I purchased this cot after reading many reviews about it. Thankfully somebody had said that there was a “learning curve” to it and that kept going through my mind as I was putting it together.I was stumped immediately because I could not figure out how to get the poles in the sleeves. They went through all of the holes but I couldn’t get them to go into the end pockets on one side. I was convinced they had stitched up the ends on mine. Fortunately some young man had posted a video which I had watched before I purchased it so I knew that it was easy (or at least appeared easy) to put together. I went back and watched it in very slow segments and I saw that there is a little tiny opening on one end. So I went back to look at my cot and sure enough the TINY openings that you slide the poles through are on the end that have loops. They are the kind of loops that you would use to stake down a tent-so when you are putting your poles through the slots, first look for those loops and start there- save yourself a lot of time and frustration.Now for the support pieces. I am almost 60. I recently had hand surgery on both of my hands, so I have no strength in my hands. I struggle to light a lighter for a campfire. This is how weak my hands are-so when I got started putting the support pieces onto the cot, I was like another reviewer who basically said forget it -it’s not worth it. It’s too much trouble. But then I kept remembering somebody said that there was a learning curve to it. And someone else said their pieces were different. So I decided to try a different support piece than the one I had been working with. Oddly, that one went on easier. Also, I studied the picture in the instructions and I stood on the opposite side of the bars, just like the person in the picture. Another tip: start with the center support piece. After that you can go in either direction. BE VERY CAREFUL TO NOT PINCH YOUR HANDS.After you get the center one done then the other pieces go on easier- not super easy-but easier. Once it’s put together, another reviewer who was about my age, suggested to get down on your knees and kind of just roll over to get on it. I suggest that too because you are really low to the ground. You’re so low to the ground that I noticed the grandkids’ toys under my couch. Anyhow I wasn’t so low to the ground that I was scraping the ground when I laid on it. There was still space between me and the floor.I didn’t think it was uncomfortable. It seemed to hold me pretty good. I weigh 180 (unless I’m at the DMV) and I am 5’3”. There was plenty of space for me to turn over, and I tried bouncing around on it to be “kind of rough” to see if it would collapse on me because several people had said it had collapsed, and it seemed to do fine, but I wasn’t on an unlevel gravel surface. I was on basement carpet.There are two pockets up near head of it. My Kindle Paperwhite and glasses fit perfectly in one pocket and my iPhone fit fine in the other pocket. I posted a pic so you can see. I laid down on it several times last night, leaving it stretched out for the night. This morning I tried taking it apart; it came apart very easily. Then I tried putting it back together and it went together much easier. I think because I had let it stretch out it was easier to assemble. There was still some difficulty due to the strength of my hands, but it wasn’t nearly as difficult as it was the first time I put it together.Before I took it apart, I took a gold sharpie and I labeled which support pieces go where. I put the center as C3 because it was the center and the third one in line; H1 for the head and the first one in position; and then 2 and so on. Hopefully, that’ll make it easier for me when I camp and put it together.I am planning on going camping next week. If this thing collapses on me, I will come back and I will update this review and I will let you know ALL about it. I will be royally ticked because I actually have a really nice cot. I just bought this one because it is lightweight and compact and my cot is very cumbersome. But as of right now I think this one is going to be OK.