Hello All

Does anyone have any experience with the Helinox or Thermo rest lightweight cots? I cant do a sleeping pad anymore.

Thanks

I'm not sure what the brand was, but we recently rented one from Voyageur North Outfitter in Ely. The person on our trip had back surgery within the last 2 years and needed it. He got by fine with the cot for a 7 day trip. Maybe check with the outfitter on what kind they rent?

Ardwich: "Hello All

Does anyone have any experience with the Helinox or Thermo rest lightweight cots? I cant do a sleeping pad anymore.

Thanks"

Have you tried an inflatable, BigAgnes/Exped/Sea to Summit/Thermarest and many others make them. I'm more comfy on an inflated than a cot, warmer also.

I have assembled a Thermarest and Helinox cots and laid on each for a bit. Too heavy, complicated assembly, large package size, and no comfort bonus for me.

butthead

I own a Helinox cot and it's a fantastic, very light weight, study cot.

What I like about it:
- Very well made
- Light
- Roots and rocks are less of a problem
- Ability to store stuff under it
- Fantastic for back sleepers
- No worry about air leaks

What I'm not thrilled about:
- It's expensive
- It has a very taught surface.
- It can be a little noisy (growly when turning over, etc.)
- It has become extremely uncomfortable for me to sleep on my side on it. (very sore hips!)

I now have a Nemo air pad that I would love to use with it but this year I plan on leaving the cot at home and trying the pad alone. The pad is very, very comfortable and I know that if I used both together it would probably be a perfect combination. I just want to try the trip without the cot though.

I find that a cot is little better than the ground without also using an inflatable pad. Especially if you get the newer types that are as tight as a drum head once you get the legs and braces set in place. Especially especially if you are a side sleeper, as mentioned above. To me, the best thing about a cot is that it's easier to get in and out of, but I don't find it that much more comfortable than sleeping on the ground, given the same pad/mattress. Like mentioned above - the benefits are no roots or rocks, and storage space. Drawbacks are space and weight in the pack. Also, probably some added wear and tear on your tent floor.

butthead: "

Ardwich: "Hello All


Does anyone have any experience with the Helinox or Thermo rest lightweight cots? I cant do a sleeping pad anymore.


Thanks"

Have you tried an inflatable, BigAgnes/Exped/Sea to Summit/Thermarest and many others make them. I'm more comfy on an inflated than a cot, warmer also.


I have assembled a Thermarest and Helinox cots and laid on each for a bit. Too heavy, complicated assembly, large package size, and no comfort bonus for me.


butthead"

Ditto

Been tempted to try a cheap one from Amazon. You can find them for $50 that actually get pretty good reviews. I am concerned about weight. Lightest one I could find with good reviews was 4 lbs. but, as a side sleeper, I’m so tired (pun intended) from constantly turning all night. I literally get no sleep. And I sleep on an Exped UL, so not a cheap pad.

UncleBuck is on track.

The Helinox cot is fantastic. You want a cot to be taut - otherwise your shoulders and hips slump to the middle and it is very uncomfortable. The Helinox cots are fantastic. I have the lightest weight one and the middle size one and have taken each to Quetico. I prefer the middle size one - a slight weight penalty but is sits a little higher, is a bit more solidly built. It is too heavy for backpacking but ideal for canoe camping.

I use an air mattress on the cot. I have a 25 inch wide Nemo Cosmo insulated air mattress. It fits perfectly on the cot. I can sleep on my side which is great for me.

I used to have the old style Thermarest Cots with the circular legs and a thousand pieces. I preferred that to sleeping on the ground, but those cots are not in the same league as Helinox. Assembly with the Helinox takes literally two minutes. Disassembly is faster. Two four-section legs and three cross bars. The carry case is well designed to fit the cot with some wiggle room - some stuff sacks are so small that it takes longer to cram the item into the sack than it did to break it down.

If you get opinions from people who actually sleep on cots, you will get very positive reviews. Taking a Helinox camp chair and a Helinox cot to BWCA is a requirement for me!

My cot came from Cabella's for around $75.00. A little heavy, but works well. I also use a Therma-Rest with bunge cords around the feet end to prevent slippage during the night.

I have two Helinox Cot Ones and my brother has a Helinox Cot Lite. The Cot Lite stretches and gives more and weighs much less. I think the weight limit on it is 250 lbs. They are both wonderful. You don't have to worry about rocks, roots, etc. Personally the Cot Ones are too heavy to trip with for my liking. I use a pad on mine and it's heavenly.

I bought the thermorest ultralight weight one for my last trip. Was like $200 with tax. There is some poor reviews on it but most of those are because people don't read the instructions fully. There is different ways to put it together depending on how much you weigh and how you sleep. I put more support for my hips and less as my feet since I curl into a ball on my side. Topped the cot with a sleeping pad and it was the best sleep ever. Not having to worry about rocks was great.

I have two thermorest cots. My wife and I have used them for years and love how comfortable they are. Lightweight, easy to assemble and won't deflate during the trip. I also like being off the tent floor in case of a leak. They've kept me dry when the floor wasn't.

Terry

I just purchased the Marchway UltraLight Cot ($79.00) which is the cheap version of the Helinox and will be using it next week for RAGBRAI. The $79 was easier to swallow then the $250 Helinox I just hope its not I/3 the quality and last a while.

I've owned 3 cots: a Camptime Roll-a-Cot, the original Helinox Cot One, and the Helinox Cot One Convertible. They're all excellent.

I think a cot with a good mattress offers significantly more comfort than a mattress on the ground, especially for people with joint or mobility problems. There's a feeling of being evenly suspended that makes a real difference. No need to worry about uneven ground, rocks, debris, or a wet tent floor. You can store things under the cot.

A taught top surface is an advantage---it provides a flat, stable base for your mattress. The mattress provides whatever softness you need.

The Helinox Cot One is only for people who don't mind getting up from the ground, because it's only 6" high. To get on it you first go down on your knees. To get off it you first roll onto the ground. If that's difficult for you, you need something higher. The Cot One Convertible has extra holes in the leg frames to insert an additional set of 12 legs, bringing the cot up to 15" high. This is much easier to get up from. You simply stand up.

If you're not portaging, the Camptime Roll-a-Cot is another excellent cot and much cheaper than Helinox. It weighs in at 10 lbs, compared to 4.25 lbs for the Cot One and 5.9 lbs if you include the extra leg set. The Helinox packs considerably smaller than the Camptime.

For ease of assembly, the Helinox cots win hands down. The Thermarest LuxuryLite has 34 parts, compared to just 5 for the Helinox. (Or 12 more for the longer legs, which come in a very small bundle and take 1 extra minute to assemble.) You can assemble the Cot One in 3 minutes and take it apart in 1 minute.

For strength, the Camptime wins. The Helinox is a lot stronger than the Thermarest.

Helinox cots are expensive. I waited for a sale and got the Cot One Convertible plus the extra legs for $170 from Backcountry Edge. No regrets---it has tripled my camping pleasure.

A great mattress for the Helinox cot is the Exped Synmat 3-D 7 with boxed sides. You can hardly get more comfortable than this in a tent.

If you decide against a cot, the next best thing is the Exped Synmat Mega 12. It's 4.7" thick, very comfortable, and for me all Exped mats have been reliable over hundreds of nights of use---no punctures, no blown baffles.

CanoeIowa: "I just purchased the Marchway UltraLight Cot ($79.00) which is the cheap version of the Helinox and will be using it next week for RAGBRAI. The $79 was easier to swallow then the $250 Helinox I just hope its not I/3 the quality and last a while. "

What are your impressions of the Marchway from setting it up at home?