10
I switched from a cheap tarp to a polycro groundsheet after a soggy trip in the Smokies last fall
I used to use a heavy blue tarp under my tent and it always felt like I was wrestling a sail every time the wind picked up. Then I borrowed my buddy's polycro sheet on a trip to the Smokies last November where it rained for two straight days. That thing weighed like 4 ounces and rolled up smaller than my water bottle, plus no water seeped through at all. My old tarp would have been a muddy mess, but this stuff dried off with a quick shake. Has anyone else made the switch and noticed a big difference in pack weight?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
zaranelson1d ago
Yo, but for real, how many times has that actually happened to you? I'm asking cause I've seen people claim polycro is fragile and then they're literally pitching their tent on a gravel bed with pointy rocks everywhere. Like yeah, obviously it'll rip if you don't clear your site first. But I'm curious if you had one bad experience or if it kept failing on you after that. Also, did you patch the hole or just toss the whole sheet?
8
Not gonna lie, I tried polycro once and went right back to my tarp. That stuff rips if you even look at it wrong. I had a stick poking up just a little under my tent and it punched right through, woke up with mud all over the bottom of my bag. Maybe I'm just clumsy, but I'd rather carry an extra 8 ounces and not have to worry about every little rock or twig on the ground.
7