By Perrin Adams – @kp.nomadic
Being an avid outdoorsman and living outside throughout all four seasons poses some interesting problems, especially when it comes to sleeping arrangements. The Woods Instant Camping Cot aims to simplify that and while it is a budget priced cot, it has some excellent pros and not so excellent cons. Let’s begin with the stats.
Sitting almost a foot and a half off the ground this cot is reinforced with steel legs and a frame that supports up to 300 pounds. Woods uses a Weather-resistant, PVC-coated 600-denier polyester fabric which feels durable and secure.This cot will support anyone up to 6 feet tall and is 2 feet wide. Even when laying directly on the cot it cradles the body nicely between the cross bars. That being said, in the winter I suggest using either a foam pad or insulated air mattress underneath you as the cot does act like a hammock in the sense that you will have heat loss underneath you.
The cot features a pop up design that makes setup foolproof. Simply stretch out the cot, unfold the legs, and lock into place. To put them away just undo them locks and pull the provided tab and it will fold up on its own. Once put together it slides into the carry bag with a little finesse. It works really well when you want to set up quickly or take down inside your shelter. This all in one package is great for convenience; however, you will have increased weight because of all the additional mechanisms.
The Woods Instant Camp Cot weighs over 15 pounds, compared to other brands that are lighter in weight but require more work to set up. The added convenience makes this cot ideal for truck camping or pulling in on a pulk sled. The carry bag is made up of a similar material to the cot itself which lends to the durability of this product when moving around. It does come with an included shoulder strap that makes moving the cot around simpler due to it balancing the load. Overall, a manageable cot when you need to get it from your vehicle to camp.
Where I can see the Woods Instant Camp cot having issues is within the convenience factor itself. The ability to essentially pop this cot up without any assembly also means it is harder to fix problems if a support were to break or bend the wrong way. Luckily, the steel is strong and mostly everything can be fixed with new bolts and with consistent use I have yet to see any issues. I would have also liked to have seen a different approach to the legs, specifically, the ends of them. If you are using this cot in a tent ensure you have something underneath the legs as with enough movement it will break through the bottom of your tent floor. If Woods had used a flatter end instead of the standard chair leg pegs, it would work in tents that had a floor.
To wrap things up, the Woods Instant Camp Cot is an excellent product for the money. It is durable, sturdy, and the convenience of no assembly makes me genuinely more excited for bed. If you like being higher up off the ground to take advantage of all that woodstove heat from your hot tent, or just to get up off the ground from the bugs in the warmer seasons this will work great for you. I would recommend this tent to anyone who travels around in a vehicle or who wants to pull it on a sled.
Other great options for camping cots:
Excellent review spot on about the legs poking holes in the bottom of the tent I use a piece of old carpeting as padding. This is easier to set up than my brand as it does not require end pieces to tie the cot together. The fabric got tight in the cold and was difficult to lock the cross bars onto the plastic stubs. The stubs wear out after repeated use. Extra padding is a nice addition mine had a support bar in the middle which was uncomfortable to lie on. If you use an air mattress wrap it in a fleece lining to lessen heat loss. It is nice not to sleep on the ground but there are compromises