After 8 years of use Steve gives his opinion not only on the Helinox Lite Cot but also on the manufacturers customer care when the product is no longer warranty.
Firstly, I was so glad to hear that you don’t do unboxing videos and that you’ve used this for 7 years already. On top of that, Helinox sent you a free replacement leg, despite it being outside the warranty - that sounds like a good company! I’ve had two air mats fail on one trip, despite patching up the leaks multiple times and using them inside a tent at all times and spent some miserable days on hard ground as a result. I have been worried about buying a dud cot and the “good” ones are all expensive. Plus I don’t believe the advertised blurb. So your video was very timely. It sounds like this one is going to be worth the outlay. Thanks for sharing. I subscribed now btw.👍
Thanks for the Sub it’s really appreciated. As for air mats I fully understand your pain. They make way more sense than a cot and I really wanted them to work but, like you, I’ve woken up at three in the morning to find it’s sprung a leak. And I know they can be repaired in the field but it’s sometimes not that simple or easy. I now only use the cot. It’s pretty much bomb proof. The only reason I made the video because they sent me that leg for free. I was so impressed. I originally sent them an email just asking if I could buy the part and after a bit of email tennis they sent me the replacement. To me that’s worth paying the premium. Yes you can buy replica cots at half the price but I doubt you will get customer service like that. I have the Helinox chair one and it’s probably my all time favourite bit of camping gear. Still this is expensive kit, probably not worth paying the premium if your not a regular camper that will get there moneys worth. Anyway enough waffle. Stay safe and thanks for taking the time to comment.👍🏼
Thanks for the review! I went with the NatureHike so I can be 17” off the ground. But that extension pushes my cot to nearly 6 pounds! Too heavy for most. But I choose comfort over , well..not being comfortable, lol.
Thanks. Yeah, it’s always a balance of priorities and although I can suffer for a couple of nights when I’m away for multiple weeks then you just need a decent nights sleep or it all goes very wrong, very quickly. Thanks for taking the time to comment it’s much appreciated. Stay safe👍🏼 .
Thanks for taking the time to comment. Yes it is a solid bit of kit that is still going strong. To be honest it was the customer service that inspired me to make this video. Fair play to Helinox for supporting their customers out of warranty. In my opinion that justifies the price in the long term. Stay safe buddy and keep riding 👍🏼
Great review and positive customer service experience. Watching this, I had the same question about the feet damaging the tent floor especially on a gravel tent site, but I see it’s already been addressed. 👍
Yeah, I can only perceive the tent floor getting damaged if, while lying on the cot, you were sort of sliding around? Possible but unlikely. Anyway, thanks for the feedback.👍🏼
Absolutely Loved the Customer Service you received! I have one of these myself. I am approaching 250 lbs so I have treated it gingerly and I feel it is quite robust myself. Sometimes I use a closed cell foam pad with it and have been quite warm down to some surprisingly cool 30s F temps.
Hi. I agree. I hear a lot of people saying Helinox equipment is overpriced for what it is. But, with customer service that good it is sort of justified to a point. Everyone needs to make their own choices when it comes their own outdoor equipment. For me personally I buy the best I can afford within my budget. So far this seems to have worked. Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. Stay safe👍🏼
@@GreenString I have purchased “other” brands of chairs and finally got smart and bought a Helinox and haven’t been disappointed so I got the cot. I think they are made to withstand much more than spec’s. Just don’t abuse them!
Good review, but I wouldn't pay over a £100 for a camping cot. I got a Pacoone camping cot from Aliexpress for around £40. Including postage and postage
I agree it is a ridiculous amount of money for what it is and hard to justify, I believe the price has significantly risen since I got my cot. The only single justification (that I can think of) is the manufacturer support out of warranty but is that worth the price?
(Use the Helinox lite cot with the warm, Big Agnes Insulated Air Core Ultra Sleeping Pad), personal bivy tent ontop of the cot, and Arcturus reflective tarp as over tarp, walking poles + stakes for gear space outside bivy. Haven't had any of my helinox stuff break, I use the rotating camp chair as an office chair for the last 2? years. I often take naps in it. No issues seting up and breaking down at least twice a day.
Now that sounds like a awesome set up! I didn’t even know they did a rotating camp chair, I need to check that out. Thanks for taking the time to comment.👍🏼
That’s a smart move. I noticed the price has increased a lot since I got mine and it’s obvious it’s made to last. Thanks for taking the time to comment. Stay safe👍🏼
Just send a pole for free and you'v got the best advertisement of all! :-) Clever and good AND normal modern marketing. The prices of the chairs I do find fair about the cot's I find them to expensive, copies are available now a days for a fraction of their prices. I did just buy a copy. And future will tell about the quality and lifetime, at the moment I do not have it, its on shipping. Greetings. Onno Nugteren the Netherlands.
Hi mate. Before I made this video I waited to see what their response would be regarding the broken leg. If I was being honest I didn’t expect them to replace it. They didn’t know I was going to make a video so fair play to Helinox for out of warranty support to customers. I agree with you though, there are now many manufacturers out there that are making great kit at a much cheaper price and yes the cots they make are very expensive. They have increased in price dramatically since I got mine I don’t know if that’s because of material, production or other reasons. It’s hard to justify. Anyway, thanks for the comment. It is really appreciated. Love the Netherlands, check out our latest video if you haven’t already seem it. Stay safe and Merry Christmas 🎁 👍🏼
I don’t really get unboxing videos, although they are hugely popular. I think honest, long term videos are more use to the wider community and the company (If they are any good). Thank you for taking the time to comment.👍🏼
Thank you for this review. You say one can set this up inside a tent. Wouldn't you need to be standing up for this? In my tent I couldn't even put the cot upright, as there's not enough speace at the foot end of the tent. Do you think this could also be set up laying flat? If I'd set it up the vertical way outside the tent every night it would end up full of dirt in no time. Regarding your praise: I am on my second ground chair. I love the thing so much that I got a second one when the first got stolen...
Hi, thanks for taking the time to comment. I have a MSR Hubba Hubba (2 person dome tent) and I can confirm it can be built and disassembled inside the tent. You systematically slide the poles through the sleeve and then slot them into each other (if you know what I mean), all of this is done while I’m on my knees inside the tent. It is a little bit difficult to explain. Don’t get me wrong it’s way easier building it and taking apart outside the tent, but it can be done. I don’t however, see that this would be possible with anything smaller than a 2 person tent. I hope this helps. Stay safe.🤙🏻
As a hammock camper, why wouldn't the cot warmer be hung on the underside, to prevent air from flowing beneath you? When you sleep on top, you compress it and reduce it's insulation factor by creating thermal bridges. My down under quilt hangs beneath my hammock, uncompressed by my weight. Helinox should design a quilt that suspends beneath and clips onto the leg attachment points, imo.
That’s a really good point. The cot warmer (in its current design) would not fit, suspended underneath, but your right they could easily make one that does. From my understanding most people I know that want more warmth and comfort place an air mattress on top of the cot for ultimate 5 star comfort. Not my thing due to additional bulk and weight but I’ve seen it done on more than one occasion. Thanks for taking the time to comment it is appreciated. Stay safe.👍🏼
@@GreenString I'm Canadian, so I tend to prioritize warmth. If a person's goal is to be warmer (as the name of the cover suggests), they should have designed it to hang beneath imo. I suppose anyone could probably use an old down sleeping bag and attach it with some safety pins and paracord but it would be nice if companies would design things with this in mind. I really like Helinox. I have one of their chairs. I'm thinking about their cot for group hot tent camping.
@@LaOwlett The Helinox cot warmer is surprisingly hard to find in Europe. I’m not even sure it’s available anymore and your right it seems a bit of an afterthought. Still the cot itself is a great product, admittedly not for everyone, but nevertheless a quality item. 🇨🇦 🇬🇧👍🏼
Have you had,or heard of others having any issues with the feet of the cot against typical tent flooring . It seems as though these hard feet could act as pressure points.
I use a tent footprint with my MSR tent. The feet (up to now) never caused any damage to my tent. The same question is asked on the FAQ section on the Helinox website. They recommend putting something under the feet, but as I said I've never had an issue. I hope this helps.
I notice none of the lite cots are wider than 26 inches. I'm not tall, but definitely pretty wide, been looking for a light cot that's at least over 30 inches, but I only find cots like Tenon XXL or the Coleman folding cots that's at least 25+ lbs, comparing to the Helinox which is like 5 pounds, that is quite a huge difference for just a few extra more inches width.
I’m pretty skinny (and small) The lite cot is narrow and to be honest if it was much narrower I (personally)wouldn’t be able to get a good nights sleep on it. My mate has the cot one, I’m sure you checked that out, it is wider and he puts a sleeping pad on to of it for ultimate comfort. This also negates the narrow width a bit as well.
True. For ultimate comfort that is the way forward. To be honest I now just lay my camp jacket I’m not wearing, as a thermal layer, on top of the cot in colder days…it saves even more space and weight! Thanks for taking the time to comment. Stay safe👍🏼
Yeah, hard to believe but it’s true. They are the original rubber bands! I don’t think they are particularly strong either. I guess your a bit sceptical about the age of the cot, that’s understandable, but I was out of warranty when I emailed Helinox (as it says towards the end of the video) so you know it’s definitely over 5 years old for a warranty claim. As for the additional 3 years on top, well I cannot prove that as I no longer have the receipt. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to comment, it’s appreciated 👍🏻
