warm weather use of cots

[MH_Hawker]

I have been reading here for some time and decided to join and ask aquestion. I have been reading a good bit about using cots in tents and thier isa good bit of information about the problems with thier use in cold weather. Iam disabled and haven't been camping in some time and am thinking on taking itup again and for my the use a cot sure would help a lot. it is very hard for meto get up from the ground. My camping would only be in 60 plus tempters so ofcourse I would be interested in what sort of gear I should use.

[Hikenhunter]

Re: warm weather use of cots

It's a known fact that sleeping on a closed cell foam pad placed on the ground is the best way to stay warm however,If you need the cot then you also need a higher tent. My suggestion would be to try different things till you find what works for you. If you are camping in 60 degree weather then the nights can sometimes get darn right chilly. Your best option would be to heat the tent but care must be taken to ventilate your enclosure well as any heat device will use up some of your oxygen. All I can say is experiment till you find a system that works for you.

[Shadow]

Re: warm weather use of cots

In 60 degree weather you should be fine with a cot. Most now sold at places like Academy come with an insulated foam pad on them, in addition, bring a sleeping bag for some extra insulation and you will be toasty.

[GlitterHiker]

Re: warm weather use of cots

In 60 degree weather you should be fine with a cot. Most now sold at places like Academy come with an insulated foam pad on them, in addition, bring a sleeping bag for some extra insulation and you will be toasty.

That actually sounds delightful!

[shawnbebout]

Re: warm weather use of cots

Here is an idea. Try out your cot at home. You will need a pad (or something) to provide insulation between your back and the cot. When you have this, set your thermostat in your house to 60. Then sleep on the cot with your pad and bag. If you like it in your house then, it will probably work in the field. If you find yourself uncomfortable in the house, turn the heat up and go to your actual bed. The next day figure out a new plan.

Warning: There are some pretty strong opnions on this subject. Some may come off as very abrasive, please try to ignore those people. To the members of this forum: play nice and try to help a new member make a good decision.

[immortal_ben]

Re: warm weather use of cots

I would assume that if you are taking a tent then you are car camping, correct? If that is the case then take along a couple of nice big blankets to drape over the cot. Make sure they are long enough to reach the ground on all four sides of the cot. This way you will trap a lot more body heat under your cot and stay much warmer.

On a side note, do you think you would like sleeping in a hammock? It may be something to look into.

And welcome to the site. We are glad you are here.

[MH_Hawker]

Re: warm weather use of cots

Sorry I should of given you all a bit more information. I haven't bought any gear yet I have just been looking and pricing things. I have found a style of tent that I am considering using its a cabin style with a 8 x 8 footprint and a center height of 70 inches and 56 on the side walls. It will bejust my wife and I so it should have enough room.

To start out I was planning easing into it by trying a cot here at home to see how well I can sleep on them and then moving out into the yard with a tent. Years ago I had used the cot and air mattress combination with a sleeping bag and was thinking of starting out that way but their have been so many improvement in gear that's why I thought a forum would be a good place to learn.

My idea is to slowly move into this testing things as I go with the end results doing some over nights in the summer at boat in primitive camp sights for fishing. I gave 60 degree temptures as a minim I am thinking most of it will be in the 70 to 80 range at nights. Just not sure what the tempter drops will be at nights

Have been looking at heaters but I have a lot of concerns about using those in a tent other than just to warm it up. I don't think I would be able to sleep with one on for safety sake. This goes back to the old days of the primus heaters

I am thick skinned I listen to all of the advice and make my own choices I stumbled across one of the biggest boating forums last year when I decided to get back into boating again and have been a member there since. I do understand then need for caution on giving advice because it is often very had to tell experience levels on the net and you don't want to cause any harm but thier is always what I call the gloom and doom people around

And big thanks to ever one for the warm welcome

[renodesertfox]

Re: warm weather use of cots

MH_Hawker welcome, thanks for being the campateer that you are and want-to-be! Gloom & doomers are hard to find here. There are threads for ranting, however if you ever have a lousy campsite in what ever form you camp and what to share we are all eyes & fingers here waiting to empathize. Just hope that your stay with us will be a long and continued happy camping experience!

[jbassett]

Re: warm weather use of cots

For me, just a cot and sleeping bag would be comfortable at those temperatures. I have a Slumberjack brand cot that is nice without any additional pad (but I prefer a firm mattress anyway). It is also very sturdy and well made.

As far as warmth, the sleeping bag alone is adequate at those temperatures for me. You may prefer to add a foam pad either for softness or warmth. It sounds like a good setup to me and the cabin tent's near-vertical walls should work well with cots.

Good luck! I hope you find a good setup that works for you.

[Internetpilot]

Re: warm weather use of cots

I bought THIS COT from Academy sports for $79. It's designed like a lounge chair where it can be flat as well as several stages of incline. Before camping with it, I slept on it in my house, and had a great sleep! If you've ever fallen asleep while sunning in a lounge chair, then you'll pretty know what this cot is like.

I typically camp in about the same temps you stated, but I have camped with this cot in much colder temps and was nice and toasty in a 40-degree rated sleeping bag.

I say get a cot that gets you the right amount of comfort for sleeping, and then just get an appropriately rated sleeping bag for your camping temps and you should be more than fine.

[MH_Hawker]

Re: warm weather use of cots

Ty thats a nice looking cot , do you know approximately what the folded up dementions are like as a example 6 od and 36 long, I eventualy plan on leaving the gear on my boat or at least I hope to.

[tplife]

Re: warm weather use of cots

Avoid cots and air mattresses at all costs, you can get hugely thick sleeping pads for a bit more that will permit camping in EXTREME TEMPS without worry of heat loss. That said, if your night-time temps are above 50-degrees F., camp on! With a cot or air mattress with nor worries if it meets your comfort/budget caveats. After all, the important thing is "getting out there". Just don't do it in the cold with the wrong equipment.

[demonslaer]

Re: warm weather use of cots

I use a cot year round my tent sets on top of it. I have camped in -17 + 10" of snow to 90 +. I'm 51 with back problems so sleeping on the ground is not a option. I got my tent from vantura camp systems . my pad I made from Memory Foam works great. I sleep as good as I do at home.

[MH_Hawker]

Re: warm weather use of cots

Also an 8x8 tent with sloped sides may not be large enough for two cots. You may need to go to a 10x10. You don't want your cot touching the sides of the tent or you will get water condensation and dripping.

Thats why I am going with a cabin style and not a dome, the tent I am looking at has a 70 inch center height with a side wall height if 56 inches. It should have more than enough room. Most of the dome tents I have looked at just dont have enough height and I am limited to a 8 x 8 max foot print for what I am planning on later. Its taken a lot of looking to find a tent like this. This a bit different I own a pontoon boat that I have rebuilt, the lake I fish on doesn't allow bank camping any where except for their camp ground and I will be using that a good bit to start out, but I hope to camp on the boat its self and that is allowed. I have kept the front 8 x 8 section of the deck clear of any perment mounted furniture just for this reason. I do mostly night fishing and it sure would be handy to just toss up the tent and turn in for the night. If things do work as I hope I would like to do several 3 to 5 day trips out at several other lakes. But again it will be a slow process

[EnglishTeacha]

Re: warm weather use of cots

We have an LL Bean cot that we bought second hand (gotta love living in Maine...LL Bean stuff abounds!). It's a good height, but way more comfortable with an egg crate topper on it! My DH and I use a double-high airbed which is truly as high as our bed at home. We can inflate it from the car using an inverter and the cigarette lighter (and an extension cord, of course). Cabelas had them on sale online recently. We travel a lot doing volunteer work, and that airbed has given us a comfy night's sleep in many places. The disadvantage is that you need power of some kind to inflate it. (It has a built-in electric pump, but can be inflated with a battery pump or hand pump...but that could take a LONG time!!) We looked for 2 years for a double-wide cot for two but had no luck, so went for the airbed. Camping is our vacation time, and we don't want to sleep apart. Our munchkin can sleep on the single cot when we go camping...well, when she outgrows her pack-n-play.