How can I make Tyvek less noisy?

Question

So I've made myself a handy dandy tent footprint out of Tyvek. It's durable, packs easy, cheap to replace.... and NOISY. My entire camping group has complained that it wakes them up when I roll over at night.

Is there a way to "wear it in" so that it no longer makes that loud crinkle noise?

Answer 1

My other half used Tyvek when he was practicing Archery and one of the factors there was it had to be quiet, they used it for 4-6 hour stints to sit on.

This is what he and some others in his club did:

1. Wash it on a cotton / white cycle in your washing machine without any soap or detergent or powders.
2. Wash it three times but let it dry thoroughly between each wash.
3. Then if you have a tumble dryer put it on on a standard cycle with three new tennis balls in, this will soften it up further.

He thinks it should retain the waterproofness but bear in mind it might pick up leaves etc more as the fibers will be softened.