Our tent doesn't have a sewn in groundsheetin the living area and i'm contemplating buying on that does, the gap fromn tent to groundsheet in our tent, is reall quite big, big enough for our cocker spaniel to walk under sadly Coupled with the security of our dog getting out and this awful weather a tent with sewn in groundsheet is calling me, I just wondered are there any bad points of having a sewn in groundsheet?
There are more good points that bad.
One thing I would say is if you decide to get one,buy a footprint groundsheet as well.
Putting this down first will keep the underneath of your SIG nice and clean so when you get home all you have to do is give your footprint a brush or a wash
------------- Sue & Phil
--------------------- I Love My AeroBed
Our Coleman lakeside 4 does not have a SIG, We thought we wouldn't need one, however there was a gap around the bottom as you describe, so I bought a good quality ground sheet from Blacks and cut it into strips and stitched it to form a mudwall around the living area of the tent. I put in a few eyelets to peg it down and this has worked really well. Total cost £6
I have never had any problems with ventilation in our tent but then the kids do sometimes refer to me as the "fresh air freak" as I always have the doors and windows open during the day and the vents are always left open at night. Never had a condensation problem even with the fan heater on all night!
Totally agree with Sue and would recommend a footprint groundsheet to go under the tent.
Our first tent (Sunncamp APS3006+) didn't have a SIG and never had any problems with it being draughtly but now having the Khyam I do definately prefer the SIG tents!
I actually like the option of the gaps on my cabanon. If I dont want gaps I peg down the flaps using the eyelet holes and match them up with the groundsheet. When I do want gaps (most of the time) I just dotn bother with this extra bit of pegging. All last summer (summer being a word I use lightly) I couldnt be botherd and no one noticed at despite the fact the weather was cack! No one complained it was cold or draughty.
I have just bought a tent with a sig and am dreading cleaning the bits and cr*p that just finds it way onto the tent. I am always amazed how much cr*p we get in the bedroom inners in the Cabanon considering I ont let the kis hang out in the bedrooms in the day time! We literally use them to go to bed. I also imagine if you dotn have a footprint you could be rolling your tent up onto something wet and muddy. Even with a footprint there will sometimes be some dampness on the underside, something you need to allow to dry off before packing the tent away. Finally the lack of ventilation will cause increased condensation especially in a nylon tent!
------------- I used to be emvid then a Little Lemon but now I am Emvid again!
we have SIG in our vango diablo 600 its great in bad weather and the ventalation is good in it, but we have a young toddler and he will try an escape not with SIG he wont so thats why we got one with them in.
when amping in winter conditions its very cosy, ive camped in one with out sig and it was drafty so thats another reason we went for SIG.
We don't have a SIG in the oregon 5 and I quite like that, I am hoping for a hot summer so my choice of non SIG will be justified. However if we were camping early or late season I might want a SIG. I think you just need lots of tents to suit the conditions.
Of course I really really need to go shopping for another tent
Quote: Originally posted by nanashirley on 18/7/2009
Our Coleman lakeside 4 does not have a SIG, We thought we wouldn't need one, however there was a gap around the bottom as you describe, so I bought a good quality ground sheet from Blacks and cut it into strips and stitched it to form a mudwall around the living area of the tent. I put in a few eyelets to peg it down and this has worked really well. Total cost £6
I've done that one two tents too. It's a cheap & effective way to stop the draughts.
Have a zip in groundsheet in our tent, brilliant! Gives you both options.Camped with no groundsheet before this one , must say i prefer the zip in one , easy to clean when packing up, just unzip and shake.Footprint works well, means the underside of tent stays clean.We just buy a cheap tarpaulin and cut to size.
When we first went off camping we borrowed a tent to see if this was what we wanted to do.
The tent we borrowed did not have sewn in ground sheet but had bedroom pods.
We did wake up cold this was after hot days so was surprised that we would wake up cold.This made my mind up to buy a tent with sewn in ground sheet,
Have been out in our Vango and it is fab keeps draughts out and we stayed warm,
The Vango has got vents above the pods and we did find that it was a bit draughty they do not close completley so think i need to get velcro and tape them closed when needed.
Our latest tent come awning has a SIG and I was please with this when we first bought it as I thought it would stop our 2 Bichon Frises from escaping.
Wrong!!!!!
The groungsheet is not sewn in where the doors are, nor where the front of the tent lifts up "in good sunny weather" (???).
Unless we are there, watching them all the time, they have to go onto anchored extending leads. Invariably this means that when we return to the unit after a trip to the loo, 2 dogs are out in the open at the furthest extent of their leads, watching what is going on much to the amusment of our fellow campers.
Aah, the joys of camping with our canine companions. I wouldn't go without them.
Thanks everyone, after a very wet few days in the Lakes, and a mini river managing to form in our groundsheet, which drenched everything, we are in the market for either a SIG or a ZIG