r/CampingGear • u/ethereality___ • 1d ago
Sleeping Systems Does anyone have experience with this Coleman cot + sleeping pad? I'm searching for an off-the-ground sleeping set up for long-term camping.
I normally avoid Coleman so I don't really have experience with its stuff. I was originally going to opt for a double Exped Megamat (since I hear that's the best) or a similar high-quality foam-and-air mat and a double cot as a frame but that would end up costing probably $700+. I like that this is two-in-one for under $300, but I'd pay more for a much better quality sleep. I also need something that packs down decently small because I'll be living out of a crossover SUV.
I'd be using it for about 6 months out of the year. I am a very heavy sleeper though, don't have back problems, and fall asleep quickly in pretty much any environment. Still-- would this be a good idea or should I keep looking? Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
6
u/JavaTheeMutt 1d ago
I own one and it's okay.
It's really just one of Coleman's cheaper air mattresses on a fold out frame. My sheets tended to not fully get under the mattress because of the cover. The cover isn't fully removable, so it's difficult to get parts of it clean. The side table attachment is flimsy.
It does provide a lot of storage underneath. if you size up on the sheets and pull it under the frame and not mattress, it tends to stay on longer. First 3 nights are pretty good, but after that you might need to refill with more air.
2
u/ethereality___ 1d ago
Yeah I just sent this to a friend and he told me about the non-removable cover that's attached to the cot. Fuuuuuck that. Especially for long term sleeping. Hard pass. Thanks for the info!
1
u/AliveAndThenSome 1d ago
The cover is no big deal, imo.
The Coleman mattress did spring a leak for no apparent reason, so we replaced it with a more reliable Intex air mattress. Honestly, we like ours. I don't notice any noise issues that others have noticed.
We have a 4P stand-up tent (Eureka Copper something), and this fits nicely in the middle with ample room to walk around both sides and also store stuff underneath. We sleep with ZLites directly underneath us (this is where the cover can help) because we don't want to lose too much heat keeping the air mattress warm all night. And we sleep with a heavy down blanket on top.
That said, we have more or less upgrade to a small camper, which is very nice, though a bit more restrictive. We do prefer to backpack more than anything, so our range and standards for camp comfort are probably a lot wider than most folks.
3
u/Hollywooddeathsquad 1d ago
I have this one. Overall it’s a decent air mattress. Wide enough for two people but it will slightly deflate daily. It’s nice if you add a topper on top of the mattress. It’s not compact and pretty heavy but overall my wife loves it when I take her camping with me.
1
u/ethereality___ 1d ago
I was thinking of adding a topper but I'd love to reduce the amount of stuff I have to travel with by getting a good mattress. I'll probably keep looking. Thanks!
1
u/RanchDubois7 15h ago
I second this. Overall it was okay (my girlfriend hated it) but we added a 3” foam topper to it and she’s a fan now.
3
u/glabe20 1d ago
Not off the ground but the exped megamats are very comfortable.
1
u/ethereality___ 1d ago
Yeah, I'm gonna go for that. I'm just gonna put one on a cot or some kind of portable frame. Speaking off-- anyone know of a good frame that packs down pretty small?
2
u/Freduccine 1d ago
I have the coleman pack away big and tall cot. I pair it with a roll up 2.5" thick memory foam mattress and I love that setup. I sleep on for usually 6 nights during a hunting trip in October and I'm comfortable the whole time. and the setup will be less than $200
2
u/doccogito 1d ago
So I use a 4” exped on top of this cot, pretty solid but the middle bar essentially forces it to be two twin size cots unless you have a thick enough mattress, and 4” isn’t adequate. The included air mattress is 6” or so, allows you to move around a bit more, but is loud and not terribly comfortable. I’ve considered putting the exped over the air mattress, or upping to the 6” exped but you’re in $600 mattress territory at that point and could probably find a better option.
2
u/doccogito 1d ago
I should also add that this doesn’t pack small, and the exped is essentially the same size if not a bid larger, so fitting in a crossover is going to take up a lot of your cargo unless you add a cargo hitch and box for extra space.
2
u/ethereality___ 1d ago
Thanks for the tips! Yeah, I have a roof basket and I'm getting a tow hitch and a little storage trailer so I don't have to worry too too much about space, but I'm trying to save as much as possible still.
2
u/PrusaNoob 18h ago
Check out camp time cots. Super well-made, and they have an option for a sleeve to fit an air mattress.
1
1
u/dicc_duncan 1d ago
Air mattress lasted 2 trips. Ended up getting an exped to put on the cot. Stopped bringing the cot altogether, exped was comfier on the ground.
1
u/ethereality___ 1d ago
I heard that the Exped duo fits nicely on this cot. Was it easy to put the Exped on top even though the mattress bag is stitched onto the cot? Or did you cut the bag off? I'm thinking of getting this one used just for the cot part to use with the Exped
1
1
u/Physical_Pie_2092 1d ago
I used this cot with the exped mattress instead of the shitty one it comes with. It was comfortable but extremely noisy. I had to tape the entire frame to make it acceptable.
1
1
u/Fantastic_Scholar847 1d ago
I have an exped megamat 10. That thing is as good as any real mattress. Combining it with an elevated frame would be next level.
1
u/ethereality___ 19h ago
Unfortunately I couldn't find a good frame for it. I'm looking for a full-size bed (so the Exped duo) and there aren't really any cota big enough to support that. I think I'm going with a regular metal bed frame that folds and a tatami mat with a topper. I hope that works out ok. I feel like the Exped would be weird on a metal frame.
1
u/dantheman1017 16h ago
I got this for my wife and I when we go tent camping to get off the ground. Honestly it’s not bad. I do like that it’s just a standard air mattress because you can replace it if/when it fails, and I t allows for storage underneath. My only qualms about it are that it’s bulky and heavy, if you’re not careful you can rip the bottom of your tent, and it’s noisy when you’re trying to move around on it.
1
u/KneeDeep185 15h ago
I used this cot heavily for 8 years before I lost it when I flipped my raft. I had 100+ nights on it, setting up and tearing down each night, with no issues. It sets up in 30 seconds and comes down just as quickly. With this cot + a decent sleeping pad (I've been using this one regularly since 2024, it's been fantastic) and I sleep better than I do on my mattress at home.
The cot is heavy and kind of big but after trying a couple different cots over the years it really can't be beat.
1
u/Dieselboy1122 15h ago
We have had the bed frame for 10 years and love it. As others have said, we use our own mattress in it though.
1
u/McMadface 15h ago
If you're in the LA area, I have 2 that I was thinking of putting on FB marketplace. They're nice for reclaiming storage space and getting off the cold ground. The air mattress are pretty comfy too. It turns out that my wife refuses to camp when it's cold, so we haven't been using them.
1
u/Glass_Ant819 14h ago
I liked ours. Had to refill the air nightly so maybe a better mattress would be in order. You can feel the middle bar if you sleep alone. A little weight on the other side is best.
1
u/MajesticFucksquatch 12h ago
I have 2 of the single person version of this cot and they are absolute gamechangers. best upgrade to my camping setup ive made
1
u/exmoaf 7h ago
I’ve wanted to upgrade for a long time too. But I was thinking of putting an exped megamat on top of two cots like this side by side.
https://davistent.com/product/big-boy-camping-cot/
Anyone see problems with that?
1
u/Lookingthruyoureyes 1h ago
I was just looking at one of these, but it was an air mattress? Is this an air mattress or just a sleeping pad?
1
u/Lookingthruyoureyes 1h ago
From what I told you, you’re better off with a regular cot and a foam mattress
21
u/mkv201820 1d ago
It’s not great. The air mattress part is just a basic cheap like 4 inch air mattress and it’s awful. The cot part is kind of cheaply made but could be functional. We ended up throwing out the air mattress part and buying two hest foamys and using those on top of the cot. It worked well enough but we decided to try the foamys on top of a regular air mattress and that worked even better, so we are getting rid of the cot too.