Mattress,cot or...?

[Rabbit]

What my wife and I use for a "comfortable, long term camp" is a holywood bed frame with a sheet of plywood on top with a mattress from an old convertable sofa. Pretty comfortable. Used to use a blow up air mattress. They do not hold up and are cold (same temp as the air, ok if the wood stove is going). If solo I can get by with an army cot. Just as long as I am up off the ground. First Eastern I went to I slept on the ground on an egg crate mattress (sponge). It rained a lot that week. By Sunday morning the ground just couldn't absorb any more water. Woke up in the middle of the night soaking wet. No more sleeping on the ground for me. Must be a sign of old age.

 

Just today my wife picked up two Swiss Army type cots from Sam's club. Lightweight and very durable looking. They are 40 inches wide and 86 inches long. No very PC but roomy and we can hide stuff under them. I like having some room to turn over. Put a couple of point blankets on them and they will look great. They fold up small and came with a carrying bag.

 

[Trina]

DH made a bed frame that fits together and has pegs in the 4 corners.. no tools needed.. we then put a hide-a-bed mattress on it and a feather mattress, pretty comfy...wool blankets on top. We used to sleep on the ground but If I dont sleep I get grouchy, it was the bed or quit going to rendezvous.

 

[2Knives]

I use an old military stretcher. They fold up nice, are easy to cover up, and they sleep real well too.

 

[Bill L]

If comfort is a priority and you have a 50 plus year old back like I do then a cot just doesn't get the job done due to the sag.This year I am making myself a slat bed,a wooden frame that I can lay wide pine boards across.I will put a foam mattress and feather tick over the slats and I hope to sleep like a baby. :m2c:

 

[freetrapper20]

Used to sleep on a big hide on the ground under a bunch of wool blankets. (Groundcloth under the hide). That still is the warmest for me. Then we stumbled on some old military cots and used them till they gave out...which wasn't long cause they were old. Like others, we bought the folding cot from wal-mart and they work pretty good. My wife made some
covers from old material that hang all the way to the ground to hide the legs and such. Plenty of room for storage underneath (which always seems to be nice) and hidden from view if you don't want it to be seen. But I need to have my bedding right cause now there is a cold air space under there during winter camp. Don't lug a stove anymore, but wool blankets above and below do the trick. A piece of canvas stops the cold air good too.

 

[roundball]

For camping I use a King size Therm-O-Rest mattress & Thinsulate sleeping bag under a wool blanket...first cold ML event I ever attend, guess that's what I'll use there too

 

[scott fellows]

i have to agree with sir henry on this one. my wife and i only use a bail of straw. used to do the air mats and foam and all that bs but found straw to be easier and much more comfortable. plus you don't have to worry about hiding it. after a couple days just fluff it up again and it's like new. we do put a chunk of canvas under it so we can carry the straw to the wood line or wherever to get rid of it at the end of camp. you can use a lot of bails before you add up to the cost of one air mattress. take care
scott fellows