We suggest using an MSR footprint, which is sold separately, under your tent to improve its performance and durability. To make sure you pick the right footprint for your tent model, please check our compatibility chart available here.
Tent footprints have several useful purposes. They help keep your tent floor clean and dry by adding an extra layer between the ground and your tent. This layer protects your tent floor from dirt and moisture and also reduces wear from rough or abrasive surfaces. By minimizing abrasion, a footprint can help extend the life of your tent, so you get more use and value from it.
Why is the footprint slightly smaller than the floor of the tent?
This is intentional! A slightly smaller footprint creates a dripline effect from the rainfly to the ground, which helps prevent water from seeping between the footprint and tent floor. If the footprint is too close to the rainfly’s dripline, water wicks or seeps in-between the two layers. This design helps keep the inside of your tent drier when it's wet outside.
Do you need a replacement footprint?
If you have an older tent and cannot find the matching footprint you may still be able to use one of our footprints on and older tent or you can source and alternative footprint online. There are a number of online retailers selling universal footprints and if the fit is not perfect you can use a bit of utility chord to extent or shorten the attachment points relative to the stake locations of your tent.
When sourcing your after-market footprint make sure the longest dimension is about 2 -8 inches shorter than the longest dimension of you tent floor and make sure the same is true for the shorter dimension. Any amount of footprint is better than nothing it is very important to protect the floor of your lightweight tent!