Hornet Footprint

The Hornet Footprint is Nemo's fitted groundsheet for the Hornet backpacking tent: a tough, waterproof polyester sheet cut to the shape of the tent floor, with attachment points at the corners and a mesh bag to carry it in.

What it does

It takes the beating so your tent floor does not. A Hornet is built light, and light floor fabric is exactly what granite slabs, quartz gravel and snapped-off snow gum twigs like to chew on. Put the footprint down first and the abrasion lands on a layer made for it.

It also keeps the underside of the tent clean and dry, so on a wet morning at Lake Oberon or a dusty one on the Larapinta you are rolling up a tent that goes back in your pack without the mud. Shake the footprint off, bag it separately, and keep walking.

Because the footprint is cut to sit entirely under the tent, nothing sticks out past the fly to catch rain and funnel it underneath you.

Which tents it fits

The Nemo Hornet. Match the footprint to the tent: the 1 Person footprint goes under the Hornet 1P, the 2 Person under the Hornet 2P, and the 3 Person under the Hornet 3P.

It connects to the tent rather than just lying under it. At the head end, the plastic C clips on the tent's corners hook around the footprint's webbing. At the foot end, the footprint has adjustable line-loc tensioners with a loop that goes over the same peg as the tent corner, and a grommet that takes the pole tip. Clip it on once and you can pitch tent and footprint together from then on.

Weight and packed size

The footprint folds flat and lives in its own drawstring mesh bag, which breathes so a damp footprint can dry out instead of stewing. Slide it down the side of your pack or strap it outside when it is wet.

Looking after it

Brush off grit before you fold it, and dry it fully at home before it goes into storage. Clear sharp sticks and stones from the tent site first; the footprint is there for the ones you miss.