Camping cot and sleeping bag

[OneWay]

Thanks for all the recent replies guys, but since posting this nearly 4 years ago, my camping setup has moved on. I now normally carry a Vango Mirage 200 tent, Helinox Cot One, a Jack Wolfskin Mountain Sunrise sleeping bag and Thermarest compressible pillow. I also have a tarp to go over the tent and a Helinox Sunset camp chair. Cooking is done with boil-in-the-bag (esp fond of Chicken Caserole) in a JetBoil, and eaten out the bag. No pots, pans or plates to carry or wash up. Same JetBoil does my Rooibos tea after. Campsite is rounded off with a Bose SoundLink Mini speaker system - bluetooth and a battery that is charged off the bike while riding. The only thing that doesn't fit in my 38l pannier is the Helinox cot. If I want it all in the pannier then I take the Thermarest cot instead. If I'm on a longer trip and need the pannier space, it all goes in a waterproof roll bag on the pillion seat and I take my Helinox cot, which I prefer. My trip to Nordkaap led me to take a Rab sleeping bag instead to better deal with the colder temperatures.



But TBH I mostly am able to find a hotel or some sort of accommodation with a proper bed, and someone else to make it the next day.

Adventure Travelling teaches you two things - if there are people, there is food. If there are roads, there are cars, and therefore there is petrol. You don't have to take everything with you.

[Biker Mike]

Originally Posted by OneWay

The only thing that doesn't fit in my 38l pannier is the Helinox cot. If I want it all in the pannier then I take the Thermarest cot instead. If I'm on a longer trip and need the pannier space, it all goes in a waterproof roll bag on the pillion seat and I take my Helinox cot, which I prefer...

Curious why you prefer the Helinox over the Thermarest.
Is it the build time, comfort, or both?
PS - I like the backpack mounting. Definitely novel.

[Timfen]

You never mentioned the beer!!!!!

[OneWay]

Originally Posted by Biker Mike

Curious why you prefer the Helinox over the Thermarest.
Is it the build time, comfort, or both?

Build quality, comfort, but mainly rigidity. Those clip levers are so easy to operate and really tighten the canvas up. You'll see in the video 4 people sitting on it and they are all off the floor.

[OneWay]

Originally Posted by Timfen

You never mentioned the beer!!!!!

Beer is food mate, get it there. Main reason the top box is normally empty.

[Stillwobbling]

Old thread I know, but kit moves on and so does the membership. I've just been to Germany on my bike and along with the Jet boil with standard Flash and Minimo cups, I had two inflatable pillows http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/vango-deep-sleep-thermo-pillow-p400815 pricey but worth it and this cot bed. http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/oex-ultralite-folding-cot-p429385

This bed is super light, super small and super comfy. It says the max weight is 100 kgs. Well, I am just very very slightly over that  and it was fine. No problem. The advantage is that it has five supporting legs. It packs small enough to go in the top box. No need for a bulky mattress. I split my tent and put it into two compression bags. Poles were the same length as the cot bed so it all went in the panniers. I hate kit hanging off the bike everywhere.

[CoreyPeters]

Originally Posted by Stillwobbling

Old thread I know, but kit moves on and so does the membership. I've just been to Germany on my bike and along with the Jet boil with standard Flash and Minimo cups, I had two inflatable pillows http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/vango-deep-sleep-thermo-pillow-p400815 pricey but worth it and this cot bed. http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/oex-ultralite-folding-cot-p429385

This bed is super light, super small and super comfy. It says the max weight is 100 kgs. Well, I am just very very slightly over that  and it was fine. No problem. The advantage is that it has five supporting legs. It packs small enough to go in the top box. No need for a bulky mattress. I split my tent and put it into two compression bags. Poles were the same length as the cot bed so it all went in the panniers. I hate kit hanging off the bike everywhere.

Thank you for suggesting, it is looking very good quality with low cost:028:

[Hawk281]

I have used a cot for the last couple of years and gave up on it because it was hassle to put together and take down. Went back to an air mattresss and a camping quilt.

[MOBLRN]

Following,

Tried the link above on the smartphone,  but too much stuff in the way. Will look at it at home.

Rod

[KenW]

Boy some of you guys really go upmarket.

I recently did a trip round Oz with another biker.  We carried tents etc for the occasions we couldn't get accommodation (or it was too expensive).  Tented 2 nights out of 22.
Bought some new gear just for the trip.
Small tent https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B07K2SGTD5 and blowup mattress with inbuilt pump and pillow https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B09ZXS53H8 from Amazon,
Tent was good, but low to get in and out of.  Mattress was good, but a bit squeaky.  Both folded up reasonably small.
Helinox chair lookalike from Aldi (AU$25).

I did buy a tiny folding camp chair from Amazon, but it was nowhere near as comfortable as the helinox-lookalike.
And I'd bought a good self inflating mattress from Aldi for AU$25 (I think).  Didn't use that because it is fairly long.

That gear, along with my sleeping bag, tent light and a few bits, travelled on the back seat in a bag occy-strapped on.
One pannier was filled with tools, 5L petrol, CPAP machine & battery.  The other had clothes in it.  Water (and initially port) in tubes attached to the engine bars, and in the small tankbag.
I didn't take any cooking gear, though my fellow rider did, and never used it.
Food for me was muesli bars & fruit.  In the topbox, along with a thermos of coffee made each morning at the motel/cabin we'd stayed in.
Then a few beers and a pub meal for tea each night.

Conclusion:  Tenting in a two-man tent is for the birds.  If I ever do it again (unlikely), I'll be taking my four-man tent I took on the last round-Oz attempt.  Takes longer to erect and pack up, but I can stand up in it.  -Fits across the back seat, but in a bigger bag.
And two-up?  I don't even try to take camping gear.  My missus isn't into camping, but we couldn't carry the gear as well as clothes, tools, two CPAP machines.
And often when we go away for a few weeks on a Ulysses club AGM trip, we need to carry clothes for both hot and cold weather, ie bulky.

We didn't use any of the spare fuel (he carried 10L) or tools (we both had tyre-repair kits, pumps, jumpstarters etc), but happy that was the case.
Travelling on sealed roads in Australia means fuel is generally available every 250 or so km.   But with the bushfires and floods we've had lately, it can happen that you ride to a closed road and have to backtrack.  (Happened to me on a Ulysses AGM trip.)  That is what we had the spare fuel for.  Thankfully it didn't happen to us, but a big blocker, Fitzroy Crossing had been closed due to flooding, only weeks before.  We rode across it on dodgy dirt and gravel.  (Me on road tyres, mate on a Harley Ultra, we weren't going off road.)