It is exactly tailored to the special shape of the tent--having rings located at the four corners so that the tent's press-fit poles directly connect it to the tent itself--and works very well in protecting the floor of the actual tent as well as keeping it nice and dry. And because it was made to fit the Teton 2 specifically, the footprint is completely hidden once the tent is fully assembled.
While tarps are often used for the same purpose, they can be hard to manage being that they're often big, heavy, noisy and just dowright cumbersome. The footprint, however, is light, cleans and dries easily & quickly, and packs right along with the rest of the tent while in storage. I definitely made the right decision spending the extra $30 and would heavily recommend it to anyone even considering the Teton 2 as a tent purchase.
