Helinox Cot One vs Max: the same 320 lb cot, with 8 more inches of bed

The verdict

The specs, side by side

Durability: identical on paper

Start with what the buy-once buyer cares about most, and there is nothing to separate them. Helinox rates each cot to 320 lb. Both frames are DAC TH72M aluminum alloy joined with Helinox's proprietary nylon resin hubs, and both beds are bluesign-certified recycled 300D polyester ripstop. Both use what Helinox calls lever-lock tensioning; on the Cot Max page it promises “a stable, taut surface that prevents sagging,” and the Cot One page describes the same “stable, taut surface.” Both set up from shock-corded poles; Helinox says the Cot One “comes in six pieces.”

One oddity worth knowing: the product pages list 300D fabric, but Helinox describes both replacement sheets as 600D polyester with reinforced panels. We score the product page's 300D, which is why neither cot earns our heavy-fabric point. The 320 lb rating puts both in our 300 to 399 lb capacity band, so both score 6 of 10 on build durability, well behind the 500 and 600 lb steel cots in our best camping cots ranking. These are light cots first and heavy-duty cots never. If you're close to 320 lb, neither is the right cot, and the gap between them won't change that.

Warranty: the same five years

The same term covers both cots, so warranty doesn't decide this one. What it does decide is where you buy: Helinox's policy requires an authorized dealer, so check the seller before you order, whichever size you pick. Five years scores 7 of 10 on our warranty scale. TETON and ALPS put lifetime terms on their cots, which is one reason the heavier cots outrank both Helinox models overall.

Parts: the one real difference

Helinox sells a replacement sleeping sheet for each cot, which is more than most cot makers do. The Cot One Convertible Replacement Sheet was in stock in black when we checked on 2026-09-22 (Coyote Tan showed “Notify Me”). The Cot Max Replacement Sheet is listed, but it was sold out that day. Both cots score 7 on repairability because the main wear part is listed for each; stock comes and goes, and a sold-out part is still a part the maker makes. But if you're buying today and want a spare bed in the closet, only one of them can have it.

Frame parts work differently. Helinox doesn't list cot poles or hubs for sale. Its FAQ says a broken leg pole goes to the warranty team, which may mean “sending a replacement pole or repairing the item at our service center.” That's the same for both cots. How Helinox compares with the makers that sell legs, rails and end bars outright is in our cot replacement parts guide.

Fit: 8 inches and 3.5 inches

Here's the whole case for the Max. The Cot One is 75 inches long and 26 inches wide assembled; the Cot Max is 83 by 29.5. Helinox itself sells the Max as “our roomiest camp cot,” “3.5 in (8.5 cm) wider and 8 in (20 cm) longer than the original Cot One Convertible.” Helinox publishes these as assembled dimensions, not as a separate sleep area, so check them against your height plus room for a pillow, not your height alone.

In our fit score, the Max's 83 inches clears the 80-inch length bar and the Cot One's 75 doesn't; neither reaches the 30-inch width bar (the Max misses it by half an inch). That one point is the only fit difference we can score. If length is your main problem, the Max is one of the few light cots that solves it, and it appears in our camping cots for tall people alongside longer, heavier options such as the 90-inch ALPS Escalade X-Large.

Height and the leg extensions

Both cots sit 6.5 inches off the ground as they come. Both are “Convertible” because Helinox sells Cot Leg Extensions separately; the extensions raise either cot by 8.5 inches, to 15 inches off the ground. The Cot One takes a 12-piece set and the Cot Max a 16-piece set, and the extensions also fit the Cot One Convertible L and the insulated Cot One. Budget for the set if you want to sit on the edge of your cot or keep it higher off cold ground; without it, both are low, backpacking-style cots.

One accessory is not shared. Helinox lists its Reversible Cot Warmer, two layers of spun polyester insulation, as fitting the Lite Cot, the Cot One Convertible and the Cot One Convertible L. The Cot Max isn't on that list. Low cots on cold ground are where warmth matters most, and our guide to staying warm on a cot covers what goes under and over you.

Weight and packed size

The Cot One weighs 4 lb 9.5 oz assembled (4 lb 14.5 oz packed) and packs to 21 x 6 x 5.5 inches. The Cot Max weighs 6 lb 1 oz assembled (6 lb 6.5 oz packed) and packs to 23.5 x 6.5 x 5.5 inches. That's 1 lb 7.5 oz and 2.5 inches of pack length for the extra bed. Both are featherweights next to a car-camping cot: the TETON Outfitter XXL, our top-scoring cot, weighs 26 lb. On our portability bands the Cot One scores 10 and the Max 8, which slightly more than cancels out the Max's extra fit point and explains the 0.1 gap between their overall scores.

If you're carrying a cot on your back, that pound and a half is real, and so is the question of whether you need a cot at all. Our cot vs sleeping pad comparison weighs that choice.

The Helinox in between, and the one below

If the Cot One is too short but you don't need the Max's width, Helinox makes a third option: the Cot One Convertible Long. Helinox lists it at 83 x 26 inches, 320 lb and 5 lb 14 oz assembled, on the same 300D fabric. It has the Max's length with the Cot One's width, and it sits between them on weight. We haven't scored it because it isn't in our registry, but every spec here comes from Helinox's product page.

Below both sits the Lite Cot, which Helinox rates to 265 lb and lists at 73.5 inches long, with an aramid ripstop bed and no published denier. On a buy-once site, that lower rating is the headline: it's 55 lb less than either convertible.

Buy the Cot One if / buy the Cot Max if

Buy the Cot One Convertible if

• A 75 x 26-inch bed fits you with room to spare.
• You carry your cot any distance: it's 1 lb 7.5 oz lighter with a 21-inch pack.
• You want a replacement sheet on the shelf now; Helinox had it in stock on 2026-09-22.
• You want Helinox's Reversible Cot Warmer, which Helinox lists for the Cot One but not the Max.

Buy the Cot Max Convertible if

• 75 inches is tight: the Max's 83 inches is the reason it exists.
• You sleep wide or on your side and want the extra 3.5 inches of width.
• You camp from the car and the extra pound and a half doesn't matter.

Skip both if

• You weigh close to 320 lb. Look at the 500 and 600 lb cots instead.
• You want a cot you can sit on at chair height without buying extra legs.
• You want a lifetime warranty; TETON and ALPS offer one on their cots.

Every cot in this hub, light and heavy, is in our camping cots hub, scored on the same published rubric. How the scores are built, band by band, is on our methodology page. Helinox's chairs get the same treatment in our Helinox Chair One vs Chair Zero comparison.