Travel cots for camping

Kestrel

Flashaholic
Joined
Oct 31, 2007
Messages
7,354
Location
Willamette Valley, OR
So for the last couple yrs I have been getting into cots - roughly parallels my approach toward 50 yrs perhaps; :sigh:

Long ago I used to use an ultralight ThermaRest mattress for camping/backpacking, then upgraded to one of their 1.5" thick deluxe versions.
But getting a good nights' sleep for me now entails cots. :)

I have set up a Toyota Sienna minivan for car camping; two rather comfy cots are featured here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/fc84lfx0yghqu8a/20190421_084704.jpg?dl=0

However, those camp cots are on the heavy & bulky side and wouldn't really do for any other sort of camping.

Last year, I finally got one of the ThermaRest Ultralight backpacking cots - which I've taken on one backpacking trip so far, and provided a level of camping/sleeping comfort I've never known before. :)
It was most certainly not cheap (~$175 last year IIRC?), but is US-mfg with a lifetime warranty - I have read the various reviews of the inexpensive imported knockoff versions, and they sound pretty flimsy, getting bent & often failing after only a few uses.

  • 24"W x 72"L ("Regular")
  • 2lbs 12oz
  • rated for 325 lbs (rather optimistic IMO)

While that cot was exactly what I wanted for backpacking, I also want to set up my Subaru Outback as a micro-camper, so I wanted to get a (less-expensive) cot for that as well.
REI had a closeout ($50 shipped!) on a ThermaRest cost I had never heard of before, their Camp Rest Cot:
  • 24"W x 72"L ("Regular")
  • 4lbs 4 oz
  • rated for 300 lbs (more accurate than for the UL)

So naturally I wanted to compare the two;
For those who don't want to pull up each pic, the DropBox link to the entire picture album is here:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ndpjuhx0psqfyjf/AADYyPOT9_7BUILJoNJMWyFaa?dl=0

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Overview pic (including extra UL parts I subsequently purchased, detailed later)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/jq1x4qocy3ww5nj/20190711_185334.jpg?dl=0


First, the Camp Rest cot;
Very quick to set up (only a couple of minutes), and the one-piece fiberglass cross-members are really solid:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/0rn6o5w906qwarz/20190711_185658.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/n7gb9kk1aa90ybe/20190711_190015.jpg?dl=0

Don't let the oversize 'mummy bag' fool you, the cots are of comfortable size for the average person IMO.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/85uqhvyhz5vduou/20190711_190211.jpg?dl=0

Lying down on the cot, I found it to be very solid indeed - and a perfect thing for me to keep in the Subaru. :)
Looking at the build quality, I found it to be superlative for a product costing only $50 (closeout price) - IMO an appropriate price for this US-mfg cot should be in the ~$100 range.


And, the Ultralight;
Longitudinal poles are 5-segments instead of 3, and the horizontal members are two-piece aluminum.
The advantage from those two is that its packed size is of course much smaller.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/19exh7tt15bwk7x/20190711_190911.jpg?dl=0

Setup time, 4-5 minutes I'm guessing; a little fiddly but not that objectionable - while very straightforward in concept, both cots do require some strength to assemble.

Note the doubled-up rods in the two center sections; more on that later.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/5om6dmlmxhm89cb/20190711_191638.jpg?dl=0

Assembled view:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/1rfgptdctzhqshf/20190711_191701.jpg?dl=0

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After my first backpacking trip with the UL cot, I got to thinking that I'd like it a little more solid for entrance/exit and tossing/turning.

My 170 lbs is well-within even the 'light' build config (let alone the 'standard' config); the extra slots on the cot underside provide the flexibility to transition between the 'light' & 'standard' build configs.

So I purchased two add'l sets of replacement 'feet' assemblies for the cot, adding ~5.5 oz of weight per assembly:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/5260vj7bmoquux2/20190711_192025.jpg?dl=0

and then reassembled the cot, now having four "doubles" in the center, and two "singles" to each side:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/lfpa5mvrdsu125b/20190711_192134.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/2uvsp7i6pd1ngm7/20190711_192234.jpg?dl=0

So my preferred config of the Ultralight is now 11oz heavier; 3.5 lbs total weight.
But adding the extra parts doesn't really increase the packed bulk:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/peuhgybb5vldmif/20190711_193521.jpg?dl=0

Conclusion: Much more solid, it now feels comparable to the still-heavier Camp Cot - but packs down far smaller.
Its packed size is comparable to a ThermaRest mattress, but is so comfy that a mattress is no longer needed for comfort. :)

I've never been a long-distance backpacker, instead preferring to do single nights or to set up basecamps for day hiking from; this will be a perfect component of that. :thumbsup:

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Thanks for reading & Best regards,
 
Last edited:

bignc

Enlightened
Joined
Aug 31, 2010
Messages
454
Location
South GA/ North FL
You are just killing it these last few days! Bags, cots, stoves. I backpack a Base camp XL pad of theirs that is 2" thick. Not much lighter than the budget cot here at 4lbs!!! ... Hmm....... I would need a biggun though! (6'7" 300...)
 
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