cot, pad, or air up mattress for wall tent?

Joined
Aug 19, 2020
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74
What is everyones favorite? Fixing to buy my stuff for my first mule deer hunt. Will be in November in western co. Room or weight is not an issue, but money is lol. Was thinking cot, pad, and sleeping bag. Thanks in advance
 

swanny

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Mar 24, 2017
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WA
Cot is great to get off the ground, but you still need some form of inflatable air mattress on top for the r-value and additional comfort/padding. Without it, you'll be cold. That time of year, I'd look to have something with an r-value of ~5.0 or greater which would be in the 4-season range.
 

BuckRut

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Mar 11, 2020
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If you have the luxury of not worrying about room or weight I would throw in a wood stove as well.
 

5MilesBack

"DADDY"
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Thanks. Plan on having 2 wood stoves so shouldn't be too cold

I can remember seasons where we burned coal and wood in the stoves, and they'd be glowing bright red all night.........and I'd still wake up with a sheet of ice covering my sleeping bag. You definitely don't want to use an uninsulated air pad. Multiple foam pads on a cot will be your best bet.
 

BuckRut

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I can remember seasons where we burned coal and wood in the stoves, and they'd be glowing bright red all night.........and I'd still wake up with a sheet of ice covering my sleeping bag. You definitely don't want to use an uninsulated air pad. Multiple foam pads on a cot will be your best bet.
You need a better tent. LOL We can heat a 16'x20' tent with 4' walls with one wood stove alone even below zero.
 

Superdoo

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Feb 21, 2020
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Single bed mattress on 2 sheets of 2" thick EPS foam for an R10!
If you're really craft you can run the doubled up styro vertically to set your mattress in!

Don't for get a "My Pillow" and youre set.
 

TX_Diver

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May 27, 2019
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My personal preference for a wall tent is a cot that you can stash stuff under to save space.


On clearance for $40...
 

TX_Diver

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May 27, 2019
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Looks like the $40 one may be out of stock. Definitely add a pad for some insulation also though.
 

gelton

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May 15, 2013
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As for woodstoves, I have used them, but if truck camping I bring three 20 lb propane tanks and a 30,000 BTU double burner heater...the propane will last a week and most nights we can only run one of the two heaters on low. Gets so hot we have to leave the window open and the door unzipped. And sure beats chopping firewood.
 

Bearsears

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Mar 29, 2019
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Colorado
Everyone has pretty much nailed it. Cot, insulated pad, sleeping bag, stove with wood and then a load of coal before bed works awesome. Also if size and weight arent a concern you can get heavy canvas covered sleeping bags that are fleece lined and feel like being in a warm bed for really cheap from places like Sportmans Warehouse.

Story time- when I went on my first few hunts my uncle swore that a cheap air mattress was better than a cot and thats what he used. the first year wasnt too bad. The second year we were on snow in a Cabelas Alaknak (awesome tent) at 11k feet and at night it was in the negatives. Ive never been that cold in my life. The next year I switched to a cot and pad and Ive never been cold again fire or not. Sometimes I miss wall tenting it and think I should stop packing in lol.
 

5MilesBack

"DADDY"
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You need a better tent. LOL We can heat a 16'x20' tent with 4' walls with one wood stove alone even below zero.

Better than a Davis wall tent? And ours were 14x16's with the large Colorado stoves. There's a reason why I don't hunt the late rifle seasons anymore. ;) September is so much more pleasant.
 
Joined
Sep 6, 2019
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Cots and pads as mentioned. I really like the Discobed 2xl bunk cots. They are a space saver and topped with 4" pads, nobody complained.
 

Tbuckus

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Jun 4, 2016
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Better than a Davis wall tent? And ours were 14x16's with the large Colorado stoves. There's a reason why I don't hunt the late rifle seasons anymore. ;) September is so much more pleasant.
Davis is good for the price. There are a few that are better quality. I've slept in wall tents down to -10 with nothing frozen inside.

Regarding sleeping gear, a foam pad is nicer on a cot than an inflatable pad. Not only do you prevent cool air under you, an all foam pad doesn’t slide around on the cot like a backpacking pad.
Regarding cot, if you have the space, get a cot at least. 38” preferably 42” wide.
 

BuckRut

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Mar 11, 2020
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Better than a Davis wall tent? And ours were 14x16's with the large Colorado stoves. There's a reason why I don't hunt the late rifle seasons anymore. ;) September is so much more pleasant.
I've never owned a Davis tent but our big tent is a heavy Montana Canvas and we have a 12'x14' from Reliable Tent and Awning in Billings
 

Carrot Farmer

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Apr 19, 2020
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Central Oregon
My wall tent set up

Big man cot
Canvas bedroll
4"x36” high density foam
Big man flannel lined 20 deg bag
**Love the bedroll for keeping everything cleans and dry

It’s big and bulky but sleep like a rock! Cot is high enough, I pack all my stuff in 2 Rubbermaid actionpaks and they fit perfectly under my cot.


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