Need a Cot or...?

[qwazse]

13 hours ago, 5thGenTexan said:

Mine can't.   Still a couple of times a month he still comes in wanting to get in our bed in the middle of the night.  I cant see sleeping in a tent in the woods almost alone would work for him, yet.

Son #2 was my tent buddy until age 11. Not a bad thing. They grow up fast.

It is really hard for Mrs. Q to get comfortable these days. So I have to haul a lot of gear when she's camping with us. She never camped with the pack. But, we camped as afamily.  But in terms me of coming to sleep when everyone else did ... no way. I'd just be getting up at 4 AM. Not a bad option if there were fish to catch. But otherwise, sitting around camp waiting for everyone else to get moving ... I can go for an hour and that's it.

So, they just understood that I'd be star-gazing until I'm good and tired.

Now Mrs. Q and I are working on the system that will serve us once we aren't paying tuition and have dimes to hit the road again.

Always adjusting ... that's what one scouter told me that camping was. I guess he's right.

[ianwilkins]

21 hours ago, Jameson76 said:

Man...that is a special kind of hell in my opinion. 

5 leaders in one tent "shudder"

Sorry, diverging from advice...

Tsh...5 in a tent? I see you five and raise you to 11, to start with...

We went on a Jamboree on the Canary Islands a couple of years back, it was an experience. They supplied tents. To be fair, I'm sure they were doing their best, and it was only for a week and no one died so....anyway...we turn up at the site a few days after everyone else, and there are some people in "our" tents. The scouts with us were supposed to be somewhere else on site...there was some more people in their tents too. We went and had dinner, at about midnight, while they had a bit of a re-arrange. We came back, we had 15'x15' (maybe) army tents, massive outside frame with the canvas hung from it. Inside were triple deck bunks, the top bunk must have been 6' off the ground. There were three, that's all we had for the night, and the scouts and leaders needed to bunk in with us Explorers for the night. Three tents, so girls in one, boys in another, leaders in the third. Our leader's tent had three triple bunks in. We had 11 leaders. Luckily two had brought their own mats. They got the floor. I was on a top bunk, about 12" from the roof. The female leader below me had to put up with me climbing up and down the creakiest bunk in Christendom (and us all making childish jokes about me being "on top", to be fair, she gave as good as she got). At least two of the leaders were inveterate snorers, so that was fun. Then 3am the local donkey woke up and wanted to tell us all about it.

The next night was luxury as the 5 scout leaders decamped to their tent and left us to it in our bunks. Just as we got used to this we went to another island for a couple of days, and had to sleep on the floor of a school gym, all three hundred of us, boys, girls, leaders, one room...yeah, you know those pictures from disaster relief efforts...just like that.

Let's call it an adventure. An experience. Never to be forgotten. I slept well on the plane home I tell you that.

 

[mrkstvns]

12 hours ago, mashmaster said:

I tried a Helinox cot and OMG it was amazing.  but it is like $400 so I didn't buy one.  I borrowed one and it was amazing.

$400.....for a cot....that's like, aluminum poles and a piece of canvas. And that's $400?

I could buy 10 regular cots for that.  Of course, then I'd need a bigger tent....(and some more friends)...

[RichardB]

I used a pair of Kelty low cots for about 6 years.   They are not bad, the new models are around $80 at REI.    Helinox's are supposed to be great.   

Cold weather (for TX)  camping was a simple moving pad under the mummy bag.   

If you are plop camping and want elevation or storage underneath, Cabela's XL's are great, use one for spare guest bed at times.   

 

[Buggie]

1 hour ago, mrkstvns said:

13 hours ago, mashmaster said:

I tried a Helinox cot and OMG it was amazing.  but it is like $400 so I didn't buy one.  I borrowed one and it was amazing.

$400.....for a cot....that's like, aluminum poles and a piece of canvas. And that's $400?

I could buy 10 regular cots for that.  Of course, then I'd need a bigger tent....(and some more friends)...

It is cheaper now.  Around $250 or so, with alternative brands available. Not something I'll get soon, as I've got other gear I want first. Specifically a tent of my own other than the family giganto tent.

[walk in the woods]

I have a Byer of Maine's Maine Military Cot.  It's heavier than a Chevy but more durable.  I throw my thermarest on-top for cushion and insulation.  They run about $100.

[RememberSchiff]

Me too. I have an old Byer Maine Military Cot that was made in Maine.  Good cot.  I haven't tried the newer, made in China, Byer cots. 

I also have not tried Camp Time cots ($150) which are still made in USA.

My $0.02

[Buggie]

I have a hand me down cot from Bass Pro Shops. It's alright, but the plastic feet have a habit of wandering off. I'd like to get something better someday, but one can't knock a free and serviceable cot. 

I saw this somewhere out there in the internet world and I do it for my cots when I put them on a tarp or in a tent. Luckily I know some folks who play tennis and have a lot of cast off tennis balls. 

Take a tennis ball, cut it open to make a little pac-man for each cot foot/leg. (watch that blood circle! I had scouts trying to get close enough to see what I was doing.) Place the foot/leg of the cot into the tennis ball. Instant weight distribution in the feet that won't tear into the tarp/tent floor. 

[zsdad]

Sumberjack Oversized cot an an Alps Mountaineering outback Mat. I sleep better on this than my bed at home