Air mattress or cot?

Same, same...

You will love the cot, I did.  It took me a while to make the switch for the exact reason you mentioned, but once you switch, you won't go back.

I'm a new fan of cots as well. The Moosejaw XL cot is heavy, bulky and big boy rated but it is super solid and super comfortable. It's wide and sits well off of the ground. I vote cots!

Cots keep your bedding clean and dry and allow for storage underneath as well.

What are these strange things you’re talking about? I always sleep where my last stumble lands, some mornings are better than others. Can you fall on any of these special devices you mention?

you can stumble onto a cot, but also tumble off of it. Beware.

Sue's cot sounds too good to be true. I like the idea of a cot that packs to camp chair size for transport. We shopped around and landed on a pair of really nice cots; each leg individually adjustable, mattress 'firmness' adjustable, configurable as a lounger with its own mattress topper. We nearly completed the purchase process but when we got to shipping we choked. This vendor wanted $170 to ship to us. We tried to find another, more reasonable, seller without luck. So, we have what we have. They are heavy and bulky but were quite comfortable on our inaugural trip.

Nothing wrong with the camper. We just tent camp from time to time.

Here is the one I have been using. I've got the assembly down now, doesn't take long at all. Tried to get a light one cause I want to get into taking my canoe or kayak on some trips.

Have you heard from the Smithsonian yet? 😃