ALPS Mountaineering Lightweight Cot

Unless you are one of those that can fit a square peg in a round hole in under 30 minutes... This was very difficult to assemble, I've got scratches and war wounds from this feat. I might have to make sure my tetanus shot is updated...just kidding, there is no rust, but I definitely got beaten up putting this together. Spend a little more to get something that can be put up in 3 min or less...not 30.

I'll start out by saying that I haven't actually slept on my cot yet, I plan to put it to use in two weeks on a week long trip I'll be taking. However as soon as I got the package I pulled out the cots and set them up. They were super easy to put together (specially after I had read ALL the reviews about the product and had a little insider info), I had them both up by myself in less then ten minutes. I actually bought two and plan to put a queen sized air mattress across them. Them dimensions worked out PERFECTLY for that. My husband and I both layed on the finished test product and it didn't feel any different then one of those $200 air/cot combos, but for almost a quarter of the cost! I'm very pleased, with this product thus far, but would not recommend to use this for backpacking, still a bit heavy and bulky for that!

This is a great cot for house guests, car camping, and river trips. The take some effort to put together, but are comfortable.

Reviews had me hesitant, but I was pleasantly surprised. The cots are extremely compact and perfect for camping. The aluminum frames and canvas are incredibly sturdy. The biggest complaint in reviews was the difficulty in assembly. All I can say is "Really?" My 12 year old son and I worked on 2 cots side by side and put them together in under 5 minutes. We then took a very comfortable little snooze on them:)Yes the canvas is taut, but if you follow the directions and use common sense, they are extremely EASY to put together. We built them on the floor, face down, and inserted one end of the leg on one side of the frame. Then we used our feet to hold other side rail in place while pulling back on the opposite end of leg to insert into hole. All of the parts fit perfectly. No hammers were involved and the cot fit very nicely into the convenient bag. Please don't hesitate! These are totally worth it. I wish we would have done this years ago!

Could not set up, hard to get the rods through the canvas sleeves.