PlacidWaters
Adventurer
I posted about this a year or two ago but didn't get a chance to test the whole setup until today.
Goal: A 3P tent that's tall enough to fit a 15" cot to avoid claustrophobia. There is no such tent on the market. The main point of the 15" cot is to not have to get down on the ground to get on the cot. Just step in the tent and sit down.
I've been using a 4P tent because the 3P was too low. A 4P is always a lot heavier and bulkier than a 3P and takes a long time to set up, repack, and dry. I figured out that a tent has to be at least 51" high to fit a 15" cot in it. (Could vary according to your height because you want to be able to sit up on the cot.) I made a set of leg extensions that attach to the ends of the legs with hose clips. The extensions are made from plastic garden stakes. (There are other possibilities). The extensions are about 8" long and adjustable to get the height you want. They clip to the pole several inches about the end of the pole so as to not interfere with inserting the pole into the grommet on the tent.
This worked really well! The tent was originally 47" tall; it's now 51" and feels a lot better. SItting on the cot, I have several inches of space over my head. Easy to change clothes. As you raise the tent higher, you lose a bit of floor area all around, but a 3P is large enough that the tent volume isn't significantly affected. (Unless you're tall, in which case you need to make sure that the tent is long enough to fit your feet lying on the cot.) I don't believe any rain can get under the fly---the fly still comes down lower than the top of the waterproof part of the bathtub floor.
Switching from the 4P to 3P saved 5 lbs. The entire set-up including the tent, cot, and mattress took 20 minutes---about half the time for the 4P. The cot is the Helinox Cot One Convertible, topped with an Exped Synmat 3-D 7, a very, very comfortable combination. Weight of the tent, cot, and mattress: 6.31 lbs + 5.9 lbs + 2.06 lbs = 14.27 lbs.
What do you think of this solution? Any improvements to suggest?
Goal: A 3P tent that's tall enough to fit a 15" cot to avoid claustrophobia. There is no such tent on the market. The main point of the 15" cot is to not have to get down on the ground to get on the cot. Just step in the tent and sit down.
I've been using a 4P tent because the 3P was too low. A 4P is always a lot heavier and bulkier than a 3P and takes a long time to set up, repack, and dry. I figured out that a tent has to be at least 51" high to fit a 15" cot in it. (Could vary according to your height because you want to be able to sit up on the cot.) I made a set of leg extensions that attach to the ends of the legs with hose clips. The extensions are made from plastic garden stakes. (There are other possibilities). The extensions are about 8" long and adjustable to get the height you want. They clip to the pole several inches about the end of the pole so as to not interfere with inserting the pole into the grommet on the tent.
This worked really well! The tent was originally 47" tall; it's now 51" and feels a lot better. SItting on the cot, I have several inches of space over my head. Easy to change clothes. As you raise the tent higher, you lose a bit of floor area all around, but a 3P is large enough that the tent volume isn't significantly affected. (Unless you're tall, in which case you need to make sure that the tent is long enough to fit your feet lying on the cot.) I don't believe any rain can get under the fly---the fly still comes down lower than the top of the waterproof part of the bathtub floor.
Switching from the 4P to 3P saved 5 lbs. The entire set-up including the tent, cot, and mattress took 20 minutes---about half the time for the 4P. The cot is the Helinox Cot One Convertible, topped with an Exped Synmat 3-D 7, a very, very comfortable combination. Weight of the tent, cot, and mattress: 6.31 lbs + 5.9 lbs + 2.06 lbs = 14.27 lbs.
What do you think of this solution? Any improvements to suggest?
