

Hi Madge,

Does that apply to tents?  Some places seem to ask for breathable in caravan awnings, but are ok with tents.  We've just got back from our first holiday in the new trailer tent (ok I know I shouldn't be here, but its still canvas!)  and tried out the breathable groundsheet that came with it; it was a complete non starter, you need some dry living area.  We actually found that the grass was in a worse state when we left the first site (breathable),  than it was at the second (waterproof).

We have just had our first break using a breathable groundsheet. Two weeks and it rained every day (two days torrential!) we were sited at the bottom of a gentle slope and didn't have any water seepage. Found the breathable groundsheet much nicer to walk on, warmer on bare feet first thing in the morning!  When the grass grew too long OH just got the scissors out and trimmed it!!! 

Having worked for a leading outdoor company , when a fabric is breathable it is still waterproof, Gore-Tex is a breathable fabric (& you do not get a better fabric than this).but will ensure that there is no water coming through the fabric, this stops condensation building up which some people asume is water coming through the fabric.

Quote: Originally posted by Davy J on 10/8/2008

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Having worked for a leading outdoor company , when a fabric is breathable it is still waterproof, Gore-Tex is a breathable fabric (& you do not get a better fabric than this).but will ensure that there is no water coming through the fabric, this stops condensation building up which some people asume is water coming through the fabric.

 

 

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