It took me about 10 minutes to set up, and that was with a lot of instructions-reading and pondering. It is true -- there is strength required to get the poles in to the canvas, and also to get the legs into their holes. I noticed that by kneeling on the canvas and leveraging my full body weight into bending the leg into position, I was able to get the legs in fairly easily. I'm pleasantly surprised since, like I said above, I'm not particularly strong and I was able to do it myself quickly.
In terms of the comfort level, the cot was very comfortable and will definitely be a game-changer on our future camping trips. I'll be sure to come back here and update my review after we sleep on them.
UPDATE 2/4/12: We used these on a camping trip to Big Sur, California back in October, and they were indeed a game-changer! Extremely comfortable, like crawling into a warm cocoon at the end of a fantastic day in the great outdoors. I highly recommend. To begin with, sleeping on this cot is comfortable, very comfortable. The rounded feet of the cot provide a steady platform and are tent floor friendly. This cot is heavy and is obviously intended for car camping but the rails are strong and the canvass is well-stitched and also strong.
Now for the downside: Erecting this cot is ridiculously difficult (as many others have reported). It is a real wrestling match between you and the spring loaded legs as you try to simultaneously bend the leg and insert its end into the rail. After some practice you get better at this task but it's far from easy. The legs are supposed to fit into the rails but I had to chase a few of the drilled rail holes with a bit in order to allow them to receive the leg end. Then while setting it up during a recent camping trip, I found that the aluminum sleeve of one of the rails had slipped on the rail's aluminum core just enough so that the leg end wouldn't fit. Fortunately I fixed it by levering the sleeve into alignment using a tent peg. After a five-day use, dissembling the cot required a hammer and considerable physical force.
I purchased two of these cots so I really had lots of experience with the product in just a short time. The only reason I'm giving it two stars is because of its great comfort and stability. If you intend to erect the darn thing and leave it permanently that way then it's a good cot. If you want it for camping and intend to assemble/disassemble it frequently, think twice. great cot, quickly puts up, I carry this on my motorcycle and its no wider than my soft saddlebags, this and my thermasrest is comfortable, fits in my small two man tent and I can still sit up cause the cot is so low, you can see its is sturdy and doesn't ruin the floor because feet of the cot are continuous instead of poles, a little heavy for backpacking but my bike didn't complain of the weight once, no more sleeping on the ground for me, I think shopping thru Amazon is great I don't have a bed in my new apartment. I slept (sleep) on this cot with a sleeping bag every night for 10 months. This cot is very comfortable - even for everyday sleeping. (I am comfortable sleeping on my side, as well as on my back. I am a small person, so the fabric remains taut, even as I lie on it. Not much sagging.)
The cot was very easy to assemble, even for a small (not strong) person. It took about 10 minutes to assemble. The fabric is fairly nice quality - it has survived everyday use for 8 months. Heavy canvas material, sturdy metal rods and legs. I can see why other reviewers appreciated the quality of material.
First night getting these, I let my kids sleep in them at home. My 2 yr old who finds weird ways to sleep in his bed, slept vertical all night. It is low to ground and very comfy. I might be getting two more for future use. Very easy to store with the included canvas bag.
The hype of difficulty in putting together is not warranted. Do not be afraid of others lack of assembly capabilities... If you can put a simple tent together, this is identical. Assemble poles (3 pieces), thread it thru a sleeve, put one leg into place on one side, apply a little pressure to the leg and slide it into the other hole on the opposite pole... simple. Cannot believe the amount of neg comments to this "task"... I bought both the ALPS and the Byer of Maine Allagash AL Cot. In my opinion the Byer of Maine cot is better. First of all, the ALPS canvas was not square. One side was a good 1.5 inches long than the other.
Similarities to the Byer of Maine - both are similar in dimensions and comfort, the legs are nearly identical, and the legs fit into the rails the same way (you put one end of the leg in one rail and bend the leg until it fits into the other rail.
The Byer of Maine gets my vote in two areas: quality and easier to assemble. The ALPS rails are in three parts, which you fit together and then feed into channels on either side of the cot. It's a tight squeeze. It's not overly difficult, but the BoM cot already has the rails attached to the cot. You simply unfold them and insert the legs.Many reviews on this cot indicate problems setting it up. It's no harder than any folding cot. It's actually more difficult to tear down than to set up. To assemble the legs, hold it upright on its side, then push down on one side of the leg using your weight to compress it. One person can do it fairly easily but having someone hold the other end up makes it a snap.
It's quite comfortable as cots go. In cool weather, some kind of insulating pad is a must. I can say from experience that a 3/8 to 1/2" ensolite pad will make a cot comfortable well below freezing. The 30" width is a luxury compared to some cots I've slept on.
We pack with llamas and I would have liked cots a bit lighter in weight, but to get the extra width, we sacrificed weight. Our biggest concern was to find some that folded short enough to fit on a llama's back.
We bought 2 of these used from an Amazon vendor. They appeared to be returns. One had never been opened but the box was ratty. The other doesn't appear to have ever been used but it had been assembled. I sure can't complain for 1/2 the price. So, I received this in the mail today. I was very hesitant on purchasing this because of some of the reviews, need a hammer for disassembling, tough to install support legs, need other things to align to insert supprt legs. So, I purchased this one and a different brand. The intention was to keep the one I liked best. Well, needless to say, this is a keeper. It took me less than seven minutes to assemble and four minutes to disassemble. Yes, there is a little strength required to install the support legs, but I just stepped on the canvass while it was upside down and had no problems. I'll fill in prospective purchasers after I spend some time camping with this later. My husband and I purchased these to upgrade from our thin sleeping pads for car camping. I was a little worried about set-up after reading the reviews, so rather than waiting for my husband to try to assemble, I decided to give it a shot myself. For background -- I'm a 30-something woman and am more of a reader than an exerciser; my upper body strength is nothing to brag about. I decided to give it a go to see how much I'd be able to help out when we set up at camp next week.
It took me about 10 minutes to set up, and that was with a lot of instructions-reading and pondering. It is true -- there is strength required to get the poles in to the canvas, and also to get the legs into their holes. I noticed that by kneeling on the canvas and leveraging my full body weight into bending the leg into position, I was able to get the legs in fairly easily. I'm pleasantly surprised since, like I said above, I'm not particularly strong and I was able to do it myself quickly.
In terms of the comfort level, the cot was very comfortable and will definitely be a game-changer on our future camping trips. I'll be sure to come back here and update my review after we sleep on them.
UPDATE 2/4/12: We used these on a camping trip to Big Sur, California back in October, and they were indeed a game-changer! Extremely comfortable, like crawling into a warm cocoon at the end of a fantastic day in the great outdoors. I highly recommend.
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