Ultralight Groundsheet & Ground Cloth Materials Compared: Polycro Film, Tyvek, Silnylon, Silpoly, DCF

We make XFOIL, a film groundsheet, so keep that in mind while reading. We have tried to be fair anyway: every material below has a place, and for some trips ours isn't the right one.

What makes comparing groundsheets tricky is that most of them come without numbers. You get a weight and a size, sometimes a thickness, and that's it. Where test values exist, we quote them with their source. Where they don't, we say so.

The short version

Material	g/m²	Water­proof	Abra­sion / punc­ture	Tear	Packed	Price	Repair
Polycro film	18–38 (XFOIL: 18)	Yes	Medium	Low	Very small	Low	Tape
Tyvek 1060B Home­Wrap (hard)	61	Water-resis­tant	High	Medium	Bulky	Medium	Tape
Tyvek 1443R (soft)	43	Water-resis­tant	Medium	Lower	Medium	Medium	Tape
Silnylon	30–50	Yes	Medium	Medium–high	Very small	Medium	Silicone, patch
Silpoly	25–40	Yes	Medium	Medium	Very small	Medium	Silicone, patch
DCF	15–30	Yes	High	High	Small	Very high	DCF tape
PU fabric	40–70	Yes*	High	Medium	Medium	Medium	Tape, patch
TPU fabric	40–70	Yes	High	High	Medium	Medium	Tape, patch

*PU coatings wear over time. Weights in g/m² (1 oz/yd² ≈ 34 g/m², so XFOIL at 18 g/m² is about 0.53 oz/yd²). The ratings are our assessment and vary with manufacturer, thickness and coating.

What sets each material apart:

Material	Notes
Polycro film	Very light and cheap, fully waterproof. Low tear strength, so check the ground first. Holes are easy to fix with tape. XFOIL is the only one with published strength data.
Tyvek 1060B Home­Wrap (hard)	Tougher than soft Tyvek, stiff and loud when new. Water-resistant, not waterproof, and more permeable with creasing and wear. Bulky.
Tyvek 1443R (soft)	Softer, quieter and lighter than Home­Wrap, but less resistant to tearing and puncture.
Silnylon	Light, tear-resistant, packs very small. Stretches and sags when wet, slippery, sensitive to UV. The coating can wear with repeated ground contact.
Silpoly	Barely stretches when wet, usually handles UV better than silnylon. Tear strength somewhat lower, depending on brand and denier.
DCF	Very light, strong and waterproof. Very expensive, and repairs need special tape.
PU fabric	Tough, but the coating can break down over the years and under UV, and waterproofness drops with it.
TPU fabric	Tough and waterproof, generally more durable and UV-resistant than PU.

What that means for a real footprint

Grams per square metre are abstract. Here is what each material weighs for a typical two-person tent floor of 130 × 220 cm (51 × 87 in, 2.86 m²), calculated from the values above:

• XFOIL (18 g/m²): about 51 g (1.8 oz)

• DCF 0.55 (about 19 g/m²): about 54 g (1.9 oz)

• Silnylon 20D (36 g/m²): about 103 g (3.6 oz)

• Tyvek 1443R (43 g/m²): about 123 g (4.3 oz)

• Tyvek 1060B HomeWrap (61 g/m²): about 174 g (6.1 oz)

Corners, tie-outs or seams add a little on top. We left out silpoly and coated fabrics because their weight varies too much to give one number.

Polycro film

Polycro, or polycryo, is a thin cross-linked polyolefin film. Hikers borrowed it from window insulation kits because it is light, cheap and completely waterproof. There is no weave and no coating, so water only gets through where there is a hole, no matter how hard you kneel on it.

The weak spot is tearing. Once a film is cut, a tear can run further than it would in a woven fabric. On the other hand, a strip of tape fixes most holes in seconds, even on the trail.

As far as we could find, XFOIL is the only polycro groundsheet with published strength data:

• 18 g/m², 19 µm

• Tensile strength 135 / 125 N/mm² (ASTM D882), elongation 130 / 120 %

• Tear strength 17.5 / 16.5 g (ASTM D1922)

• Puncture resistance 22 N

The other polycryo sheets we looked at list weight and size, some also thickness, but no tensile, tear or puncture values. So a measured comparison between XFOIL and other polycryo isn't possible, and the table treats polycro as one group. Weight per square metre varies a lot between products, so it pays to work it out yourself from the listed weight and size.

To put the tensile figure in perspective: it is in the range of an equally light 7D ripstop nylon (170 / 110 N per 5 cm under ISO 13934-1, XFOIL converted to about 128 / 119 N), with the difference that the film is waterproof. Woven fabric still wins on tear resistance. What these test standards mean is explained in How strong is Polycro really?.

Polycro makes sense if you want the lightest fully waterproof sheet and are willing to look at the ground before you lie down on it. If that sounds like you, take a look at the XFOIL groundsheet: 1.6 × 2.4 m at 67 g (2.4 oz), cut to fit your tent with a craft knife.

Tyvek

Tyvek is a spunbonded polyethylene nonwoven from DuPont. Two types turn up as groundsheets:

• 1060B, sold as HomeWrap or Housewrap (hard structure): the classic. 61 g/m² according to DuPont. Stiff and loud when new, very tough on rough ground. DuPont lists a tensile strength of 310 N per 50 mm (EN 12311-1), well above XFOIL.

• 1443R (soft structure): softer, quieter and lighter at 43 g/m², but noticeably less resistant to tearing and puncture.

Tyvek is water-resistant rather than waterproof. For HomeWrap, DuPont's UK datasheet gives a water column of 1.6 m (EN 20811). That is far more than rain will ever put on it. A knee or elbow on wet ground is a different story: as a rough example, 30 kg on 30 cm² corresponds to about 10 m of water column. On top of that, creasing and wear make Tyvek more permeable over time. We go into the details in Tyvek vs XFOIL.

Tyvek is a good choice for rocky, rough campsites and for anyone who wants a sheet they don't have to be careful with, and who accepts the extra weight and bulk.

Silnylon and silpoly

Both are woven fabrics coated with silicone, waterproof and very packable. You probably know them from tarps and tents.

Silnylon is strong and tear-resistant for its weight; a 20D version weighs around 36 g/m². It stretches and sags when wet, which bothers a tarp more than a groundsheet, and it is slippery, so your pad may wander during the night.

Silpoly barely stretches when wet and generally handles UV better. Its tear strength is somewhat lower than silnylon's, depending on brand and denier.

Both are worth a look if the same piece should double as a tarp or rain cover, or if you want a fabric that doesn't keep tearing once damaged.

DCF

Dyneema Composite Fabric laminates very strong Dyneema fibers between polyester films. It is light, strong and waterproof; a 0.55 oz/yd² version (about 19 g/m²) is rated at a hydrostatic head of 15,000 mm. The catch is the price, which is far above everything else here. If money isn't the deciding factor, DCF is hard to beat.

PU- and TPU-coated fabric

Most footprints sold by tent makers are made of PU- or TPU-coated nylon or polyester. They are tough and waterproof, but clearly heavier. PU coatings can break down over the years; TPU is generally considered more durable. If you want a footprint that fits your tent out of the box and don't count grams, this is the easy route.

Which ground cloth for which trip?

• Under a tent: the job is to protect the tent floor from abrasion and wet ground. A film adds the least weight and stays waterproof even where the floor's coating has worn. More in What Is a Tent Footprint?, and how to make your own in DIY Tent Footprint.

• Cowboy camping: the ground cloth is your whole camp, so size and waterproofness matter most. See Cowboy Camping.

• Under a tarp or bivy: you need a waterproof layer against ground moisture. Film or silnylon work well.

• Bikepacking and fastpacking: every gram and every bit of pack space counts. See our Fastpacking Guide.

FAQ

What is the lightest ground cloth? Thin polycro films at around 18 g/m² and light DCF. XFOIL weighs 18 g/m².

Is Tyvek waterproof? Not fully. HomeWrap resists a water column of 1.6 m according to DuPont, which is plenty for rain, but pressure from a knee on wet ground can be much higher, and Tyvek becomes more permeable with use.

Polycro or Tyvek? Polycro is lighter, packs smaller and is fully waterproof. Tyvek, especially HomeWrap, is tougher on rough ground. More in Tyvek vs XFOIL.

Do I need a ground cloth under a tarp? If you sleep on the ground, yes. Without a floor, a waterproof sheet keeps you and your gear dry from below.