Need reccomendation for a cot

[slapper]

I am new to camping with the scouts and have been told I should get a cot. Can anyone recommend a brand/model or otherwise give me some suggestions? I am 5'10" 200+lbs.

[Stosh]

Welcome Slapper!

 

Sounds like the boys do the car plop and camp style of camping. In that case, any cot will do. Try and get one that doesn't do damage to the floors of the tent or toss down a rug under the legs to minimize the wear and tear.

 

The only time I use a cot is summer camp where one is provided, and winter cabin camp where one is provided.

 

Blowup mattresses are easier to pack around than a cot as well, but one has to blow them up which isn't the end of the world.

 

There is one exception where I do use a cot. I have an old military pup tent with no floor. I have a cot that is only 2-3" tall so when it rains I can let the water just run through and I stay dry.

 

Stosh

[TAHAWK]

A good many cots, including the one sold by Walmart that comes with a mattress, are lightly - even defectively - built.

 

There is a model that has steel tubing inside the aluminum legs. We have a 270-pounds dad who has used one for three years this June, and it has held up well. He paid about $60.00 for it after running through several cheaper models.

 

Also, as with most sporting goods, prices vary significantly for the identical item. Do shop around.

 

I use a cot only in Summer Camp and have acquired six 12"-square pieces of 1/2" plywood. They protect the tent floor from the cot legs.

 

Most sleepers appreciate a mattress of some kind with a cot.

 

Another dad bought a cot that was sturdy enough, but the nylon part was such a tight fit that it took two strong adults to assemble the cot - or your could soak the nylon so it would stretch more easily. He finally found a shovel handle that gave him the leverage to get the last cross-piece to snap into place without another adult to help.

 

 

[RememberSchiff]

Byer cots are the best. I use them for guests of all sizes.

https://www.byerofmaine.com/products...furniture.html

 

You can buy direct or through retailers such as Cabelas and Vermont Army Navy who occasionally have them on sale.

https://shop.vtarmynavy.com/byer--folding-cots-c41.aspx

 

Hope this helps.

 

P.S. Ugh, sadly most if not all of their cots are now made offshore. Mine were Maine made. Recent reviews on Amazon are mostly positive.

[blw2]

My dad had or probably still has a couple of old Coast Guard cots that were being "surveyed". They look just like those Byer cots in RememberShiff's link. Probably made by Byer..... I slept on one a bunch as a teen, when we'd have company, or occasionally camping. The thing I remember most about it was that the canvas was so tight it was like sleeping on a sheet of plywood.

 

When I tent camp, I'm on a good thermarest self inflating mattress... a trailpro. I've slept on concrete floors on that thing. Not as comfortable as my home bed, but not bad.....

[perdidochas]

I wouldn't get a cot. Get a good sleeping pad, or try hammock camping.

[IM_Kathy]

we use cots just for summer camp.  The ones with the springs can be a pain because those little springs can fall out and get lost.  If using in a tent with a floor I recommend ones that have tubes that go across the width for feet rather than having feet more like a post or chair leg as those tent to rip of floors more easily while the tubes don't as bad.   There are tent-cots have seen those before and much more expensive but those I've seen used are nice because they are easier to set up than a tent on your own, but for me they are too small as I like to have some room to move since I have sleep issues.

 

For a weekend campout I just use a sleeping pad - much easier to manage and haul.  I only use my cot at summer camp and if we are doing a cabin where the adult area has no bunks.