18
Tried a $12 tarp from Walmart instead of my expensive tent footprint
Last weekend I went camping up at Lake George and forgot my tent footprint at home. Panicked a bit but stopped at a Walmart on the way and grabbed a cheap blue tarp for like 12 bucks. Figured it would get me through one night. Turns out that thing worked better than my $40 branded footprint. It was bigger so my whole tent stayed dry, no water seeped through like my old one does sometimes. I even used it as a sun shade the next day by tying it to some trees. Now I'm wondering if I've been overpaying for gear this whole time. Anyone else ditch the fancy stuff for a plain tarp or am I just lucky it didn't rain hard?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
michael_williams5d ago
Nah, I think the branded ones usually hold up better long term.
7
mason.drew5d ago
You're on to something though... it's funny how we get tricked into thinking the expensive version is always better. Reminds me of how people pay triple for name brand ibuprofen when the store brand has the exact same stuff in it. I've been using a plain old blue tarp as a footprint for years now and it just works. Once you start questioning one piece of gear it kinda snowballs into everything else too.
3