Tent Mattress

[budman]

I had been trying to get my wife to do a float trip where we did river bank camping and she wouldn't go without a cot. I got one from Bass Pro that worked great. It fits in a small bag and keeps her about 4 inches off the ground. I added a two inch memory foam pad, twin size, and it makes a nice bed. The cot is under $40 and I bought the pad at Walmart for about $25. We carried them on our kayaks and enough for a three day trip. A couple friends have the Thermo-rest and Big Agnes cot, both over $200, and the only thing better is that they weigh about 1/2 as much. Usually use a 2 person backpack tent but it wouldn't fit our gear and two cots so I went with the Ascend 4 person red lodge and it worked great, even in the heavy rain we had the first night. The wife liked it so well we have another trip planned for early next summer. And you can pack way more than you think or need on your kayak. The attached pictures are from about 4 years ago for a 4 day trip. Didn't have the cot then, just used a pad and bag. Having the cot makes for a lot better sleeping. 

[jdmidwest]

Thats a lot of stuff in a little boat. Where do you pit the cooler?

[budman]

All my trips before this had been in a canoe so I just thought I needed everything in the picture and thought I could get by without a small ice chest. I have since reduced the amount of extra stuff that I bring and that gave me room for a small ice chest. I use one of those Walmart Yeti soft sided one. Don't use it for much, a few cold beers, cheese and a little meat. I freeze several bottle of water to keep things cold and then drink the water after a couple days. We get the summer sausage that does not need to be kept cold, until opened anyway, and eat it and cheese with bread or crackers for lunch. I have a jetboil, so we eat Mountain House meals for dinner. I have found a few I like, Chili Mac, Stroganoff, Lasagna and get the Skillet Breakfast one and make burritos or have oatmeal and fruit in the mornings. I have a good water filter so we don't have to pack a lot of water, but do carry the powder Gatorade to mix, sometime, to add flavor. Having everything in dry bags is a must and I always pack a tarp to put up for when it is raining so we don't have to get in the tent just to stay dry. I use the small duraflame fire starter blocks to start my fires, so unless everything is really wet you can always get a fire started. 

[Flysmallie]

17 hours ago, budman said:

I have a jetboil, so we eat Mountain House meals for dinner. I have found a few I like, Chili Mac, Stroganoff, Lasagna 

 

This is where I get lost. I'll take the barge down the river and live it up on the weekend. Is it a lot of extra work? Yep. Is it worth it? Depends.

[Gavin]

Heck with dehydrated junk. Bigger boat and a cooler loaded with fresh food. Extra cooler for beverages. Ate MRE's for a month once, will not eat another one.