Getting a good night's rest

One of the most important things in life especially when on a motorcycle trip is getting a good night's rest. If you are not fully rested and tired the chances for an accident increase. I like to camp versus staying in a motel. So that means sleeping on the ground. I'm too old to be sleeping on the ground. Foam pads just are not thick enough to support me and I still feel the hard ground. A thicker foam pad would work but then it's too bulky to carry on a motorcycle. Air mattresses are just too problematic. You got to blow them up and they always seem to leak. What I discovered are "ThermaRest Ultra Lite and ThermaRest Mesh Cots." Oh my these cots provide you a great night's sleep, just like if you were sleeping on a mattress.

Last year after sleeping two nights on the ground with my old 40+ year old ThermaRest Self-Inflating Foam Pad I was sore and didn't sleep well. So when I got to Missoula, Montana and an REI store I invested in the ThermaRest Ultra Lite Cot. The result was for the rest of the trip (15 nights camping) I slept great. Didn't matter if the ground was bumpy with rocks and roots or filled with pine cones and/or gravel. The result was the same - a great night's sleep. The only downside is that the cot can be noisy as your body moves on the vinyl cot material.

The cot base is either a fabric mesh or ultra light vinyl. On either side of the cot base an aluminum pole is inserted lengthwise. Then six sets of struts are constructed. Each strut has two plastic 4" rings connected by aluminum tubing. The 3rd and 4th sets of struts are double tubed and the tubes are crossed to add extra support around your waist where it is needed. The struts are then connected to the aluminum poles running down either side of the cot.  This pulls the cot base very taught and elevates the cot base 4" off the ground. Each cot is over 6 feet long. The mesh cot is 26" wide whereas the vinyl cot is 24" wide. It takes about 5-10 minutes to assemble a cot and about the same amount of time for disassembly. Properly folded the cot, aluminum tubes and plastic rings fit into a small 4" by 12" cylindrical stuff sack. The weight is just about 1.5 pounds. This is great for limited motorcycle gear storage. Unfortunately they're not cheap, costing about $225.

Another potential downside to using the cots is the wear and tear on your tent floor. Depending on what type of ground you are on the cot legs (rings) could create excessive wear on your expensive tent floor. As a result I often put the cot together first and then situate the tent on top of the cot. The cot is beneath the tent. This will keep you dry too if it rains. Remember the cot elevates you 4" above the ground. And, the cot will not create wear on your tent floor.

Summary.
The "ThermaRest Ultra Lite and ThermaRest Mesh Cots." are a great investment if you plan on camping and tired of a poor night's sleep. They're light weight, pack easy, easy to assemble/disassemble, and offer great sleeping comfort.