How can I make a higher cot?

[PlacidWaters]

Spot on on all points Nanabijou.

The reason I prefer a wider cot isn't just for the body but for ARM support. I will pay up to $250 for a light, comfortable cot that assembles easily. Not more, and only because I camp a lot. That means a Helinox on sale and no yearly updates when they change models, because it would be very hard to sell your previous Helinox cot to finance the upgrade.

One thing that surprises me about camping gear is that much of it has some shortcoming that is obvious to the consumer but not to the designers. I bet lots of people in this forum could design a great tent, cot, chair, etc. I sure wish they would ask us about these things.

--Camptime could improve their cot by replacing the hard-to-turn wingnuts with large plastic ones that are easy on the hands.
--Helinox could put big fat feet on their chairs so we don't have to spend extra money on them. They could change the angle of the back on the Sunset chair so it actually hits your head.
--I would love to see a tall (60") three-person tent with a porch awning: perfect for one camper with a tall cot.
--Would love to see a small plastic chuck box with drawers and dividers.

Etc.

 

[rayra]

The trick is building a better mousetrap. You have an innovative idea with some market demand, you build it yourself.

I've got topics going on sewing my own custom awnings with ripstop nylon, making a custom center console for concealing radios, making adjustable tent / awning poles from EMT conduit. I've been building things all my life. I'm a pretty good journeyman at all the trades. I do a lot of things in wood.
I'm sure I could build a 'plus-sized' cot, with some proper study. I need one myself. Or adapt a product to suit my needs.

And I agree, the modern iteration of the GI cot - the square aluminum tubing, plastic end fittings and nylon material, which is typically so shrunk that it does indeed take terrific leverage to seat the last crossbar - has its annoyances. I just can't see paying the prices that modern gear seems to demand / command. I can't judge it, I'm getting old and the world is passing me (and my wallet) by. So I wind up building a lot of the things I need, out of both preference and sometimes necessity.


eta

my answer to your original question would be to make a set of risers using 3" dia - preferably 4" - ABS pipe segments as risers. 4-6" tall would be stable enough, as long as you don't toss and turn in your sleep too vigorously. A U-notch on the top edge to trap the foot joint of the cot. End caps on the foot to spread the load and not cut thru a tent floor. And maybe a sched40 PVC pipe or 3/4" EMT thru the foot of the ABS segments for lateral stability.
It would be bulky though. Only solution I can think of for that is make the pipe segments large enough in diameter that they sleeve right over the bundled / bagged cot. Then they take near zero extra space. And out be more stable in use and you could even make them taller. 6" dia pipe, 8" tall?

 

[PlacidWaters]

Rayra, thanks a million for your cot extension idea. I'm going to study it carefully.

Re prices: I find that as I get older I'm shocked at the price of just about everything, as I'm sure our parents and grandparents felt. I can't get it through my head that $100 is a small amount of money these days. Plus I'm totally confoozled by electronic gadgets and social media. I fell behind when the blackberry came out and I never caught up. Not just because I'm older, but because I'm just not drawn to those things by nature. I have the exact same feeling as you that the world is passing me by.

Thanks for sharing the link to your great woodworking projects. I enjoyed seeing them, very well designed and well made.

 

[rayra]

Thanks for the kind words.

addendum on the riser idea, you'd want to bevel the notches in the top edges of the ABS to be as parallel to the cot leg tube surface as possible, to spread the load as much as possible. Leaving th enotch cuts with right-angle edges will just tear up the cot pipes. COvering the pipes with a bit of rubber hose at the point of contact would help a great deal. Something like automotive heater hose, split lengthwise and placed around the pipe. A couple inches at each edge contact. Call it 2' in total. Most auto parts stores sell it by the foot, in a couple sizes, get the one that most closely matches the OD of the cot tubes.

can't think of any other designs that don't add a lot of bulk and weight.

 

[PlacidWaters]

Rayra thanks for that additional information.

 

[aaen]

Hmm, I use my exped mat all the time with my helinox cot. In fact I slept on the two of them for almost a year in an apt. Still some of the best nights sleep I have ever had. Sure the mattress was slightly larger, but that sucker worked amazing. Just don;t pump them all the way up, leave them about half to 2/3 inflated and it will wrap up and around you. Use a thermarest top quilt instead of a sleeping bag and a fitted sheet you can get from thermarest for their air mattresses. The two attach together and make it like your sleeping on a cloud.

Steve

You must be reading my mind! I have both the Roll-a-Cot Wide and the Helinox Cot One. Love the comfort of the Roll-a-Cot but I'm tired of putting it together and taking it apart, plus it's a bit heavy and bulky. Love the fast assembly of the Helinox Cot One, but it's too low.

I totally agree with you about the ideal cot. The top-of-the-line Heliniox cot is incompatible with the top-of-the line Exped mattresses because the cot is too narrow. 30" or 32" wide x 15" high would be perfect.