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  1. #1
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    Tent Footprint to Rain Fly?

    Hi folks. I've been pondering a cheap way to make a couple of rain tarps. Steep & Cheap has some tent footprints for 4 person tents pretty cheap. I'm thinking about picking a couple up and modifying the shape a bit to fit my needs. What are your thoughts on the materials used on tent footprints? Suitable for a rain fly? The material listed is 70D Nylon, 1800 mm.

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by gibsonguy92 View Post
    Hi folks. I've been pondering a cheap way to make a couple of rain tarps. Steep & Cheap has some tent footprints for 4 person tents pretty cheap. I'm thinking about picking a couple up and modifying the shape a bit to fit my needs. What are your thoughts on the materials used on tent footprints? Suitable for a rain fly? The material listed is 70D Nylon, 1800 mm.
    Why not go to DIY supply and buy the material you want. The problem with most foot prints is all the seams.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Canoefor2 View Post
    Why not go to DIY supply and buy the material you want. The problem with most foot prints is all the seams.
    The vender is DIY Gear Supply. Just google the name and it will come up.

  4. #4
    Senior Member anvil440's Avatar
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    I've used my 4-man tent footprint as a tarp for my hammock and it worked out pretty good. It kept me dry throughout a 2-day perpetual downpour this past spring. I didn't modify it at all. However, if you're looking to modify a tent footprint, you probably would be better off just making one from scratch. DIY would give you what you want and probably for less - at least until you realize you CAN do this DIY thing and you start making plans for tarp 2.0, new hammock, winter sock, bugnet, stuffsacks, ridgeline organi...well you get my drift.

  5. #5
    Senior Member Boston's Avatar
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    +1. If you can modify the foot print you can DIY.

    Get sil nylon 2nds from Noah Lamport. It about $3/yrd but a minimum of 10 yards (still cheaper than buying sil most anywhere else). I'd buy enough for 2 tarps (actually I did..lol). They usually don't have woodsy color's, but if you're going cheap as possible you can't really be picky.

    Look around the site, and the internet. There's lot's of how-to guides for construction methods and shapes. I'd suggest using a grosgrain binding on the ridge seam, as it's simple, easy, and doesn't require seam sealing.

  6. #6
    Senior Member Tendertoe's Avatar
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    Go Chinook and don't look back...

    14 x 12 tarp
    12 x 9.6 tarp

    I do recommend adding tieouts at the ridgeline - just some webbing sewn to the tarp itself. The stock grommets are prone to ripping out. The corners, for some reason, have webbing tieouts, but the ridgeline has grommets.

    If you go with the 14 x 12 tarp, you can also create doors by adding webbing "corner tieouts" about 3.5 feet from the ends of the tarp along the bottom of the tarp.

    You can add side pullouts as well by using 4 Grip Clips.

    I bought a Chinook 14 x 12 for one of my younger brothers a few years back pictured below and did the above mentioned actions - sewed 2 ridgeline webbing tieouts and 4 "corner" webbing tieouts and added 4 Grip Clip side pullouts.

    DIY can be rewarding, but can be time consuming and nearly as expensive as buying new and you'd be hard pressed to find a new tarp at this price for the amount of coverage you get. Granted a bit heavier than silnylon, but also half the price of a silnylon tarp of the same dimensions.

    Last edited by Tendertoe; 12-06-2013 at 14:43.

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