View Full Version : Does anyone use an UL cot?
Feral Nature
08-10-2011, 16:14
I am looking at this: http://www.luxurylite.com/cotindex.html
I have old, stiff joints and achy bones so want to sleep well at night. Does anyone use this UL cot on extended hikes? If so, do you like it? Why or why not? Thanks.
I can see it not being used because of weight. It's almost 3 pounds. I can also see it not being used because of cost. At just shy of $220, I wouldn't buy it, but then again, I wouldn't consider carrying its weight either.
Feral Nature
08-10-2011, 16:43
I just want to be comfy in bed and may use it as my "heavy" luxury item. I will look for it used. Craigslist has some crazy good deals on camping/hiking equipment, I will start there(when I am ready to purchase).
However, after I learn more about pads, maybe I will find one that is satisfactory.
4eyedbuzzard
08-10-2011, 16:49
At three pounds you could carry two mattresses, say a neo air on bottom and some soft foam on top of that. Pretty cushy.
Feral Nature
08-10-2011, 16:53
4eyedbuzzard You are right. And I wouldn't have anything to put together aside for the tent. Thanks for the ideas.
4eyedbuzzard
08-10-2011, 17:06
Keep me updated. I've got three herniated disks in my past and a torn ACL. So far it's a tie between the neoair and a hammock. So I'm still looking but would like to get to under two pounds.
Feral Nature
08-10-2011, 17:13
If I get the cot, I will report here on it. I may go look at one and just see what I think.
Keep me updated. I've got three herniated disks in my past and a torn ACL. So far it's a tie between the neoair and a hammock. So I'm still looking but would like to get to under two pounds.One word: Hammock!
www.hammockforums.net (http://www.hammockforums.net)
If'n you get it and start a thru with it, it'll be gone once you get to Mountain Crossings. Guaranteed.
The Old Boot
08-10-2011, 17:19
If I get the cot, I will report here on it. I may go look at one and just see what I think.
I took a look at the cot as well because as long as I'm taking the dog with me, I'm going to have to be on the ground.
The other thing I looked at was the Nemo Tuo Luxury pad. https://www.nemoequipment.com/nemo2011-tuolux-pad
Two air chambers gives me the confidence that I won't end up on the hard ground because of a leak AND I can inflate the bottom chamber hard to give me distance from the ground and the top chamber soft so I can sleep in cushiony softness...it's also a lower cost although only a few ounces lighter.
Once I'm not hiking with the dog, it's no contest - hammock for me all the way!!
trippclark
08-10-2011, 17:21
One word: Hammock!
www.hammockforums.net (http://www.hammockforums.net)
Ditto.
BTW, I did see the subject cot at the vendor display area at Trail Days a few years back. It was interesting, but I had the same concerns (weight and cost), plus by that time had discovered hammocks and had no desire to go back to a tent.
Feral Nature
08-10-2011, 17:22
Thanks Old Boot. I looked at the site and bookmarked it.
ChinMusic
08-10-2011, 17:22
The cot looks pretty cool, but too heavy compared to other options for backpacking. It looks like it might tear the heck out of the floor of the tent as well. I would think two pads to be a better option as well.
4eyedbuzzard
08-10-2011, 17:31
One word: Hammock!
www.hammockforums.net (http://www.hammockforums.net)
* * Hooch ;-) Yeah, I'm still trying to hang, but so far I have the same sore spots (hips and back) as on a neoair. Starts hurting around 3 am and I just keep tossing and turning after that until dawn. :( Maybe hard liquor would help more than soft gear. :-?
* * Hooch ;-) Yeah, I'm still trying to hang, but so far I have the same sore spots (hips and back) as on a neoair. Starts hurting around 3 am and I just keep tossing and turning after that until dawn. :( Maybe hard liquor would help more than soft gear. :-?What hammock are you using? How is your sag? Is your hammock hung correctly? Are you laying on the asym or inline with the hammock? Laying flat or with the contour of the hammock? Are you using a structural ridgeline? What kind of suspension are you using? Etc, etc, etc. . . .:D
A guy I know has that cot.
I set it up in my lounge room just to see how it feels.
I don't remember how long it took me to do it but it was probably the same as blowing up a mat.
It has 12 smooth "feet" so I don't think that abrasion would be a problem.
Coupled with a blue mat you would have a comfortable and warm set up.
For me I still take my chances with the Neo Air or the Exped 7 in cold weather.
Franco
4eyedbuzzard
08-10-2011, 17:53
What hammock are you using? How is your sag? Is your hammock hung correctly? Are you laying on the asym or inline with the hammock? Laying flat or with the contour of the hammock? Are you using a structural ridgeline? What kind of suspension are you using? Etc, etc, etc. . . .:DNow my damn head hurts too! Yeah, that's why I haven't given up completely yet - lots of learning curve. I've got a Hennessy Hyperlight. I'm 5"11, 185 lbs so it should be okay, although maybe it's too close (Hennessy specs 6"0", 200 lbs) My sag is just fine thank you. Oh, okay, the hammock sagged quite a bit overnight and I thought it got less comfortable. I was lying on the Asym as much as I thought possible. I have the supershelter. I don't think I like it. It seems to defeat the Asym aspect some. What is a structural ridgeline?
ChinMusic
08-10-2011, 17:56
It has 12 smooth "feet" so I don't think that abrasion would be a problem.
Even if the feet are smooth they concentrate pressure to relatively small points. If you are on a harder surface, or even small rock in the right place, the bottom of the tent is gonna suffer. Just looks that way to me.
Feral Nature
08-10-2011, 17:57
Since we are now talking hammocks, I have a question. Doesn't it feel like you are exposed or vulnerable when you are in a hammock? I like the false sense of security that a zipped up tent offers.
4eyedbuzzard
08-10-2011, 18:28
Since we are now talking hammocks, I have a question. Doesn't it feel like you are exposed or vulnerable when you are in a hammock? I like the false sense of security that a zipped up tent offers.As a long time tenter, no, I felt a little difference, but not really "exposed". I like to pitch the fly up as far as possible, weather dependent, because I like to see outside though. I've never really liked the confined, can't see outside aspect of a zipped up tent though either. Tarps rule in that regard - I like openness.
Feral Nature
08-10-2011, 18:52
Maybe it's because I am a woman and want the privacy that comes with a tent. Although, I am sure there are plenty of women who hammock. I am sure this is an old argument.
4eyedbuzzard
08-10-2011, 19:19
Maybe it's because I am a woman and want the privacy that comes with a tent. Although, I am sure there are plenty of women who hammock. I am sure this is an old argument. All arguments at WB are old. But we are all senile. So we forget about them and recycle.
Feral Nature
08-10-2011, 19:26
Thanks. I feel like I am rehashing old stuff. I try to do searches but sometimes I forget and post too many questions. Glad I'm not the only one suffering with old-timers disease.
Back to the cot, sorry...
Chin Music
yes no doubt there is an increased risk of damaging the floor under those "feet" , the 12 point system minimise that (I think...) but it is still there.
On the good side if you do puncture the floor you are still a couple of inches above the ground.
I would consider it for car camping or base camping where I would be in the same spot for days.
Maybe for people that have had bad luck with inflatable mats and find the solid foam type too thin or the thick ones too bulky.
Franco
The Old Boot
08-10-2011, 21:21
Maybe it's because I am a woman and want the privacy that comes with a tent. Although, I am sure there are plenty of women who hammock. I am sure this is an old argument.
Some of the tarps come with either detachable end units or built in ends. Using a tarp that is big enough to pitch high enough for you to stand up underneath and still have the sides come down to the ground or almost to the ground and then using end caps gives you all the privacy you want along with the option of having one side of the tarp set up for the view.
The nice part of the tarp and hammock set up is that us older than Moses bodies don't have to crawl in and out of something that's at ground level. Oh and the hammock can be used as a seat too so that we don't have to look like a turtle when trying to get back up off the ground!
ChinMusic
08-10-2011, 21:29
Back to the cot, sorry...
Chin Music
yes no doubt there is an increased risk of damaging the floor under those "feet" , the 12 point system minimise that (I think...) but it is still there.
On the good side if you do puncture the floor you are still a couple of inches above the ground.
I would consider it for car camping or base camping where I would be in the same spot for days.
Franco
I kinda like the cot idea for car camping (don't do much of that) or something like Trail Days, where I would take the time to be VERY diligent with site selection and preparation. Maybe some day when I get older.............;)
If I were to car camp I would buy a wally world cot myself. Forty bucks or two hundred and twenty bucks...Im cheap though..
Not worth the weight/cost compared to other options. But I have never tried the cot, so my opinion pretty much means nothing as usual.:rolleyes:
4eyedbuzzard
08-10-2011, 22:04
If I were to car camp I would buy a wally world cot myself. .
Car camping? One word: AEROBED
Car camping? One word: AEROBED
Well if I didnt get up to pee 100 times in the night and wake up the wife as I roll off the air mattress...:D
Skidsteer
08-10-2011, 22:53
Back to the cot, sorry...
Chin Music
yes no doubt there is an increased risk of damaging the floor under those "feet" , the 12 point system minimise that (I think...) but it is still there.
On the good side if you do puncture the floor you are still a couple of inches above the ground.
I would consider it for car camping or base camping where I would be in the same spot for days.
Maybe for people that have had bad luck with inflatable mats and find the solid foam type too thin or the thick ones too bulky.
Franco
I seem to recall the instructions on the Luxurylite site stated that the cot could be set up under the tent floor to avoid punctures.
Wise Old Owl
08-10-2011, 23:11
I guess I am stating the obvious when people suggest a cot, the purpous is to sleep (toss and turn) on ones side... LL cots are really well thought out, I have seen some older scoutmasters use them, but the self inflating pads are king. In a hammock system - there isn't a need to toss or turn as there are no pressure points the heart is higher and the blood doesn't pool which causes the turning at night.