luxury lite cot

[fillthefreezer]

luxury lite cots, are they worth the $$$?

 

[Stid2677]

Depends,, I'm old, and have some injuries, so for me anything that helps me sleep in the bush is worth it. A good air mattress will accomplish similar results. What it is good at is helping to level you out on bumpy uneven ground and keep you up off the wet ground. I take it when I don't have to carry it far.

 

[fillthefreezer]

i guess i should clarify...
they are about $200 more than say this cot http://www.amazon.com/Mountain-Trai..._8?ie=UTF8&qid=1385747752&sr=8-8&keywords=cot
not necessarily worth it in weight...

 

[Darren Best]

The cheap one is junk, the Luxury Lite is in a class all it's own, but still prone to a couple of problems.

You still need an insulator pad under you in cold weather and like Stid pointed out, it does even out the ground nicely.

It's low like a pad, works good for tipis and other small shelters but takes the same effort to get up off the ground, unlike a regular cot which you can sit on.

You have to be careful with the bows and the edges, no pressure on them or you will bend or break them.

The feet can also be broken.

I've no idea how Thermarest's customer service is, but the original company that designed, made and sold these had top notch service, never ever tried to dodge out of making things right.

For less weight and just about the same money I got a Exped XP9 which is like 3 inches think, very warm and comfortable.

When I want even less weight in warmer weather, I use my Neo Air all season, soon to be a Xtherm.

 

[Biggs300]

I used mine in CO on a 2nd rifle season elk hunt in mid-October. We had 12" to 15" of snow on the ground and temps were in the low teens at night. We stayed in in a small wall tent with a floor. With my Mountain Hardwear Phantom 0 degree bag, I never got cold and slept very comfortably. Although I had a Big Agnes Air Core pad with me, I never had to use it. This was the third time I've used my cot and have not experienced a single problem. Based on the comfort alone, IMHO, it is worth the cost.

 

[TEmbry]

I received one as a gift so I never had to worry about the cost, but man alive do I love mine. Coupled with a neoair it's dang near more comfortable than my junky mattress at home!

 

[Nick Muche]

I used one (same as pictured above) for three nights in a floorless shelter, in the snow. I also used a cheap foam pad on top of it. I found it was hard to stay up off of the ground, even after evening out the spacing of the cross section poles on the bottom side of the cot. It did the job I suppose, but I wasn't overly warm. That could have been due to the cheap pad, the snow/cold or because my body seemed to touch the ground in two places. After three nights on it, I picked it up to stow it away and found two spots where the snow had melted underneath it. I would guess these areas were where I was touching the ground or possibly just where heat was leaving my body?

I'd consider using it with a GOOD pad (I didn't have one along) or near the truck. I certainly wouldn't pack it in unless you knew you had to be off the ground and if that is the case, there must be a better option. I'm 170 lbs and was sinking into the snow pretty good, maybe I set it up wrong but I don't think so...