Tent floor padding can enhance any camping setup by making it more cozy and comfortable. It can provide insulation, cushioning, and protection to the inside of your tent floor.
There are several types of tent floor mats. Some have padding, some benefit from better insulation, and some help simply by providing a more comfortable contact surface for your feet!
You can even cover your tent flooring with carpet or blankets to make it feel like a cozy home.
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Best Tent Floor Mats Overall
The best tent floor mats for inside the tent are Drymate Camping Carpet and the BalanceFrom Foam Padding Tiles.
Read my hands-on review of Drymate’s tent carpet.
I enjoy the Drymate floor mat for my large canvas tents, but foam tiles will be the best if you have kids or a dog or need extra comfort.
And while I don’t have experience with them, I discovered MountainMats during my tent floor journey. They have some great-looking indoor/outdoor carpets/mats.
Insulated Tent Floor Mat
In my experience, camping in moderate weather is the most fun. This leads to chilly nights once the sun goes down. An insulated tent floor mat can provide much-needed warmth can comfort.
Best Tent Floor Insulation: How to Keep your Tent Floor Warm
The best tent floor insulation is foam tiles. These are typically used for home gyms or workout rooms, and you may already have some you can use.
They can typically be bought in squares that connect together. They are lightweight, making them a great portable tent flooring option. In addition, they can easily be cut to fit the edges of your tent.
Tent Carpets for Comfort and Protection
Tent carpets can help you have a more cozy experience and offer basic protection from cots, chairs, or any other gear you place on your tent floor.
Best Carpet for Inside a Tent: Drymate Camping Carpet
The Drymate camping carpet is great because it’s compact, soft to the touch, and easy to clean dirt off of.
When you don’t want the extra insulation or bulkiness of padded options, this is the way to go.
A tent liner like this will be more comfortable on the feet and in colder environments.
My canvas tents have vinyl flooring and it’s nice to cover them with more comfortable material. In addition, this carpet is easy to fold up and shake outside while packing up.
The downside is it’s only available in 7’4″ x 8’x4″, which is an odd size. The inside of my tents is typically 10×10 or 9×7.
However, I find by the time you have sleeping pads and other gear laid out, you don’t need much more than this size of tent carpet.
The waterproof backside helps it stay in place and adds a bit of insulation from cold and damp floors.
The material can easily be cut to size as well or used in conjunction with a second carpet if you need more material.
Foam Tiles and Padded Floor Tent Mats
Foam floor tiles add substantial insulation and cushioning to your tent.
If you camp with kids or a dog, consider these for additional insulation from the ground. They are great for putting dog beds on, covering the tent floor, and more.
These interlocking foam pads add substantial cushioning compared to alternatives.
You will have to decide if you want to cover your entire tent floor with these or just a certain area.
If you only do a portion of the tent floor, you may want some anti-skid material beneath these. They are very lightweight and will move around easily if there isn’t anything helping keep friction. If you cover the entire tent floor with them, this will be less of an issue.
These foam pads are also easy to clean and dry relatively quickly. Lastly, you can cut them to size to fit your exact needs.
Camping Floor Pad Considerations
The downside of padded tent floors is that they take up a lot of space. Even though they are lightweight, they end up being bulky. If you have cargo space, they are a great solution.
Additional Tent Flooring Padding Ideas
When I consider new gear, I try and think of things I already have on hand that could serve a similar purpose.
Warm Blankets or Bed Sheets
I started by using an old bed sheet to help keep the tent floor clean. The downside was it was thin and moved around way too easy.
Moving Blankets
Moving blankets can be used as camping tent flooring because they are soft to the touch. And you might have some people who will have them from past moves.
Yoga Mats
Yoga mats can be used as a tent floor pad or to add extra insulation under your sleeping area.
Ground Tarps
You should always consider using a ground tarp underneath your tent to protect it from sharp objects. However, no ground tarps on the market will offer the same insulation or comfort provided by the alternatives mentioned above.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do You Insulate a Tent Floor?
Insulating a tent floor can be done using padding like interlocking foam tiles. These are typically sold as workout room floors but can be used as soft and insulating tent floors.
How Do I Protect the Inside of My Tent Floor?
You can use carpet, foam tiles, or other materials to protect the inside of your tent floor. A tent floor liner can also be used to protect the inside of the tent.
What Do You Put on Your Tent Floor?
You can put carpet, foam padding, blankets, or other soft and insulating materials on your tent floor. These can add comfort, warmth, and make for a more enjoyable camping experience.
