anyone pack in a "lightweight" cot?

[mtwarden]

I see cots are getting lighter (Thermarest & Helinox, others???) and while not uber light, thought it might be nice in an open floor shelter to get off the ground just a wee bit.

Anyone packing one in? Like them or not?

Thanks

 

[Brendan]

For a spike camp - yes. Used the Helinox Lite this year along with the Helinox Ground Chair and it was worth the extra weight for me - slept amazing. I wouldn't pack it if I was hauling camp on my back every day though.

 

[justinspicher]

I did three 8 day trips with mine and I won't go into the woods with out it.

 

[dotman]

I won't go without mine anymore, best sleep I've gotten. Small price to pay to be well rested and not as sore.

Also helinox came out with a new chair that only REI sells that weighs 16oz. Add that and the weight of the helinox cot and you have a chair and cot weighing less then 3lbs.

 

[AK Troutbum]

I won't go without mine anymore, best sleep I've gotten. Small price to pay to be well rested and not as sore.

Also helinox came out with a new chair that only REI sells that weighs 16oz. Add that and the weight of the helinox cot and you have a chair and cot weighing less then 3lbs.

Cot and chair less than 3 lbs? I thought that I got the lightest cot that was made (Helinox UL), and it weighs a hair over 44 oz. by itself. Do they make a lighter one?

Then combine that with my REI ultralight chair, which I'm pretty sure it's a little heavier than the Helinox chair, and I get just a hair over 73 oz.

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[dotman]

I think I got excited and dropped 13oz off mine. 3lb 13oz off specs for a combined weight. I should weight them, you can also use only three of the four supports to reduce a few oz.


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[dotman]

With all 4 sections



With 3 sections



Chair zero weighs a little more then listed



Not bad at 58oz total with 3 sections for the cot and chair or 63oz if 4th section is added to cot. So just under 4lbs, still not bad.

 

[AK Troutbum]

With all 4 sections



With 3 sections



Chair zero weighs a little more then listed



Not bad at 58oz total with 3 sections for the cot and chair or 63oz if 4th section is added to cot. So just under 4lbs, still not bad.

Agreed. I just got mine about a month ago and haven't had a chance to use it yet. Do you notice any greater sag or any other issues when only using 3 leg sections?


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[dotman]

Can't say as I've only used it with 4, lol. I think it would be fine as it has nowhere near as much sag as the thermarest I tried.

 

[mtwarden]

good info- thanks gents!

I was going to ask about the Thermarest- sags more than the Helinox then- hmmmm; looks like I need to find a place that carries both and do a side by side

 

[mtwarden]

also that zero chair is a great find; I bought two TR Treo's last year- nice chairs, but over double the weight of the Helinox

 

[justinspicher]

The sag in the thermarest will depend on how you set up the crossbars. You have more options with the thermarest than you do with the helinox. I believe I have eight spots to put the crossbars to "customize" my comfort. I can also double up the crossbars and make it stiffer.

 

[mtwarden]

looks like the weight is pretty comparable (the Helinox a couple of oz lighter)-a side by side comparo is definitely in order

 

[dotman]

The helinox takes about 1 min to assemble and has 7 pieces, I've heard the thermarest has over 40 pieces but Justin can answer this better as I just laid on one in REI so it may not of been setup properly.

 

[justinspicher]

Tim is correct. There are two long poles and eight sets of "feet and crossbars (they come apart), but they compact fairly well.

 

[justinspicher]

Here's my sleep system ready to be packed.
-E/E 20* quilt
-NEMO pillow
-thermarest cot

 

[mtwarden]

justin- I'm assuming you have a pad in addition to the cot/quilt/pillow?; I've owned a bunch of different pads, but sold them all except two TR XTherms- the few ounce savings with my regular NeoAirs I couldn't justify owning both- the XTherm on it's can get down close to 0, if it's going to be colder I add a cheap ccf pad to the mix

 

[Northernpiker]

I would like to try one but I already have a problem with packing in to much gear and I usually sleep pretty well with a pad. I must say it's very tempting to buy one to try. Such is the life of a Gear Junky.

 

[justinspicher]

I used an Xtherm pad prior to the cot and it kept going flat on me. So I bought the cot. I tried it on the cot one night back in February during a winter trip up in Silverton Colorado. It was about 4* out that night. Slept good. Tried it the next night without the Xtherm and slept fine. It was 0* that night. I figured I didn't need it so I quit taking it. This summer I slept on it every night from 30 May to 22 August. I slept on it in the back of my Tacoma mostly, with three separate trips. One was a four day trip to Silverton, one was an eight day trip in the Wenimuche Wilderness and the last one was a six day trip in the Wenimuche Wilderness. It was around the mid thirties each night during those trips as they were in late august and early September. No pad, just slept in my kanabs and a llano with a beanie on top. My Quilt keeps me pretty warm. I've put the cot together and taken it down so much I can pretty much do it as fast at it would take me to blow my Xtherm up.

I won't go back to a pad, I still have my broken Xtherm just sitting in the garage, begging to go out with me.

I have several winter trips planned and will take the same set up, but I will add my box stove to keep warm at night. I also did down into the snow and put the cot on the ground. This has kept me toasty in my tipi.

 

[mtwarden]

interesting, would have guessed that w/o a pad the cot would be awfully cold on the underneath side