Choose a camp cot by height first. No. 1 is WAQ's 2WAY Folding Cot: swap the legs and it goes between a high setting of about 37cm and a low one of about 17cm, with a distributed load capacity of 150kg. If you choose by lightness, Helinox's Cot One Convertible (2,089g), which has a new autumn/winter 2026 model, is No. 2.
The Gear Nerd's Pick
A cot's value is decided by whether you can change its height after buying. The right height changes every time with the ceiling of the tent, the season, and whether you use it as a bench. So for a first cot, I pick one where swapping legs gives me two heights.
Key points
- The five cots range in height from 15.5cm to 40cm. High and low differ by about 20cm
- Dividing load capacity by weight gives about 69x for the Cot One Convertible down to about 9x for the Trail Head Cot, a gap of about 8x
- To make the Cot One Convertible high, you need the separately sold Cot Legs (JPY 14,100), for a total of JPY 72,100
What is in this article (13 items)
- Camp cots differ in height from 15.5cm to 40cm
- How I chose
- Choose a cot in the order of height, load capacity and weight
- Quick table of height and weight for 5 camp cots
- Why this order
- No. 1 WAQ 2WAY Folding Cot: about 37cm and about 17cm high
- No. 2 Helinox Cot One Convertible: new for autumn/winter 2026
- No. 3 Coleman Trail Head Cot: about 40cm high
- No. 4 Captain Stag Gracia: 18cm low
- No. 5 DOD Bag in Bed: lowest at 15.5cm
- How a cot sleeps is decided by fabric tension
- Who is it for?
- FAQ
Camp cots differ in height from 15.5cm to 40cm
DOD's Bag in Bed is 15.5cm high and Coleman's Trail Head Cot is about 40cm. Even among cots, where you sleep changes by nearly 25cm. The gap is big.
If you cannot decide between high and low, the answer is a 2WAY that can be both. I compared 5, and the ranking is among those you can buy on Rakuten.
How I chose
The first thing I looked at was height. Next, I looked at whether you can change that height later. Last, I divided load capacity by weight to compare the balance of lightness and strength.
When you spend half the year camping, the tent and the site are different every time. Some days the tent ceiling is low, and some days you want a bench. So I do not put a cot with a single fixed height first. I will not give way on this.
Choose a cot in the order of height, load capacity and weight
- Height: among these 5, high is about 37 to 40cm and low is 15.5 to 18cm. High lets you keep gear underneath and use it as a bench; low leaves headroom in a low-ceiling tent.
- Load capacity: from 80kg to 150kg. Your body weight plus gear and the force of sitting down add on, so leave some margin.
- Weight: from about 2.1kg to about 9kg. It matters if your site is far from the car.
Quick table of height and weight for 5 camp cots
Scroll the table sideways →
| Model | Height | Weight | Load capacity | Official price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 1 WAQ 2WAY Folding Cot | About 37 / about 17cm | About 3.2kg | 150kg | JPY 15,800 |
| No. 2 Helinox Cot One Convertible | 16.5cm (38cm with legs) | 2,089g | 145kg | JPY 58,000 |
| No. 3 Coleman Trail Head Cot | About 40cm | About 9kg | About 80kg | JPY 8,690 |
| No. 4 Captain Stag Gracia Low-Style Compact Bed | 18cm | 3.1kg | 80kg | JPY 8,800 |
| No. 5 DOD Bag in Bed | 15.5cm | About 2.6kg | 120kg | JPY 12,980 |
Image: Rakuten Ichiba
WAQ 2WAY Folding Cot
Lowest price on Rakuten: JPY 15,800 (as of 10/14). Prices vary by up to JPY 24,225 between shops. Prices change daily.
Why this order
| Rank | Model | Why it ranks here |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | WAQ 2WAY Folding Cot | Swapping legs gives about 37cm and about 17cm, and the 150kg load capacity is the largest of the five |
| 2 | Helinox Cot One Convertible | 2,089g with a 145kg load capacity, but you need the separately sold legs to make it high, for a total of JPY 72,100 |
| 3 | Coleman Trail Head Cot | A high cot of about 40cm at JPY 8,690, but about 9kg and a load capacity of about 80kg |
| 4 | Captain Stag Gracia | A low cot of 18cm at JPY 8,800, but the height cannot be changed and the load capacity is 80kg |
| 5 | DOD Bag in Bed | About 2.6kg and a 120kg load capacity, but the official store showed no colors available to buy |
No. 1 WAQ 2WAY Folding Cot: about 37cm and about 17cm high
Here is what I am excited about. Just swapping legs takes you between high and low, a difference of about 20cm. The distributed load capacity is 150kg, the largest of the five, and it weighs about 3.2kg. If in doubt, this one.
This part is a weak point. It is about 190cm long and about 65cm wide. Large people have less room. It suits people who change tents by season and want one cot to serve as both bench and bed.
No. 2 Helinox Cot One Convertible: new for autumn/winter 2026
For lightness, this one. It is 2,089g with a 145kg load capacity. Its load capacity per weight is the highest of the five, and the body is about 1.1kg lighter than No. 1 with almost the same load capacity. At mont-bell's official store it is listed under “2026 autumn/winter new overseas brand products,” and it now has a lever locking system that tensions the fabric by leverage.
This part is a weak point. As it is, it is a low cot of 16.5cm, and you need the separately sold Cot Legs to reach 38cm. The price is also a hurdle. The new model showed an unknown arrival time, and the previous model number (JPY 49,500) was also listed at the official store.
Image: Rakuten Ichiba
Helinox Cot One Convertible
Lowest price on Rakuten: JPY 44,000 (as of 10/14). Prices vary by up to JPY 77,000 between shops. Prices change daily.
No. 3 Coleman Trail Head Cot: about 40cm high
No. 3 if you want a high cot cheaply. About 40cm is the tallest of the five. The width in use is about 87cm, which is wide. Coleman explains that you can keep gear underneath and use it as a bench.
This part is a weak point. It is heavy. With a steel frame it is about 9kg, and even packed it is about 93cm long. The cot's load capacity is about 80kg. It is a cot for people who camp at sites where the car can pull up alongside.
Image: Rakuten Ichiba
Coleman Trail Head Cot
Lowest price on Rakuten: JPY 7,160 (as of 10/14). Prices vary by up to JPY 12,504 between shops. Prices change daily.
No. 4 Captain Stag Gracia: 18cm low
No. 4 if you want a low cot cheaply. It is thin. The height is 18cm, and it packs to 20 × 5 × 65cm, like a board. The price is almost the same as the Trail Head Cot.
This part is a weak point. The frame is steel at 3.1kg, the load capacity is 80kg, and the height cannot be changed. It suits people who want to sleep a little off the ground in a low-ceiling tent.
Image: Rakuten Ichiba
Captain Stag Gracia Low-Style Compact Bed UB-2005
Lowest price on Rakuten: JPY 5,023 (as of 10/14). Prices vary by up to JPY 7,600 between shops. Prices change daily.
No. 5 DOD Bag in Bed: lowest at 15.5cm
The height is 15.5cm, it packs to about 51 × 16 × 12cm, weighs about 2.6kg, and has a static load capacity of 120kg. DOD adds that this load capacity is a measured guide, not a promised value.
The trouble is stock. The official store showed no colors available to buy right now. It suits motorcycle and solo campers who want to sleep low.
How a cot sleeps is decided by fabric tension
| Model | Weight | Load capacity | Load capacity ÷ weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cot One Convertible | 2,089g | 145kg | About 69x |
| 2WAY Folding Cot | About 3.2kg | 150kg | About 47x |
| Bag in Bed | About 2.6kg | 120kg | About 46x |
| Gracia Low-Style Compact Bed | 3.1kg | 80kg | About 26x |
| Trail Head Cot | About 9kg | About 80kg | About 9x |
A cot is built close to a hammock, with fabric stretched between two long frames. If the fabric slackens, your hips sink. Tension is the key. Helinox explains that leverage puts strong tension on the fabric with little force, limiting sinking and slack. So I read a cot with a larger load capacity per weight as having more tension to spare.
A cot is open underneath. To compare cold in numbers, use the R-value of the mat you lay on top. In the guide to mat R-values, I even wrote how the values add up when you layer them.
Who is it for?
It suits people who want to change their sleeping height to match the tent ceiling and the season. WAQ's 2WAY is about 37cm high and about 17cm low when you swap legs. The new autumn/winter 2026 Cot One Convertible has a load capacity of about 69 times its weight, the top of the five.
If you already sleep well on a thick mat on the floor, what you have is enough. If a high cot of around 40cm is all you need, there is also the Trail Head Cot.
FAQ
High cot or low cot: which is better?
Decide by the height of your tent's ceiling. If you are unsure, a 2WAY that switches between about 37cm and about 17cm lets you decide later.
How tall does a cot have to be to count as high?
There is no rule shared by makers. Among these 5, high was about 37 to 40cm and low was 15.5 to 18cm.
Is a cot alone enough to keep warm in winter camping?
Cold protection is compared by the mat's R-value and the sleeping bag's temperature rating, not the cot. I put how to read sleeping bag numbers in the sleeping bag comfort and limit temperature article.
