The Complete Handbook of Tent Footprints

I'm a buyer for a mid-sized outdoor chain and I've been waiting for something like this. The chapter on interpreting denier and hydrostatic head specs alone saved me from a bad bulk order. I took off one star because the business opportunities chapter leans a bit heavy on the rental side, which isn't my area, but I still found it useful context.

Good solid reference. I'm a Scout leader and I bought this to settle a debate with another adult volunteer about whether we even need footprints on grass. The explanation of ground moisture and abrasion finally made it clear, and the maintenance chapter is practical. It's a bit dry in places, but this is a handbook, not a novel.

I was hoping for more brand-specific comparison, like a chart of which footprint fits which tent. The book deliberately avoids that, which is fair enough, but it means I still had to do a lot of legwork on my own. The material science stuff is fine, but I think the advice on sizing is repeated a few too many times across chapters.

As someone who runs a small gear rental operation, the chapter on fleet management and bulk purchasing was exactly what I needed. It validated some of our procedures and gave me a few new ideas for repairing delamination instead of trashing units. I'd recommend it to anyone in the rental space.

Finally, a book that treats tent footprints as the engineering problem they actually are. The chapter on why footprints matter, with the concrete examples of what happens to a tent floor without one, is the clearest explanation I've read anywhere. This is going on the shelf next to my other field manuals. It's the real deal.

I've been car camping for years and only got a footprint to stop the tent from slipping on the tent pad. The installation section gave me a better technique for positioning it so it doesn't stick out and catch rainwater. I mainly got it for the practical setup advice, which is good, but the maintenance chapter felt a bit overly detailed for a casual camper like me.

Useful reference, but I was surprised there wasn't more discussion on the environmental impact of the waterproofing coatings themselves. The chapter on future trends touches on it, but I'd like to see a deeper dive. That said, the repair instructions are excellent and have already extended the life of my own footprint, so I can't complain too much.

I picked this up because I'm a Scout volunteer and the troop needs to replace our aging footprints. The choosing chapter helped me understand why buying a custom footprint for our specific tent models is worth the expense over a universal tarp. I docked a star because some of the explanations go into more technical detail than our needs require, but it's a solid book.