Gill, Douglas E. 1964 5 poles that we used frequently collapsed, resulting in a wild tent fly which flapped in one's face. They rarely collapsed around the tents; but the wind on tent fly was their downfall. They just don't work in wind. I don't know what alternatives are available on the market today. The cots are certainly the only practical sleeping gear. Not only did they keep one off the ground, but they were cool with use of the double bed sheet. They were light weight and easy to assemble, that is the aluminum foldouts. The ones with the wooden slide together's and head rest were difficult to put together; although they were more comfortable than the other type. The time wasted setting them up was not compensatory. I never did learn how to work the sterno (stove) correctly, and rather than attempt to wrestle with the damn thing trying to get it going, I often was content with cold C-rations. For our purposes however, it was adequate for cooking more complex meals as I suggested above.