Helinox Cot; bag or quilt? & addressing insulation

[Brightwhite]

I am looking at upgrading my sleep system and I am torn on a couple of things. I am considering adding a Helinox cot to my lineup. It comes with a 2.8 pound weight penalty, but folks seem to really love them.

If I go the cot route, I am struggling between a quilt (which I have) or getting a new bag. I know folks love quilts on here, and I use one, so I am fully aware of the benefits. But, if it was to be PURELY used with the cot, which would you pick...bag or quilt?

Also, I typically sleep on an insulated pad no matter the time of year here in Colorado and it concerns me that the cot has no insulation. Helinox does have an insulation accessory that is 650 down (~12 oz's) that connects under the cot so the down doesn't compress. Thoughts on that "accessory?"

Or, would you guys use an insulated pad on top of the cot? My current 25" insulated pad is 29 oz's, so that adds an additional weight penalty to the complete cot setup. I feel like with a pad on top the cot would be useless at that point though?

Maybe I am just overthinking it and I should just keep my current setup, which is 3.63 pounds with a 30 degree down quilt and insulated 25" pad.

***I should note this is more for Spring Turkey through Archery Elk season, with some high country fishing trips in between. My late season hunts are done from a base camp/Camper/truck in the area that I hunt rifle***

 

[Kevin Dill]

For ultimate comfort in chilly-to-cold weather I like a cot topped with an Exped Downmat or TR XTherm, and I always sleep in a bag. Both my WM bags will convert to modified quilts, but I don't use them that way...or haven't to this point. For extended hunting camps the cot is essential to me. The Downmat (9) is admitted overkill, but I sleep like a king in cold weather. I would forego the pad in warm weather for sure, or go with a straight-up air pad. For constantly mobile backpack hunting I am NOT going to carry a cot+thick pad+warm bag nearing 8+ pounds total. The ultralight cots have totally converted me, and I would only leave it behind if absolutely necessary.

 

[Brightwhite]

For ultimate comfort in chilly-to-cold weather I like a cot topped with an Exped Downmat or TR XTherm, and I always sleep in a bag. Both my WM bags will convert to modified quilts, but I don't use them that way...or haven't to this point. For extended hunting camps the cot is essential to me. The Downmat (9) is admitted overkill, but I sleep like a king in cold weather. I would forego the pad in warm weather for sure, or go with a straight-up air pad. For constantly mobile backpack hunting I am NOT going to carry a cot+thick pad+warm bag nearing 8+ pounds total. The ultralight cots have totally converted me, and I would only leave it behind if absolutely necessary.

Thank you for the insight, I was concerned with an inflatable that it would easily slide off the cot when flipping over or any of that in the night. Does it sort of "sink down" into the cot to stay situated?

How low can the temps go to when you are cold and not comfortable on a cot without some insulation? The problem is in the high country of colorado, a summer night can easily hit 30-35 degrees, so I don't feel like I could get away with using the cot without some insulation, or maybe I am discounting the little of bit of warmth the underside of a bag would allow.

 

[Kevin Dill]

Thank you for the insight, I was concerned with an inflatable that it would easily slide off the cot when flipping over or any of that in the night. Does it sort of "sink down" into the cot to stay situated?

How low can the temps go to when you are cold and not comfortable on a cot without some insulation? The problem is in the high country of colorado, a summer night can easily hit 30-35 degrees, so I don't feel like I could get away with using the cot without some insulation, or maybe I am discounting the little of bit of warmth the underside of a bag would allow.

Early on I found that a cot/pad/bag rig was a slip-n-slide in the night. There are multiple easy ways to stop that: I've used 3 pieces of light cordage to tie the mat to the cot. You can also use any type of durable seam sealer (AquaSeal or SeamGrip) to create some non-slip friction on the bottom of the pad or top of the cot. I haven't had much issue with my bag sliding until recently trying an XTherm pad. That surface is next to Teflon for stick and my WM bags almost glide off. I plan to put some AquaSeal beads on it before next use.

I can't advise you on your lower temp tolerances. That depends on factors like your bag rating, body weight, conditioning, and even your individual cold tolerance. I'm going to hazard a guess and say maybe around 45F with a decent 3-season bag. At or below those temps I would very likely want a pad with some moderate insulating ability.

 

[gwl79902]

I use cots in my wall tent and sleepin outside in the desart I would think it would be the same for sleeping outside in the moutains. In my experiance I need a pad on my cot in temps anylower than 55. II sleepin a bag. The problem is that the cold air under the cot just sucks all the heat out of you without some insalation. You may try a closed cell pad. You could also get on hammock forums and see what those guys are doing it is the same thing.