I’ve recently got myself a lightweight tipi for an upcoming trip. Sleeps 4 and only weighs 1.7kg, so seems like a good option so far. It’s not come with a groundsheet though, and the official one costs a fortune. I can’t really see why a piece of PU nylon with some elastic on costs over a ton, but as it’s no longer made I can’t really shop around. Does anyone know of any alternatives? It feels like I ought to be able to get something for a fraction of that price, but I don’t really want to use polythene or anything too plasticy. I found this material, but it would still be £40 for enough, and I’d need to sew two halves together so would have add in money for seam sealer etc.

Should I just suck it up and buy the proper one, or go for a potentially expensive DIY job? I may well sell the whole lot after the summer depending on how I get on with it, so don’t want to loose too much money on the groundsheet.

Cheers,

Do you need a groundsheet? I don’t use one when bivvying under a tarp.

Probably not. My gf is concerned about spider ingress due to lack of a proper inner tent, so a groundsheet seems like a reasonable compromise.

Have found some cheaper PU coated nylon on Ebay so might go with that if I can get the material for a bit less than Penine prices.

How about Tyvek? It’s used as vapour barrier in buildings. Tends to be in strips about 1.2m wide.

That looks good. I wonder if it could be sewn. Shame it’s not a touch wider, as it’d need two seams rather than one. Found some PU Nylon for £3.75/m so may go with that

Tyvek is a paper like material. I’ve not tried sewing it but you could tape it (which is what’s done on building sites).

Talk to Stu at Bearbones about sewing Tyvek.
He keeps it in stock and is handy with the Singer>

APF