Camping cot or other sleeping ideas?

I just got back from another great weekend camping trip, and the wife and I agree that the only thing we don't like about camping is the sleeping arrangement. In a tent on the ground on a pad or inflatable mattress is what we've been doing for years, but it's just not working for us any more. I had a few ideas running around in my head, tent trailer, roof top tent, some kind of bed setup in my H2 with one of those SUV tents... I'm starting to think a couple cots with thick foam pads/mattresses in my existing tent may be the best idea. I really don't know much about camping cots. Never used one, don't know what to look for in one, don't know the pros and cons. Space is a concern, I don't want anything too bulky to travel with as I'm pretty stuffed as it is when we take both boys and both dogs camping. I suppose a roof rack would resolve that if I had to.

Advice, thoughts, other ideas?

Hammocks. There's nothing more comfortable short of an actual bed, and my hammock is comfier than a lot of beds too. You can build a tarp tent around them for a more enclosed feel (or some privacy for the wife), but I like mine open to the stars as long as the weather holds. My whole family hangs. Come check out my setup any time.

Look into a double cot tent. I have a single cot tent I use when I go by myself I really like.
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Cabe...=GoogleProductAds&WT.z_mc_id1=50026330&rid=20

I love my REI comfy cot, but it takes up a lot of room

I use one of these when I'm tent camping: http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=19288526 It's a bit bulky but fairly comfortable for what it is and well made.

My wife and I sleep on these in our family tent (our 4 kids sleep on the ground): Texsport Deluxe Folding Camp Cot

After a couple of trips, my wife wanted some padding so I got her this: TETON Sports Universal Camp Cot Pad

Love the setup and it gets our whole family out quite often.

Kevin - pretty sure I saw your setup last year. I'd be up for trying a hammock tent, in fact I've wanted to try one since I first saw them years ago. However, I'm looking for a solution that would keep the wife happy. I would hang, as you called it, with my boys but not my wife.

A bit more info... The solution needs to allow for standing upright inside, changing clothes in privacy, keeping packs and other stuff out of the weather, keeping bugs out, etc. Our current tent does this, but a hammock or cot tent will not. Honestly, I think just getting the beds off the ground is all we need. Whether it's a cot with foam padding (sounds like the best option but not 100% sure), a double tall air mattress, an air mattress on a raised frame, or some other solution entirely. The REI comfort cot TRD mentioned looks like a good option - especially the adjustable legs bit.

clfrnacwby said:

My wife and I sleep on these in our family tent (our 4 kids sleep on the ground): Texsport Deluxe Folding Camp Cot

After a couple of trips, my wife wanted some padding so I got her this: TETON Sports Universal Camp Cot Pad

Love the setup and it gets our whole family out quite often.

Click to expand...

Ah, another good suggestion. Have you tried anything else? Pros/cons? How small does it fold up?

I bought a couple cots this summer and have liked them quiet a bit. I also have an ExPed MegaMat 10 which is amazing. It was pretty expensive but I did a price matching thing to save a few bucks. The pad+cot is just as comfortable as my latex mattress at home. The only thing that would make the pad better is if I had on board air to inflate it rather than hafting to pump it up manually.

My wife, who is not a camper. slept on my setup over the 4th at Mirror Lake. She was cold despite being in a -20 sleeping bag but otherwise said she was very comfortable. I slept on top of a spare sleeping bag and now need to buy another megamat.

I started using a cot inside the tent about 20 years ago. Never looked back.

The trade off between the two basic types, fold up and break down, is bulk vs. ease of setup and takedown. I prefer the simple folding type, because they are basically five seconds to setup and another fives seconds to take down, very little effort. They take up a fair amount of cargo space though. The type that break down and pack up small, are a royal PITA to setup. The good ones are, anyway. The not so good ones aren't very taut and therefore not very difficult to assemble. Both the good ones and the not so good break down quick and easy but are kind of a PITA to get back in the bag. For me, I can setup my Springbar, deploy my cot, pad and sleeping bag, then take it all down and have it packed in the Jeep in less time that I spend just fiddling around with a break down cot. I typically camp wherever I happen to end up at night and break camp each morning to end up somewhere else the next night, so the extra time spent fiddling with camp gear means something to me. For a lot of other people, an extra 15 minutes setting up and taking down is no big deal though.

For my purposes, speed and ease > small cargo footprint.

I used a hammock for a few years (in places with trees...), my back can't even take that anymore. Not even a little bit. Just looking at Kevin's picture makes me want to take some ibuprofen... They are too much hassle for an awful lot of my trips, too - no trees, etc.

- DAA

I use a cot every chance I get. Mine was about $80-100 and worth it. I got an xl, and I am not an XL guy. I like the room and make sure it's taught! I like it, all my gear goes underneath and it's easy to keep a clean tent. My kids sleep on $25 walmart specials (tan, forget the brand) and they are fine for light kids.

It's also nice to sit on the cot when I put pants and shoes on. I like it. No rocks to sleep on, ect.

Cots are a great way to go if you can afford the cargo space.
Hammocks are wonderful if you have trees to tie off too and no wind.
Our solution was a RTT. I actually saved cargo space by eliminating a tent and cots plus some tents have decent storage for all of your sleeping gear. You can't stand while in the tent but with the annex attached there is plenty of space to store gear and have a changing room

I use some military cots I got from my old unit. They were being thrown away and still brand new. For me I don't use a pad, my wife has a bad back and she just rolls out the cabelas bedroll and it works great for her. We use them inside any if our tents so she has full privacy and is secluded from bugs if they are out. I have used cot tents, hammocks and hammock tents in the service. Honestly for a family situation a cot in the tent is the best an easiest, also the cheapest to just add a pair if cots to you already existing camp setup.

Oh if you buy the xl cot and matching cot pad from cabelas, along with the xl standard sleeping bad you have tons of toom. My wife and I sleep on it together. My wife is a bigger girl too so there is plenty of room on it and its nice to cuddle. Unless one of you isn't a cuddler that is a good setup too.

I started out leaning toward picking up a couple cots, half expecting an "aha!" moment when someone suggested something I hadn't thought of. Looks like cots it is. Now to figure out which ones to get and how to make space to bring them.

redrussell said:

Oh if you buy the xl cot and matching cot pad from cabelas, along with the xl standard sleeping bad you have tons of toom. My wife and I sleep on it together. My wife is a bigger girl too so there is plenty of room on it and its nice to cuddle. Unless one of you isn't a cuddler that is a good setup too.

Click to expand...

I'm a roller in bed. Bad back, can't sleep in the same position very long so I'm constantly rolling from one side to the other. I think anything short of one of those double cots with a kind of raised bar in the middle and she'd stab me in my sleep.

I have the double tent cot from cabelas. I love it, though it is a little large to haul around. My wife and I took it on trek. It rained like crazy one night. We stayed perfectly dry and warm. I would buy another if this one ever wears out.

skeptic said:

Kevin - pretty sure I saw your setup last year. I'd be up for trying a hammock tent, in fact I've wanted to try one since I first saw them years ago. However, I'm looking for a solution that would keep the wife happy. I would hang, as you called it, with my boys but not my wife.

A bit more info... The solution needs to allow for standing upright inside, changing clothes in privacy, keeping packs and other stuff out of the weather, keeping bugs out, etc. Our current tent does this, but a hammock or cot tent will not. Honestly, I think just getting the beds off the ground is all we need. Whether it's a cot with foam padding (sounds like the best option but not 100% sure), a double tall air mattress, an air mattress on a raised frame, or some other solution entirely. The REI comfort cot TRD mentioned looks like a good option - especially the adjustable legs bit.

Click to expand...

I've done the air mattress thing. I would absolutely do a cot before going back to air mattresses.

Much more costly, but I love my trailer! Room for 4, room to stand, mattresses to sleep on,.. although I would like to upgrade them a little...i think they're fine for most people, but my fat butt and bad back could use a little more comfort. Fully contained, and I cab haul all kinds of stuff on top of I want/need to.

When weight is not an issue, I love a cot with foam pad.