Cooper Spur 2 footprint is too thin

[Reflex]

Just did 1st camp with my new Copper Spur 2 (car camping) . Overall materials are thin, foot print too. Seems foot print could shred easy. Any suggested alternatives?

[toejam]

The material is thin to keep it light. You don't really need much unless you plan to dance in your tent. I rarely carry a ground cloth for my tent. When I do it's a piece of tyvec, used as a vapor barrier in house construction. I've scrounged some from construction sites, but people sell it on line.

[Reflex]

whats the benefit of the Tyvec?

[toejam]

It's light, waterproof, tear-proof, and you can find it in a dumpster.

[PaulGS]

Congratulations on the new tent. 

What type of ground were you camping on? If it was anything less then sharp gravel, you should be ok. The materials on most new tents, especially one like the Copper Spur are amazingly thin but also surprisingly resilient.

And how did you find the tent overall? 

[Stepbystep]

The footprints in BA's UL series are made of 20d fabric...not a great choice in my opinion for my own needs where footprints are concerned, but people use footprints (or not) for a variety of reasons.  It's not wimpy, but it's not very robust or especially durable, either.  As is, that footprint is best for keeping the tent floor drier and free of mud, a little bit of abrasion resistance (which is good, since the floors are also very thin).  It does very little for puncture protection and occasionally even something as wimpy as a dry pine needle can poke through, and pine cones.  Does ok with most plant debris and such.  If you need something a little tougher for puncture and abrasion, a homemade tyvek sheet would be a decent and inexpensive choice...cut it the same size as your footprint (or alternatively, cut it smaller than the tent floor, about 2" per side (4" overall reduction)...then you can stitch or staple on some thin bungee loops to attach to the poles if you want (you don't have to do that but it helps to keep it from sliding out in use).  Tyvek is not waterproof but it is water resistant enough to be fine most of the time.  On really soggy ground water will seep through but your tent floor should keep you dry if it isn't worn or holey.  If you need even more rugged, you can look for some of the heavier footprints from other tents and try to make one of those work, maybe with a little modification/trimming, a cheap generic ground cloth/tarp that you can alter, etc.  Most of those will be 70d or 210 taffeta, but they are considerably heavier.  Polycro (window film) has been popular with ul'ers the last few years but personally I think it's a poor and wasteful choice since it's not durable at all...is totally waterproof and does so-so with abrasion.  Your current mfr footprint is much better, though.  Also, regarding the tyvek...can't remember the name now, but there is a small company making custom/tailored tyvek footprints with grommets and loops for many tent models.  I think they run around $25-$30 and are made well enough.  I'm not a fan of grommets on tyvek but for a footprint it's ok...not necessary, though, and you can certainly do the same thing at home for less money.  There are two main types of tyvek that you can buy, too...one is stiffer and more water resistant than the other (it's the one usually found in hardware stores and kite shops, etc).