Tent Camperists – what 'carpet' for a tent?

Got a new tent (new to me) – Robens Cabins 500 – and I’m wanting to get a carpet for the living area – can’t find one that fits and the ones that seem to be tent specific that are almost the right size seem to be about £70-£100 – seems a lot of cash.

So what do people use instead of the proper stuff? I’ve seen some foldable stuff from Go Outdoors – look like picnic blankets and they aren’t tartan. I’ve found picnic blankets but they are tartan – which I’m not looking for in my tent!

Basically I’m too tight-fisted to pay full price for a tent carpet when the tent itself cost me not much more than that!

Nothing. It’s how camping was done for decades before the ‘glampers’ got involved.

I use army wool blankets. Hard wearing and about £10.

I’ve see these things used as a flooring whilst camping: https://goo.gl/images/Go4YOL

**** carpet!! 🙄

Tent is the bedroom, the world is your living area!!

Unless it’s lashing down, but then you won’t be worrying about a having cold feet!!

Would you like some scatter cushions and candles to match?
If you’re desperate, a tarp perhaps?

A tent carpet?

I appear to have nodded off for a bit and the world has changed. I assume this is what it felt like landing on the planet of the apes. It all looks familiar but something’s not quire right. What’s that horn?

Aye…a tent carpet…I’m slightly paranoid about sticking a camping table on the groundsheet in case it sticks a hole through it…so I figured a carpet of some sort for the feet of the table, has now morphed into a carpet for the whole living space as it would also add a bit of insulation.

Saying that, I’m not actually wanting the camping table, I’m happy to eat whilst sitting on the floor…however, I’m also looking for some sleep whilst in the tent and I won’t get any whilst getting my ear bent! 😉

We use the previously mentioned fold up picnic blankets £6 ish a piece And last for years, yes we’re wimps but it’s nice to have something warm underfoot when it gets chilly on an evening.

You want a carpet for your tent?

This has to be an elaborate middle class troll.

😆 the great outdoors, eh?

We have the carpet that fits our tent (and the footprint groundsheet too) – it was too awkward a shape to fit it with picnic rugs or the like.

For the flabbergasted, the carpet only goes in the living area bit of the tent.
Keeps it a bit cosier and means you can sit/lie on the floor with some comfort and you don’t need three pairs of socks to keep your feet warm. We got it when we were camping with babies to make it nicer to crawl about on.

More practically it also protects the groundsheet from being punctured by a chair or random pointy bit.

I can sort of understand having something on the floor to sit on that’s a bit nicer than just the groundsheet, those waterproof blankets are just the thing, plus they can be used to sit outside on the grass, or anywhere else for that matter.
The groundsheet is going to accumulate bits of grass, sand, and other detritus anyway, so having those blankets to catch most of it then be able to take them outside and shake all the crap off makes keeping things fairly clean makes sense as well.

OP: these UKCampsite reviews suggest there isn’t a specific carpet for your tent but apparently there is an Outwell one that fits perfectly.
http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/tents/p/Robens-Cabin-500/1456

wouldn’t be without our tent carpet now. it took a while to persuade him, but sod it i bought it anyway. Now he agrees. Much nicer to walk about on, comfier for the dog. what’s not to like.
Got it on sale at GO, it was sized to fit our tent, i think i paid £40.

Those industrial floor tiles…you can get them in Halfords, brand is Rolson.

You can connect several packs together, they are warm, really lightweight, don’t absorb water, and easy to cut if you want to make them fit the floor exactly. And if you cut them to fit, you can chop off some of the interlocking edges and lose all the edging strips to reduce faffage.

Mine are grey, but they also have multicoloured kiddie versions. Think they are £10 for 1.2×1.8 metres.

PS not tried them in a tent but they been in my garage, tack room and are now being used as floor insulation in my campervan!

Footprint: worth every penny
Carpet: rip off
Get some blankets.

We just use blankets etc.

The field usually has a nice lush green carpet….

We usually make do with a groundsheet but they do or can puddle.

I like the interlocking tile idea but won’t they take up a fair bit of space in the car?

Carpets are almost essential for living area of the tent. For a big family tent that a lot of time is spent inside due to weather or in the cold evenings. I wouldnt be without ours. Not only do they keep the floor warm, but they can help soak up a little condensation and a few spills.
I use the Outwell one that is made for our tent. If that one fits as suggested above, I’d pay the price. Tough, well made and they fold up nicely velcro’ing themselves together.
I use go outdoors picnic blankets for bedrooms. This keeps the cold floor away from your bed.
I use a piece of Tarp for the footprint.

For car camping with the famy, wouldn’t be without our carpet for all the above reasons

Prior to that, picnic rug worked fine.

They do take up a bit of space, but they are slim so could lay them on the floor of the boot. They are about a cm thick and so about 6 or 8 cm deep for a pack

I bought one this year. It was mainly to weigh down the groundsheet in our van awning. Can’t find a link to it but it is a quite thin rubberised mesh. Easy to cut to shape etc. The benefit of these are any sand, dirt or damp falls through them and you can still walk on dry carpet. Looks aren’t great but works brilliantly.

Never thought of this. We just tend to use the ‘living area’ as storage and do all the cooking and sitting around under a gazebo, especially if we’ve got other families coming – more sociable and a better view. Just seems our defacto set-up and mirrors a bike race set up. (minus heckling passers-by and waving cowbells at anything that moves)

Interesting idea on the foam floor tiles.

We used them in our house for flooring in the kids bedroom and they were brilliant (and cheap). Beware though that the colourful kiddie ones wouldn’t be good for camping because the numbers and letters on them are all separate pieces of foam.

Just take a ‘couple’ of bags of gravel, sand and cement, and a grid of re-bar.

Might as well throw in some bricks and roof tiles whilst you are there as well

😆

🙄 There are different styles of “camping”. Deal with it.

This is “camping” and is lots of fun:

But this is also “camping” and is also lots of fun:

not enough empty beer cans in that second picture! 😆

After years of using an uncarpeted Montana 6 we upgraded to a SH polycotton Outwell with a carpet. Wouldn’t got back now, make the tent a much nicer place to be.

In England on loamy soil it’s all nice and warm underfoot and on very damp ground it really lessens that squelchy feeling. In abroad-land where the ground is more likely to be hard and possibly stony it’s also much more comfortable.

Picnic blankets as its far more palatable to throw away a £6 item after loads of mud has been traipsed over it / milk / food spilt all over it

this quechua one works nicely in our cabin 600. not sure of the dimensions of a cabin 500. it leaves an uncarpeted gap down the one side where stove, food and bags go

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/comfort-xl-waterproof-picnic-rug–id_8331496.html

The OP’s tent…

If its wet, windy and cold and you are camping for a week, where do you sit/eat/drink/play games?
Seriously.
This is why we have a very large family tent with as many luxuries as possible/practical.

Next, people will be camping with “Mobile Houses”…. 🙄

Picnic blankets as its far more palatable to throw away a £6 item after loads of mud has been traipsed over it / milk / food spilt all over it

Call me a hippy but I generally just wash stuff that gets dirty.
Throwing it away seems a little wasteful.

GrahamS – Member
There are different styles of “camping”. Deal with it.

Agreed. Each to their own and all that. 2nd picture looks like our idea of hell, and we don’t only do the 1st photo. Started our family camping in a 2 person mountain tent with newborn at 3 months or so, like many others I guess, but then many others probably think we were irresponsible as we didn’t have a cot, baby bath, 10001 bits of useless plastic, a carpet or even a groundshet apart from the inner tent sewn in one.

Our philosophy is K.I.S.S and minimise on faff.

Thanks for the suggestions…loving the suggested ‘mansion’…can’t find a carpet that will fit, so I’m thinking picnic rugs from Go Outdoors…7 quid and I reckon 4 would cover the whole of the tent including the bedroom if it is cold.

Did you not find the Outwell one mentioned in the UkCampsite reviews I linked to? Or was that too pricey?

One thing to watch for on picnic blankets: make sure they are fire retardant.

My tent will only just accommodate my inflatable mattress, my sleeping bag and my bag with my clothes in, with shoes/boots and sundries like water in the entrance bit.
I’ve got a travel blanket with a waterproof backing that I found at Greenman last year, but it’s too big to use in the tent, so I’ll use it for sitting on outside when it’s dry.
Unless I get a bigger tent, which then introduces issues like being able to put it up on my own…
I’ll see what Aldi/Lidle have on offer this year.

i’m so tempted to get one of those cheap faux white fur rugs now in the shape of a skinned sheep,..just to surprise the missus next time we go 😀