DIY: How to make a MSR Hubba Hubba tent footprint.

It’s been a month since I stopped working, and I must admit that from time to time I’m getting a bit restless. The spring weather in Sweden has been really miserable too, so I’m not doing as much cycling and camping as I would have hoped. Sure, I could be heading out in the rain and wind, but I want to avoid it for as long as possible. On the road I won’t have the choice, so I’m enjoying staying warm and dry for now.

One thing I’ve been planning to do has been to make a footprint for my tent. A footprint is basically a piece of tarp that helps keeping your tent floor safe from rocks and sticks that can poke tiny holes and make it not so waterproof anymore. It’s an easy way to prolong the lifespan of your tent. Tarp is also good for covering your bike or using as a roof in case of bad weather. Lucky for me, my dad had a huge piece of tarp in the garage, so after cutting a big square I was ready to make my footprint. 


As you can see the tarp was a bit too big. It’s really important that it’s smaller than the floor of your tent, otherwise rain will pool between the tarp and the tent which completely defeats the purpose.

Cutting the tarp to fit the tent.

After having cut the tarp down to the correct size, it was time to put eyelets in the corners to be able to keep the footprint in place underneath the tent. 



After the eyelets were put in place, I just tied some string through another eyelet ring (haha that rhymed) so that I could put it around the tent pole.

Finished! When the doors are stretched out, the entire tarp will be covered. And the best news? The tarp easily fits with the rest of the tent in the bag and adds practically no weight!

A quick and cheap way of making your own footprint, instead of paying way too much for the brands own ready-made ones.