Will a cot be colder sleeping?

[huntsman22]

not much room under a helinox cot for gear......

 

[TheTone]

not much room under a helinox cot for gear......

Doesn’t look like much room for sleeping either

 

[Backofbeyond]

Wait, do people actually sleep on a cot without a pad? That’s a thing?

 

[fngTony]

Yes it will be colder. Treat it like a hammock set up. I have the same bag as you and even with a r4 rated pad it acts like a 30° bag. I just bring another sleeping bag and tie it underneath like an under quilt for a hammock set up.

 

[NW Hunt€r]

I bring along my old sleeping bag, unzip it all the way, lay it over my cot and let it hang to the ground on both sides of the cot. Then I put down my pad and sleeping bag on the cot.
The opened up bag keeps the cold air from moving under your cot.
Works great for me and it keeps my clothes stored under the cot warmer and dew free.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

If you are truck camping, I would get a bigger tent and use a big cot with a pad.

 

[MallardSX2]

I use a helinox with a pad. Its awesome and 100X better than sleeping on the ground and rolling off a pad all night long.

 

[NM13]

You can get a Helinox with insulation built in the deck of the cot. It's one of the lightest insulated cot systems available. I've found them good to at least 20 degrees. Might go lower but when it's colder,I switch to a Camptime cot and a pad with an R8 rating plus a space blanket under the pad. Both of these systems obviously require travel by mule at least. If backpacking, I use a hammock with bomber underquilt and top quilt.

 

[jblam]

If you are truck camping, I would get a bigger tent and use a big cot with a pad.

I was thinking the same thing, why a tiny tent and small cot if car camping? Coleman cot and whatever stove ready canvas tent suits your fancy…ultralight car camping is not a thing

 

[rayporter]

cot and pad works.
dont skimp on the pad or you will freeze.

i tried a helinox and while comfortable the midnight relief stroll was seriously hard. getting out of it was not easy.

 

[hereinaz]

I use a thick memory foam or camping pad on a cot if I am truck camping.

I like the idea of draping a blanket over the four sides. I learn something new all the time.

 

[ElkArcher918]

Everything else being equal you'll sleep warmer and comfy on a cot, if you use a good sleeping pad with appropriate R-value. This is what I do for mid to late season hunting. I do one better when truck camping in cold weather (wo stove). I use an oversized cheap Sportsmans Center sleeping bag -20 degree as an exterior bag. I then place my lightweight down sb (15 degree) inside of it. Both bags have opposite side zippers. This system keeps me warm and comfort down to single digit temps. An added benefit is that I don't need to fully zip up either sb and can toss and turn without feeling like I'm wrapped up like a burrito.

 

[thegrouse]

I use a higher R value pad when in a cot in cold weather. A 4 might work on the ground but Ill take a 6 for the cot

 

[justinspicher]

For truck camping it can’t be beat!

 

[N8H]

My love-hate relationship with camping/hunting changed forever when I bought a cot and a 3" memory foam topper. Packing it in is always out of the question; way too much bulk and weight, but if I plan to car camp, nothing beats it.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

I slept on a cot with a pad in my green and black sleeping bag through a winter in Afghanistan (it got down to about 15 degrees at night). My cot was inside a bombed out agricultural school building with a tarp for a roof. It was cold, but not as cold as when I slept on my pad and the same bags on the ground outside or on the floor.

I would definitely take a cot with me if I was driving a truck. Hell, the last time I went “camping” I stuffed an entire twin mattress in the back of my ex-wife’s Honda Pilot and slept the sleep of the righteous.

The time before that, camping out in the Appalachians in November, my brother brought two square bales and spread them under our tent. I actually forgot my sleeping bag that trip and slept on a pad wearing the stupid moon suit (not nearly as warm as the old black and green bag), but it was pretty cozy.


____________________
“Keep on keepin’ on…”

 

[Wmmichael20]

We just put a folded fleece blanket on our cots under our sleeping bag not only ads cushion but insulation too

 

[Slick8]

Great info. I have a cot with a thin mattress that I plan to use for truck camping this year. Low temps in the hunt area average in the 20s but 15-40 is possible.

I plan to invest in a good sleeping pad as even with the thin mat on the cot, the bar dig in for all sleeping positions.

I too like the storage it affords underneath plus it's big.

 

[Idaboy]

Sleep colder than what? The ground with no pad? No, ground colder. Ground with pad vs cot with air, then cot potentially cooler.

You are comparing ground vs air....ground is usually colder than air...ground conducts heat away from you more than air.

Cot + pad will be the warmest. In early season if truck camping or using stock, when I sleep on cot I may not use a pad.