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ZPacks™ Bathtub Groundsheet / Tent Floor My favorite piece of gear….

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Rainy day and night on the Buncombe Horse Range after summiting Mt. Mitchell. I’m sitting under my ENO Housefly and protected from the wet ground by my ZPacks Bathtub Twin Cuben Fiber Floor.

 

I purchased a ZPacks Hexamid Solo Plus a few years back and it’s a truly outstanding piece of gear….simply awesome!  It’s super light and packs very small but that’s not what I like best about the purchase.  The removable Cuben Fiber floor is the bonus that came with the tent.  They give you an option of which size you buy to go with the tent and I opted for the twin size as opposed to the solo plus size.  I’m so glad I went that route because at a whopping 1.1 ounces and additional 15 bucks it’s possibly my favorite piece of gear without a doubt.  I love it!

Why do I love my ZPacks™ Bathtub Groundsheet / Tent Floor because it’s super versatile and can be used as a floor while cowboy camping or as a mini-tarp overhead.  You can pair it with any tarp and you practically have a complete tent set-up for just ounces easily.  Being a bathtub floor it’s pretty much formed and therefore the corners flare up.  Also, considering that Cuben Fiber is a bit stiff it will actually stand up a little on its’ own so you don’t have to add any kind of stiffeners or stake it up on the corners.  However, it comes with sewn loops on the top edges to fasten it to the Hexamid Solo-Plus tent so those can be used for alternative lash points.  The really cool thing is that Cuben Fiber impervious to water and won’t wet out like a nylon tarp which gives me piece of mind that my sleeping bag or puffy won’t get wet.

I’ve used it as a floor with several tarps and cowboy camping as well up to this point and now I’m wondering what else I can pair this thing up with or what other way can I use it.  All of this versatility for a whopping 4.6 ounces, outstanding!  And the price is very reasonable as far as Cuben Fiber goes and the quality is typical ZPacks which is simply incredible.  I’m betting it can be made into a make-shift trekking pole supported tarp for emergency situations if one is out on a day-hike.   I can’t wait to explore the options.  No matter what at 4.6 ounces I really can’t come up with a reason not to take it on any hike for whatever reason.

My ZPacks™ Bathtub Groundsheet / Tent Floor also makes an excellent ground cloth for hammock camping where I’ve used it to keep my gear dry on the ground underneath my hammock.

I’m now considering getting the ZPacks™ Groundsheet-Poncho and using it as a tarp(not specifically intended as such so do so at your own risk) in conjunction with this the Bathtub floor which would make an extremely light and versatile setup.  I currently own a Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil NanoTarp-Poncho (Pacific Blue) and will most likely use it in conjunction until I can justify purchasing the Cuben Fiber version.

No matter what you use it for it’s an outstanding piece of gear.




 

Below is the official description/information for the ZPacks Bathtub Groundsheet/Floor copied directly from the ZPacks website

Solo-Plus – 3.5 oz (99g)

Spacious for a single hiker plus gear. Fits any of the three Hexamid tent sizes. Note that the Twin size groundsheet will also fit in the  Hexamid Solo-Plus and is a better choice for two people.

28″ (71 cm) wide at the ends, 42″ (107 cm) wide at the center,  84″ (213 cm) long, with a 5″ (13 cm) bathtub folded up all the way around. If the material were laid flat the dimensions would be 38″ x 52″ x 94″ (97 cm x 132 cm x 239 cm).

Also available with a hood for dual use as a Poncho!

Twin – 4.6 oz (130g)

This size will fit both our Hexamid Solo-Plus and Hexamid Twin. Both of those tents have the exact same footprint size and this sheet will fit both of them. The front edge of this groundsheet is longer than the back, matching the tent footprint as seen in the diagram.

The Twin groundsheet fully utilizes the full floor space of the tents while leaving a buffer zone around the perimeter for rain spray. It is comfortable for two hikers plus gear, and long enough for taller hikers. It will fit two full length 20″ wide sleeping pads side by side. Two NeoAir pads are shown in the photo.

38″ (97 cm) wide at the ends, 50″ (127 cm) wide at the center, 84″ (213 cm) long, with a 5″ (13 cm) bathtub folded up all the way around. If the material were laid flat the dimensions would be 48″ x 60″ x 100″ (122 cm x 152 cm x 254 cm).

Also available with a hood for dual use as a Poncho!

 

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My ENO Housefly at Deep Gap on the way to Mt. Mitchell. I’m using my ZPacks Cuben Fiber Bathtub Floor as the floor.

 

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