Outbound Heavy Duty Oversized Camp Cot (Grey, Large)

Is very strong. And what is with the required words. You know this is the thing about the surveys that really bugs me. You ask for a couple minutes and then I find that I am working for you guys; am I being paid? And isn't giving this product giving it a rating?

I have tried many cots of varying sizes and manufacturers. All things considered, this is probably my favorite, but I am a big guy and it is a bit too narrow for me. It's fabric is tougher and sags less than any other cot I've found, which is it's core strength. Finding no reviews for this cot was frustrating, so I'll make a little extra effort here. The fabric strength is excellent. The height is excellent too, a bit higher than most, so twin size sheets and blankets don't touch the floor, if you like to use sheets and blankets as I do. Given this Outbound's slightly larger structural tubing, though still aluminum, this cot handles more weight than most, which is great. Here's my problem with it. Outbound claims it to be 32" wide, but it is not. It is closer to 30.5" of useable space. That said, all cots that I've tried seem to generously round up on size measurements, so you need to factor in more. All the cots showing less than 30" wide are actually much less than that, and way too narrow for me. The Byer Maine Military Cot is great, for a woman or average or smaller man, but listing at 30" wide, it's closer to 28.75" wide. The Cabela Alaskan Guide cot is great, and though also listed at 32" wide, it is actually a bit wider than this one, closer to 31.5" wide, and with its steel frame it is a bit tougher and better maximizes width. This Outbound cot falls between the Byer and Cabela cot in width, useable width in particular, and for most people the width of this Outbound cot will be great. The real advantage of this Outbound Heavy Duty Oversized Camp Cot is the fabric. At 1000Dx1000D, it is by far the strongest cot fabric, and the one that stretches and sags the least, initially and over time. I love this. If they just made this a full inch or so wider I would have kept it. The Cabela Alaskan Guide Cot is 600Dx600D, and stretches and sags much more than this Outbound cot. The Byer Maine Military cot is 600Dx600D fabric as well, but with it's added rip-stop fabric feature, it's strength and resistence to sag is better than the Cabela cot, and almost as good as this Outbound cot, but not quite. There are 40" wide cots, like the Teton Outfitter XXL cot, which have both advantages and disadvantages. I loved all about the massive Teton cot except that it's fabric currently at 600Dx300D, sags terribly over time, at least for someone my size. Add the Outbound fabric to the Teton XXL cot, and that would be something, but that is currently not available. Among the 32" or less cot widths, the three I've listed here are in my opinion the best, and all things factored in, for all but the biggest men, this Outbound cot excels. As a very big man, you might try the Cabela for it's slightly greater width, but for my money, the significantly greater strength of this Outbound cot's fabric gives it the nod. The one true negative about this Outbound cot is the feet at the end of the legs. They came on and off easily. A reviewer for another cot once noted this issue and recommended an easy fix. They said to super glue the rubber feet in place. Had I chosen to keep this cot, I would have done this. It may not be necessary, but I like to be careful, and wouldn't want to lose any of them. My one qualifier to all the above is that I use my cot much more frequently than most people, and I am larger than most. So these differences, perhaps minor for some, are magnified for me over time. Especially if you are an infrequent cot user, any of these would likely work, but I would still give the Outbound cot the nod. Even a small woman who might enjoy the Byer cot, if she uses sheets and blankets, those will touch the floor. They will not with this cot. (A suggestion here: Sleeping bags are fine, but I like sheets, and so do guests when I pull a cot out for them. I purchased a large piece of high density open cell foam for about $19 online, and I used scissors to cut it in half and then trim it to the traditional Twin XL size at 1" thick (80"x39"x1"). I can then put a traditional Twin XL fitted mattress pad and fitted sheet around the foam, to hold it in place, and then just lay all of that over the cot. Most of this foam sheet combo will fall within the rails, slightly softening the sleeping surface which is nice; a couple inches on either side will fall over the edges of the cotand bend down, but this helps keep it in place, which is also nice; and the soft foam over the rails actually softens those a bit for the big guys amongst us who need more elbow room. This trick works great for all cots referenced here, and this size piece of foam rolls up very compact for transport or storage. Of course, you can always just use a sleeping bag. I also like putting maybe a 1" thick self inflating air mattress on the cot beneath the foam (72"x20"x1"), which helps level the sleeping surface out some, and which the foam will help keep centered in place) I tried to call and email Outbound on multiple occasions, but could never get thru, and never received a return email. Amazon, however, was great. The purchase was simple, and though I suspect most will not want to return this cot, the return process for me went quickly and easily, very convenient.

This represents perhaps the best of cots in terms of construction and comfort as well as size and durability. Any average to above average size person will enjoy the fit and relative comfort of the Outbound including its respectable height. This does come at a price, however--the collapsed unit is pretty big and heavy, but that may be expected in this price range. My only complaint is that it took all my strength and a number of tries to finally get the second crossbar in place. It is this bar that provides the necessary tension for the fabric, so there may be no way around that. Despite my difficulty there is no disputing the results are good. There is no annoying sound of fabric slipping on metal as an added benefit and the whole thing is made in Canada. Highly recommended.