Kelty - Discovery Low Cot

Others have said: "VERY hard to put together the first time" "I routed some grooves in a 1x4, and now it works great" Then they gave it 5 stars HUH?

As other reviews have stated the cot is a challenge to assemble the first few times, however after repeated use works fine and is very sturdy and comfortable. There is an additional issue that was not anticipated. I recently spend 6 nights in a wilderness area on a island. When I broke camp I found that the cot had worn holes in the tent floor (this is a new high value tent). I now need to purchase repair materials for the tent and find a way to soften the impact of the cots feet so this doesn't happen again.

I was sure that I had made a mistake buying this cot … until I slept in it! The Kelty Discovery Low Cot was VERY difficult to put together the first time. The poles slide in and have to fit into a pocket at the end of the cot; they are a tight fit and kept catching on the pocket seam. The supports have an unusual “twist”: one side that flips around between an “L” shape in the storage bag and a “U” shape on the cot. The first time you put the supports on requires so much force that you’re thinking “this can’t be right” and wondering if something will break. Then you sleep on the cot, and find it unexpectedly sturdy and comfortable. I slept on mine for six nights. It disassembled easier than anticipated, so I put it together again and found the poles and supports fit together with minimal effort. I found it easier to assemble (the second time) than our Grizzly Cots which we have used for years. It's a really cool design! The Kelty Discovery Low Cot fits nicely into its storage bag (DO keep the assembly directions with it) and is handy to have around for camping or when we need an extra bed for a guest. Don’t be intimidated by this cot; once you set it up and use it, you might just find it’s your favorite cot, too.

The reviews would have you believe putting the cot together takes some herculean feat. When inserting the metal poles through the cot there is definitely a right side and a wrong side to start from. If you have to use tools to pull the fabric over the metal pole then you are doing it wrong (there is a little pocket on one end that's made for the metal pool to be fed through. Not to be confused with the hole that is made for the legs to snap on to the metal pole.) Follow the instructions, and its actually pretty easy. Yes putting the legs on the first time requires some muscle but after the first time its considerably easier.

Very sturdy for plus size individuals. The instructions indicate to push with your hand to lock into place, but I used my foot to press and lock. It was much more manageable.

I've always wanted to tent camp without sleeping on the ground. So buying a cot was the answer. I purchased this as the price was awesome. The sales clerk offered me instructions to assemble, but I waived his offer as it's a cot. Right? I decided to look online for instructions on how to assemble and was immediately apprehensive about this purchase. Thinking that this would be a quick turnaround, back to the store, as return. So after watching the assembly video, I thought, 'hey doesn't look too bad'. So my assembly was to throw this thing together as the video instructed. Well, aside from the side pole assembly into the canvas sleeves, it went together with ease. I couldn't be more pleased.

I bought this cot despite the many negative reviews about the set-up because, well, I'm cheap. I set it up in 15 minutes, used a bullnose pliers to pull the fabric over the ends of the side poles and put my foot on the block meant for your hand and just bounced downward until the cross piece clicked in place (to assemble the legs). Strangely, one of the legs (in my package) has the bar (that locks the unit down) on upside down- rendering it useless. But the cot is so over-built that I left that leg set out about where my knees would be and the cot is still absolutely solid and comfy (with a pad). I'm a 145 lbs so am not testing the cots capacity. Should the cot assemble more easily and have all the right parts? Yup. But once set up, it's a champ. And looks to last forever.

I bought two of these cots, both are missing a support. Kelty customer service was no help as they do not carry replacement parts for this item. I do like the cots, of the one I put together, I didn’t find it as hard to assemble as has been stated in other reviews. Unfortunately only option is to return both cots so I can exchange for two entirely different cots that hopefully have all the included parts.

Extremely difficult to assemble for two reasons. 1) Side poles seem to be 1/4" too long (out of specification) for the fabric. 2) Requires full body weight to spread legs to fit between side poles. I'm a fit 40-year old male and had lots of trouble even doing this in the comfort of my living room not mention in the woods on the ground or in the dark. The cot improved with light use, but I still had trouble with the side poles and my 10-year old son who carries his own fully loaded pack in the woods is unable to assemble the cot on his own. It's a great design if they will resolve this failure of pieces to fit.

Yes, it takes some muscle to put together THE FIRST TIME. After that it is much easier. This cot is lightweight and comfortable. Totally worth it.

I bought this for my son in the Fall for a Winter Scout trip. We saw the reviews that said that it was difficult to set up, but the fabric would stretch. He put it together about 5 times in our basement. The first time one of the support bars became loose because he had to press so hard to get it set up. This process was even harder when you needed to disassemble it. He used it indoors for about 3 weeks for watching TV, but it didn't seem to be stretching out. (Maybe this only works if your 200+ lbs). He had his Klondike in January, and, if it had stretched at all, it tightened in the cold, and he couldn't get it up. (And who needs a cot when it's warm!) I would not recommend this cot.

Bought this for kayak camping. Knew it was large but with a bad back was willing to try it anyway. What a mistake. I set it up at home and left it set up so it would be easier in the field. Set it up the first night and it broke. Spent the night on the ground and didn't get any sleep. Was going to ship it back but by the time I paid the shipping it wasn't worth it. Would give zero stars if possible. VERY disappointed.

It is a bit difficult to put together the first time, but do it at home just as you would a tent or any new gear. It gets easier after the fabric has been stretched once or twice. Watch the video!! Also keep in mind that the comfort comes from how taught the fabric is so it's a trade off....a bit of effort for greatly increased comfort. I combine this with a 3" thermarest and I have a great nights sleep, even on my side. Worth ever penny. Just a bonus that is packs up so small as well!

Even given the knowledge of the secret slit, this is still difficult to assemble. After 10 minutes without being able to insert either side through he proper slit, I gave up. If I can assemble a tent at this price point in 5 minutes without prior knowledge, and was able to assemble the old style wood/canvas cots at the age of 7, I should be able to assemble this cot in 5 minutes. Good thing I decided to test it at home rather than taking it out in the field. Already has loose stitching on the canvas, so I'm also not confident it will last for more than a use or two. G

Read the reviews and there are plenty of people that say it's hard to setup -- and that's true. I'm good at this kind of stuff, and it took forever to setup. Two of the legs took all of my 220lbs to snap into place. The side bars took more strength than I had to get into their pockets. Either (1) it's a cruddy design, or (2) this will become easier over time as the materials stretch (this was my 2nd time assembling it). Once assembled I put a Klymit Static V Lightweight Sleeping Pad on top and it was as good as sleeping at home on a bed.

Attempted to put together prior to heading out for 3 day camping trip. First, one of five legs was missing from the bag. Then, had difficulty placing the legs on the longitudinal bars running on either side of the cot. Installation requires you place full weight against a flip out hand pad while hooking a support bar into a small stud. I weigh 230 lbs and even with all my strength and weight, after several try’s, could barely hook the stud to lock the legs in place. I gave up after installing two because I thought I might hurt myself and / or damage the product. Frankly, I wonder how anyone could do this at a camp site ( I did this in my den). Bottom line, this is a poorly manufactured and designed cot. I will be returning at first opportunity.

I have a lot of Kelty gear and am a fan of the quality of their stuff. This cot is going back. Tried to get the side poles in and gave up after 20 minutes. And yes, I found the side slit the poles are suppose to go into. The poles are about an inch too long. For kicks, I tried to put some of the cross bars in that support the cot. So tight I was anxious about removing it - sure I would injure my hands. As others have said, its just a bad design. Don't buy.

I bought this cot to go in the bed of my Toyota pickup, and it is a perfect "press fit" at 75 inches. It's very comfy, I almost fell asleep in it the first time I practiced setting it up. NOTE: the height of the cot is 7.25", not the 3" shown in the specs, just right for sleeping under a low canopy and with a bit of storage room underneath. At 12 pounds it's too heavy for backpacking, but fine for car camping, and I wouldn't be embarrassed to offer this to house guests as a spare bed. Installing the spreaders, yeah, takes oomph. Reminded me of CPR training.

We had bought this for our grandson for Christmas because it is low and would work well in his tent when out with the Scouts. And it is low and comfortable, but it is so difficult to assemble that at 12 he cannot get it in the sleeping position without assistance. I am 6' and 240 pounds and it takes everything I have to "snap" the legs together.

As has been mentioned, this cot is extremely difficult to put together the first time.

This is a good product. The assembly instructions are clear. However, the assembly definitely requires two people. One must stretch the canvas fabric (I used pliers to help pull it) while the other pushes the pole into the channel. I had read the earlier reviews, so I was patient. It takes time to do this, but after the initial assembly, it's much easier. I've used my cots at home for the grandkids. For this purpose, they are perfect. They don't take much room, they are light and easy to move, and they are durable. Camping cots are fun for kids.

I am 5'6" and weigh about 140. I could not push down the cross bars to attach, so i stood on it, still nothing. I started to bounce a little, then a lot, and finally one locked in. Tried with #2 and it broke. Now i can't get the latched one to unlatch and I'm afraid of it pinching me. Back it goes! Too bad, it looks well made. It really shouldn't take more than 200 lbs of force to get the cross bars to latch.

The two parallel poles was relatively easy, it was the adjacent supports down the length of the cot that was incredibly hard to assemble. Using almost my entire body weight (~160 lbs) I was able to get the black plastic clips to lock. My knees, feet, and palms hurt. Taking the thing apart was equally as challenging. I’m hoping this gets better over time like other reviews say otherwise I’ll be checking with REI re: returning it. As far as comfort goes, I used another thin air pad on top and believe it or not I slept like a baby. So there’s that.

We bought 2 cots for Christmas and went through a "dry run" in the spring before bringing them in the back country to use in our wall tent. Thank goodness we tried to set it up beforehand! It is very difficult to get the canvas over the end of the rod. For the legs, the instructions say to apply firm pressure....seriously? I stood my 120 pound body on the legs to try to get them to snap into place but I could not do it! It took me longer to set up ONE cot than it did to set up my entire wall tent with stove. I will be returning the cots .

I write this as I’m laying on one of these. The only difficulty I personally had was getting the cross arms/feet to snap into place. The firm pressure I used was backed by my 270ish pounds of body and I was very hopeful it wouldn’t break while putting it together. Luckily it didn’t. So far it seems to be a very sturdy build. This would be a great cot to use for a camp out that you just pull everything out of your vehicle and set it up. Not good for a backpacking trip though as it is fairly heavy when packed into its carrying bag.

Absolutely horrible. A cot should not be this difficult to assemble and disassemble. I had to physically stand on the legs to get them to click. I even called my neighbor over who camps a lot and she couldn’t even figure it out. Returning it tomorrow. Can’t imagine being out in the wilderness and struggling with a cot like this. Not worth it at all.

This is a very high quality product but difficult to assemble as mentioned in a previous review. I'm 6'3", at the limit of the cot. I use my Camp Rest on the cot and do not have the feeling of my legs hanging over. I was concerned about damage to the ten floor with the narrow contact points so I took some 1x4 and routed a groove. Works great.

I haven't used it in a trip yet but I'm giving it five stars to balance out the people complaining that it's hard to assemble. Are they wrong? No, the first-time assembly is *insanely* difficult. Do it at home and use a rubber mallet if you have one. After sleeping on it three nights, I disassembled it, and the parts that had been ridiculously tight weren't a problem anymore because the fabric had stretched a little. Unless the fabric magically unstretches in storage, it's going to be a breeze to assemble when I need it.

Yep, this cot takes a little grit to assemble, but only because it is constructed to be solid and sturdy. My dad has a version of this cot that he used on our last camping trip together. He slept like a rock on this thing while I tossed and turned on the ground. He bought me one for Christmas and I just assembled it and am laying on it now. It is difficult to get together the first go around - but it will stretch and break in and it does get easier. I’m convinced this was designed this way on purpose. It’s the only way to make something of this size this sturdy and to make the cloth this tight - which translates into comfort. Seems like everyone giving this thing bad reviews either aren’t intelligent enough to understand how to assemble it or are too weak to put it together.

Love this cot. Yes it is hard to assemble the first time, But The day I got it we put it together and let it sit in the garage for a week to stretch the fabric out and now it works amazing . Easy to put up and so comfy. I use it twice a month with My sons scout troop camp outs.

It fits my Thermarest perfectly. Low Profile.

I wanted to love everything about this, but the canvas is cut so small that it was virtually impossible for me to get the side poles into the sleeves - I simply don't have enough hand strength to push it all the way into the sleeve pockets.

I camp every weekend in the Spring for work.When I bought this, I couldn’t even set it up the first time, my weight was not enough to lock it into place, I ended up on the dirt those nights. Once I finally got it and was able to stretch it out a few times it now takes15 min. to set it up. But it’s still a heavy, bulky thing to pack so I don’t usually take it for work any more. But for a longer extended trip, it may come in handy but is absolutely the worst for turn-around trips every weekend.

Similar to other reviews, which I wish I had read before I purchased (spur of the moment in REI). The legs are difficult to latch. I've used the cot two times now, both times difficult and two legs are slightly bent because of the pressure I had to put on them to latch. Not easy to do, always break a sweat when trying to latch all 5 legs. The cot is comfortable to sleep on, that's why I gave it two stars.

This is one of those things I wish I had come up with. Excellent design for portability and ease of use. Some engineer put some real thought into this. I bought two and had them both set up in a half hour. Now, I'm fairly big at 250lbs so pushing the feet over center was pretty easy for me. And perhaps it's much more difficult for someone under 150lbs. But come on people, once the "NEW" canvas stretches it will be super easy. Easily holds my weight even while sitting.

I was hesitant to buy this based on the previous reviewers’ difficulty with assembly, but its dimensions were perfect for my son’s Harry Potter closet room and I have no need to disassemble it any time soon.

I suggest you assemble this first in your local REI to learn the assembly system as it is rather taut when first out of the box. If you cannot do it there under favorable circumstances.......

I just bought a couple of these. Don't wait till you get to the campsite before you set these up. When we set these up at home for the first time, we used a hair dryer on the fabric as we pushed the side poles into their sleeves. Worked wonders to stretch out the fabric enough to get the poles in place. ... I think that these cots will wind up working quite well.... And they store in a relatively small space.

If you cant figure out how to put this cot together you may want to reconsider exposing yourself to survival situations. Assembles firmly. A second person assisting on the first assembly will prevent inadvertantly damaging any parts as previously mentioned. If you have to use tools to assemble, please stay out of the woods. Comfortable, light, sturdy. Looking forward to putting it through the grind.

I heard complaints about the difficulty of setting it up the cot. I tried it in my family room prior to my car camping trip. Honestly, it was a little rough at first. I did watch the video on You Tube twice. After I did it once successfully, I set it up again with minutes with no issue. I think the more you use the gear, the easier it will be. I bought four of them and cannot wait to use them!

Needed a low profile cot with as low cost as possible in a very short time (2 days before trip). This was both available in store and a reasonable price as I had searched quite a bit. Only down side is the set up was quite difficult the first few times as it required a lot of force to accomplish what directions specified. I was actually worried I was going to break it, but it held and worked well.

Well made, sturdy cot. It packs up small and is comfortable enough to sleep on. Even more so, if you add a sleeping pad. Perfect for car camping or keeping on hand for overnight guests. Many reviews referenced how hard it is to assemble. I didn't have the same experience. It took some effort the first time, but ultimately was much easier then fighting with the typical military issue cot.

Let me start off by saying this thing is a royal PITA to put together. It must have taken me 10-15mins of futzing just to get the side bars in. I am a larger women who considers herself pretty strong, but after spending half an hour trying to get the cross bars to lock, I gave up. My husband was able to use a bit more strength than me but it was still tough for him to lock them. We added some weight to the cot overnight to let it stretch out and we could tell it would be easier to setup/takedown once fabric stretched a little, but we were really concerned just how many times we could setup this cot before the crossbars experienced fatigue and snapped. We returned this and ended up going with the regular size Discovery Cot. Sure it is bigger and heavier, but it sets up in less and five minutes with cursing and sore hands. It is also higher up off the ground and is a lot easier to get up from.

Man, this thing is comfy ... if you can assemble it. If you are strong, then this shouldn’t be a problem. If you are not, keep on looking. Kelly missed the mark on the design of the product assembly on this one. I bought reading the other reviews first and decided on getting it anyways. The other reviews about difficult assembly are accurate. Otherwise, I do love sleeping on it!

I just received the Kelty Discovery Low Cot and was able to assemble it easily. There are printed instructions included and there is a short video on the REI website that shows it very well. I did not have difficulties expressed by some others in the reviews. The side poles slipped in easily through the slots in the cuffs at each end and, while stiff, it was not difficult to fold the end cuff over the inserted pole. Installing the legs was pretty easy. I weigh about 165# and simply placed my torso weight over the leg and pressed down as instructed. The notch quickly snapped into place. Reverse the process to uninstall. Lying down briefly showed this cot to be very comfortable. It's 75" long and about 26" wide providing plenty of room for back or side sleeping. I doubt I would really need an air mattress but plan on using one anyway. BTW it's light at about 12# and fits easily in the provided carry sack. So, I recommend this product.

I couldn't lock the legs into position without a lot of pain in my hands, and I garden as my job so I have pretty tough hands. It took all my husband's upper body weight to do it so I wouldn't be able to use this on any trips without him. Even our 14yo son couldnt set this up. Returning and continuing our search for a well-made, easy assemble cot

As others have said this was tough to assemble and that's an understatement. It took me over 30 min in my house to assemble this. Parts started bending before they got into place. I am hoping that it will all stretch and fit better if I leave it for a day or two. I got this for $20 at a garage sale event and still would never buy it again.

Easy to store compared to most other cots. Quite sturdy for a smaller cot, however setup is a bit tough especially in the beginning. The instructions provided are a little helpful, but it felt as if i would break it putting it together initially. Once the fabric stretches out a bit, it will become easier and you will get used to it.

This cot looks pretty, but it's impossible to assemble. We bought it for my son for scout camp, but we couldn't put it together ourselves, so we certainly couldn't send him with it. We did get one leg assembled with much exertion and two of us, then almost hurt ourselves taking it back apart. Needless to say, we returned it.

Simply awful. The side rails are nearly impossible to insert, unless you have a degree in witchcraft. They are simply too long. I am very surprised that REI sells this product.

I have a total of 12 days on these cots. Very comfortable and rigid when set up. Low, but still allows space for storage under the cot. Unlike other cots, it has a somewhat padded surface so it's comfortable to the touch. I like not having to worry about my toddler falling off a standard height cot. It also packs very small and does not take up too much space.

Once put together it is firm, sturdy and sleeps well, however it takes a lot of muscle and patience to put this together. Pretty heavy to carry in bag due to the metal posts . Not really suitable for travel where you need to pack it up and put it away. You’ll never want to dismantle it once it’s ready for use.

I ignored all of the difficult to put together warnings, because I liked the lower legs, lighter weight, and smaller packed size. I thought can it really be that hard? Yes it can. I tried all of the shoe horn and pliers hints, but never got either of the side bars installed. I will be returning it tomorrow.

Challenge to put together is putting it mildly. I weigh almost 230lbs and had to put as much of my body weight as I could on these legs before they would snap into place. One leg twisted under my efforts and is now useless as it won't align anymore.

Last trip had a leaky air mattress which meant I lost sleep. I had been looking at the higher priced, lighter weight cots for hiking. But I do high speed back packing, also known as motorcycle camping. This unit is fairly heavy, but at my 300 pounds I need something sturdy. I use this cot with my Thermarest self inflating mat, and it is great. At 6'7" few items are long enough.

Most tension cots like this can be a bit of a struggle the 1st time it is put together. My suggestion, put it together at home and leave assembled for a few days to stretch out the fabric. This is a heavy duty cot. It disassembles to be fairly compact. For the price I paid, very happy with what I got

I bought this for my wife who insisted she needed a cot. It took so much force to assemble the legs that she could not do it at all, and I had a difficult time. After she slept on it one night I had to give up my Therma rest and use the cot. It was cold and uncomfortable. I will be returning it.

Initial set up was difficult but once broken in it's a cinch. The trick is use your foot pressing on your weigh carefully to snap on those legs in place. Next, sleep on it a week or so to break it in the fabric. This quality product is a great deal compare to others costing a lot more.

I must admit the inner macho man inside thought I would be able to set this up without a problem despite other reviews. I was dead wrong as this took about a half hour to set up in my living room, with pliers. I actually think it’s near impossible to set this up without a pair of pliers the first time no matter your strength. Like other reviews suggest make sure you leave it assembled and do some reading/ napping on it before taking out out to camp in, and when you do bring a part of pliers just in case. I found the feet to be no issue as long as you use your body weight to press on the black supports to get them to lock (however, I’m 6’1 200 and not too many years out of collegiate football) . It’s also significantly more heavier than similar models, but it’s half the price so you get what you pay for. 3/5 stars because it’s cheap, and when it’s set up is no different than the 2-300 dollar cots. But, I just don’t see how this gets set up by anyone that’s not extremely stubborn, and at least 160 pounds.

I understand these are supposed to be sturdy, and a bit hard to get together the first time, but I couldn’t assemble it at all. I’m 105lbs and just didn’t have the weight to lock them in place. I got it cuz it was on sale. I guess you get what you pay for. Will be returning asap.

Have used it once and no problems so far. The material feels sturdy and comfortable and I haven't noticed any damage on the floor of my tent. For the set up, I find soaking the fabric in water will help. The look is quite stylish/modern compared to my other camping equipment.

I returned a similar cot from another brand because I couldn’t figure out how to get the side supports in and the instructions were terrible and I couldn’t find much online about the product. For an additional ten dollars I am glad I swapped out this cot instead, there were lots of tips and comments in the reviews and the video in the product description makes it much easier to put together then the included direction sheet. I was at least able to slide the side bars into place with a little bit of tugging and I don’t have very large hands or good grip strength. I did have to step down on the cross bars to lock in place (I’m about 140lbs). Disassembly is slightly less complicated. I’m going to leave it up for a week or so to stretch it out as suggested. I like the carrying bag for this one as well. It’s heavy and will really only be good for car camping but it will serve its purposes for me. Seems like it will be comfortable to sleep on... it has to be better then the Army cots I’ve slept on the last 23 years!

After reading all the reviews and understanding that this is a tension cot that is able to support 350 lbs. I understood that it would be very tough to get together the first time but after getting it together it was well wort it. Take your time and it will go together.

I bought 4 of these cots for car camping with my family and ended up buying another 2 for my 70yo parents. We’ve used them camping at Crescent Lake and Crater Lake for multiple nights on each trip and loved them. Probably will use them for sleepovers too. I first assembled them at home based on the reviews of being hard to assemble. Once you put it together once it’s easy to do. It does take some strength to push down the bars, but not much for a 40+yo old woman at 130lbs (who isn’t that strong). I used them car camping alone with my girls with no problem and they are very comfortable. I put sleeping pads on top only for warmth since it was down to the 30’s at night which worked perfectly. I like that you can’t feel the bars on your back because they’re close to the ground. Also it’s not too high or tipsy but there’s still room to stuff things under it for storage. We have purchased another cot over twice the price only to have it break the first time we put it together. It was much lighter but horrible quality.

It is hard to believe that all these "outdoor" types are having such a hard time with this cot. The support legs are a little difficult to assemble, but they aren't as bad as some people make this out. Great heavy duty cot that will last a lifetime.

Great camping cot. Sturdy well built and comfortable. It is low -yet- it is off the ground. I still AT section hike at 70 years of age. I started with Kelty gear and always look on line and in REI at what they have to offer.

I like how small these pack up, they were a bit tricky to get together but my husband had a much easier time at it than I did trying to do it myself for the first time. Great addition to our car camping stash!

This is an amazingly difficult cot to put together, and just as difficult to break down. It is that moment in between that is where this sleeping cot shines. Very comfortable to sleep on. We ordered two.

Don't follow the directions. Once you have the side rails in which I had no problem with put the cross rails together then put one side in and pull the other side rail until it snaps in, much easier.

look carefully for the slit on each end of the fabric when inserting the side rails. after that, assembly is easy. cot is sturdy and comfortable. good value for the money

I have set this cot up once trying to put the poles in the sleeves, gave up trying to do that, now I just slide them in and skip the little sleeves, works perfect!

It is a little tought o get the fabric over the pole but it makes the cot a lot stiffer and less saggy like other cots. I'm going to order a second.

This cot is a little dificult to assemble first time around but is not bad, it is much better than the reviews suggest, for the price very good.

Good luck putting this together unless you’re a power lifter. Even then I’m not sure you’d have luck. Can’t wait to return!

Things are overly ridiculousy hard to put together, I bought two of them and after the first use I threw him in the trash

We were not able to assemble the cot between two people. The legs were extremely difficult to click on. Returned item.

Some what hard to put together clamps on leg bars to small.

REI had this item on sale just a week ago, at the time of this writing. Was concerned by the reviews that talked about effort of assembly and build quality. I’ve lived on military and commercial cots several times throughout my life. While time will tell on durability, the fit and finish of these cots are a great value. The price point really jumps up hundreds of dollars if you try to get something lighter without sacrificing comfort. And they are comfortable. Compared to folding cots, these break down to about a quarter the size, but offer a bit more comfort as they do have a trampoline design (no cross slats touch the canvas under you).

This is the first cot I have bought since an old school hunting frame cot from the 90's. I was not sure how I would like it based on the reviews but decided to give it a shot since it was on sale. I slept on it for a week and it was worthy of keeping.

I bought this on a whim, knowing the good return policy at REI. Later, I read the reviews about difficult assembly. The long side bars were a tight fit, but not so hard. Then I started on the legs, and that was a different story. The first two legs, one at each end, went on OK. I weigh 210, and I put my weight on my foot, on the middle of the bar, until it snapped into place. I'm not sure how I'll ever get it apart again. The next two legs were much harder. I thought they might be easier, as the fabric is already stretched. When I tried to put my weight on the legs, instead of latching into place, they completely flipped sideways, totally away from the side bars. I thought I had broken it, but the plastic material is tough. I did, however make one small cut in the fabric as the leg exploded out of control under so much force. Finally, the next two legs were done. The final leg was the very middle. No matter what I tried, I could not get the latch to catch. I nearly stood with my entire weight on the leg, but no latching noise. Even with that last leg not fully latched, I turned it over to lay on it. Soft... comfy.... feels like a nice cot indeed. I wonder if the force of laying on it will tend to keep that leg in place, or if it will tend to work itself loose. Not sure about that outcome. I'm on the verge of walking into the store and asking an employee to demonstrate it for me!

No doubt about it, this is a great quality item. That being said don't underestimate the difficulty putting this thing together the first time. it's a compression bed and the canvas simply does not want to stretch over the rod. I had sore thumbs for days. After reading the reviews I put it together and left it up for days before I went camping while having my son lay on it to watch TV. getting the rods in the pockets seen almost like in impossible task. I read another review hear where a person used a hair dryer which I tried and that helped. when I put it together on my camping trip it was much easier. again this isn't a very high quality product looks great and is very comfortable especially if you add a self inflatable pad. I would definitely buy again especially since I got this during the $35 sale. I dropped my rating down to four stars because of the difficulty of putting it together. it's not the complexity of putting it together which is rather easy it's trying to slip a metal rod into a pocket that simply will not stretch without heat. watch the video to see how it goes together that makes a huge difference and also make sure you putting the rods in on the side that has the slit otherwise it will never go in no matter how hard you try. it also helped the first time to have my son actually stand on the leg pegs to hook then on. it took his full weight to get it to latch but when I actually went camping I was able to do it myself because I broke it in.

If you start from the point of car campers who sleep on air mattresses, these cots are terrific. Here are the things many reviews will cover - putting them together is a workout (some will say impossible, but as a non-handy person, I disagree), they are heavy (this is true, but not so heavy I can't carry all three of them at one time from the car to the tent), they are basic (yes! a feature as far as I am concerned, also they are one of the lower cost options here!)

The cot was purchased for car camping from the website. The cot was used to camp in 4 degrees Colorado weather for two nights at elevations about 5400 above sea level.

I picked up one of these cots on the way to a recent camping trip. The forecast was three solid days of rain and I wanted to be up off the floor of my tent in case it got water inside of it. For the price, size, and quality of materials this cot was definitely the best that REI had in stock. I wish I'd had a chance to read the reviews before I bought it, though, because I was shocked later that night at how hard it was to assemble (crouched in my little dome tent trying to stay out of the pouring rain). I wrestled with it for almost an hour and still didn't manage to get it fully assembled correctly. The legs are really hard to get securely latched without using full body leverage (like actually jumping on them with full force in my case, and I am 5'3" and 150#). I did get two of them latched and then gave up and just attached the rest to the cot and carefully turned it over to sleep on (the legs attach to the cot frame and then get latched into a "secure" position, but I used it with the legs pretty much just attached and not secured). It turned out to be fine--maybe because I'm not a very big person, but I had absolutely no trouble with the cot remaining stable and secure for three nights without being completely correctly assembled. I used a sleeping pad to help insulate from the cold, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that I slept better on this cot than I ever do on an air mattress. It's really comfortable, doesn't make any noise when you shift around, and is very long. I also like that it sits fairly low to the ground, so I can still slide things under it but it keeps a small profile in a smaller tent. Another plus is how little room it takes up in my gear when it's disassembled for storage.