Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Cot vs Self Inflating Mattress Pad

Ah, the old 'sleep in the back of a duece.5 trick. Done that & froze my butt off. I had a GI cot and mummy bag full of chicken feathers for a March campout in the Idaho desert with the Nat Guard. The next morning, some officer discovered that he'd forgotten something he needed back at the armory. I happened to be standing there so I quickly volunteered to take a 1/4 ton and go get it. On the way, I just happened to be going by my house (pure coincidence) so I stopped and grabbed my good down sleeping bag and a thick insulated pad. That night I slept MUCH better.

I have used many an inflatable pad, but my paco pad on my oversized cot still is going strong twenty years later. If it were to leak at some point they are easy to repair with the know how.

I have 2 old Sportmans Warehouse 3" self inflating pads that I used for years. Then both started leaking. I tried every trick in the horse tank to find the leaks but never did.

A good pad all the way. I really like my Sea to Summit pad.

Is there a cot actually light enough to be considered for backpacking?
Serious question.

EE extended my hammock camping season by a few months.

😁

What's 'light enough' to you? My Alps Mountaineering Lite is 5lb. The Helinox Highdollar is 6lb. There are lighter ones but if you read reviews, most are pretty flimsy and famous for collapsing at 2am.

Ok, 5lbs....In certain situations I guess that's doable.

They that much more comfy than a good inflatable , for example a Exped synmat? at 2 lbs?

No sticks, no rocks, no divots. It depends on whether your camp spot is a rock pile or a lawn.

Look at the Desert Walker 4.8#'s

If you have to sleep on the ground always dig a hip hole.

Granted I"m only 57 but a bit high mileage. I cannot sleep on a cot. I've always slept on a good pad on the ground. And until I simply can't get up off the tent floor or ground I always will. Sleep on hard wood floor even before I'd sleep on a cot.

Why? Serious question, I just want to understand.

my body simply hurts to bad to sleep when I'm laying on a cot.

Years ago as a kid couldn't because I'd freeze, but that was mom and dad not having a single clue about warmth and having zero insulation under them.

I'd LOVE to sleep up off the floor on a cot. But sleep much better on the floor.

Kind of like mattresses I suppose. One of ours I can sleep on. The other one gives me fits at times, needs a new one or a nice topper.

So in the meantime I make sure nothing under me and hips have a place to go or the ground pad is thick enough and sleep like a baby

I see

For BACKPACKING? Do not carry a cot on your back.

I’m getting old for sleeping on the ground so I put some real effort towards comfort. My wife is really into big hikes these days, so we’ve notched a couple long ones in the Sierra Nevada’s... 235 miles and 150 miles... very high altitude, etc... three weeks for the former, two for the latter. I GOTTA get decent sleep if I’m doing that! What I use is a Big Agnes Q-core DLX (I think that’s correct, I’ll check when I’m back home) on the first trip, then a lighter version (but just as thick) for the 2nd trip. If I get the inflation just right either of them is truly decadent- at least for sleeping on the ground.

They are NOT self inflating and blowing them up is tiresome. On the 2nd trip I carried a “pump sack” which was worth it.

For CAR camping, with a big tent, like up at elk camp, I use a cot with a foam pad on it. And a ginormous flannel 0-degree rectangle bag. Superbly comfortable. But not backpacking gear.

A cot just gives elevation, but unless it has something underneath it to insulate, it will be cold as there is a lot of air movement. Agree with those that are suggesting a cot plus a pad. Thermarest has been the best in my experience. I have not used the mondo king, but have used the dream rest, which has an inflatable insulated pad with a memory foam piece enclosed in a zippered cover. They are heavy though, so would recommend the thermarest prelate if weight is a concern.