Camping

Stretcher

I have been having problems with my back and knees, so getting up from a mattress on the ground is becoming increasingly difficult. This is exacerbated by a problem of old age of having to pee a couple of times during the night. Pat felt I should look at getting a stretcher (she is still ok with being on a mattress on the ground). So I went to have a look at what Takealot had to offer - which would also not break the bank. One that caught my eye immediately, was this Grey and Gold Foldable Camp Bed. What I liked about this stretcher was the recliner-like backrest - this would make reading in bed, while camping, a whole lot better!.

We decided to buy the one shown above rather than the cheaper version, as the mattress looked like a nice addition.

Unfortunately, the mattress was a bit of a waste. It really looks nothing like the one shown in the pic. It is more like a really flimsy, quilted bedcover than a mattress. The synthetic material also builds up a static charge very quickly.

I would honestly recommend buying the cheaper version of the stretcher and saving R200.

Setting up the stretcher is very easy once you know the tricks. The two right hand legs (as shown in the pics above) must be angled properly for the stretcher to have a secure base. Sometimes they don't click into position properly.

As a bed, I would have liked to have had it slighly higher than its 300mm, to make it easier for me to get up, but at least it is a lot easier than getting up from floor level.

It is quite tricky to change the stretcher from a bed to a recliner (or vice versa) while lying on it. I would recommend getting off the stretcher to adjust the angle of the recliner.

There is a manufacturing defect on the positioning of the first leg (leftmost in the pictures above). This is only a problem when folding the stretcher. The fixed leg (second from left) must be between the two adjacent folded legs to get the stretcher to fold as compactly as possible.

As you can see from the pic above, even when doing this, the stretcher still folds into a wedge shape rather than a rectangular shape. The hinge of the closest folded leg needs to be about 10mm or so further to the right to minimize this wedging effect. One day when I am bored, I will move this hinge.

(updated: 4 July 2023)

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