[pct-l] Foam Pad Tent Bottoms

[Hiker97 at aol.com]

_Tortoise73 at charter.net_ (mailto:Tortoise73 at charter.net)   writes:

Actually  switchback I'm surprised you haven't thought of this.  Replace the 
bottom  of your tent with a piece of foam cut to fit and sewed to the sides. 
Then you  have your pad and a durable (?) bottom and save some weight.  Patent  
pending  2007
---------------------------------------------
Actually, I did think of this, but could not figure out how to roll up  the 
tent and pad together for the pack.  So, I thought I would just keep  them 
separate and attach the pad to the bottom of the tent in camp.   Simple.
 
The big mistake I made the first time I experimented with  this was to glue 
the Velcro hook pads on the tent bottom.  This would be  instead of the soft 
Velcro pad part.  The hooks wrecked my tent netting  when they got caught on it 
when I rolled up my tent to store it in the  pack.  Now my netting is all 
funky.  It is still usable, but I like my  gear to look cool on the trail and not 
all banged up.  I have an image and  reputation to maintain.  :-)
 
I think for the upcoming shipment  of the two GossamerGear.com ThinLight 
pads, I will just see if they will stay  under the tent with four TI stakes used 
for the tent (I will Velcro the two  trimmed pads together).  This might work.  
Walking foam pads at night  is not fun.  You end up on cold spots.  Real 
bummer.  
 
This is especially important for  me, since I use the bottomless 
NanutakUSA.com 16.6 ounce Ghost bag.  The  bag worked great on the chilly nights in the 
Grand Canyon several weeks  ago.  I was warm and comfortable even when windy 
when used with my down  jacket/hood.  This was when I was just sleeping out on 
the ground (no tent)  with a my tent fly as a ground cloth and a foam pad under 
me.   Simple.
 
One thing I learned on the Grand  Canyon expedition was how important it is 
to have a warm jacket with hood.   The 800 down came through with flying 
colors.  It made the difference  between being always warm and comfortable whether 
standing or in the sleeping  bag.  Great piece of gear.  I recommend hikers 
consider a good quality  down garment of 700 down or above.  I do not like the 
lower grade "down"  and feather products.
 
Switchback the  Warmanator
 
 
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