Camp Chairs

Featured review by Brent Mills

This is one of my favorite campfire accessories. This chair is comfortable enough to fall asleep in and small enough to keep stashed in the car / boat at all times.

I came across the Chair One while riding in the Tour de Cure New England Classic this past summer. I stopped in at a bike shop somewhere in Vermont to pick up spare parts. While waiting for a few other folks to finish up repairs, I sat down in a Helinox Chair One and promptly fell asleep. After a few minutes, I had to buy one!   I love this little chair. It's great for hanging out around the campfire, the grill, or the telescope. It's too large to take on a backpacking trip, but works wonderfully for just about everything else.

Read more: Helinox Chair One reviews (10)

Reviewed by KiwiKlimber

A nifty little stool that is small enough to take along on almost any adventure and comfortable enough to meet the needs of most sitting situations. Best of all, it’s totally dummy proof! No fiddling around or asking yourself, “how does this work again?” It’s super straightforward, easy to use, and comes in two sizes (14" and 17").

Conditions:I’ve used the Hillsound BTR stool for a month-and-a-half, having taken it fishing, camping, hiking, wildlife watching, and to a few backyard campfires/cookouts. I think it is best used when needing a seat in the backcountry and not necessarily at a backyard campfire where a full-sized chair with arms and a backrest is readily available. To that point, I plan to take the BTR stool hunting later this fall as I think that would be a perfect use due to it being both quiet and small/light enough to make for a respectable hunting stool and the orange legs don't hurt either (a favorite color among hunters).

Read more: Hillsound BTR Stool review (1)

Featured review by BigRed

Beautiful design, very well-made, and light enough for backpacking; a bit low for tall people

Sometimes I get the impression that UL hikers think comfort is a dirty word. For my part, I try to solve the weight-time-distance-comfort equation to maximize the FQ (fun quotient) for any given trip. Something to sit in or at least lean against can dramatically enhance the FQ on some trips, especially those that allow time for sitting around reading, sipping coffee, and nibbling bonbons. So ever since lightweight-ish chairs for backpackers came out years ago, they have always been somewhere on my “maybe” list for any given trip, usually coming along on weekenders and sometimes even three- to five-day trips, depending on other considerations and necessities.

Read more: Helinox Chair Zero reviews (5)

Featured review by BigRed

A well-engineered balance of light weight, comfort, and functionality. Gets you off the ground, but low enough to use in a tent or vestibule. The stable base won't sink into soft ground. Extra insulation needed for cold weather use or to protect tent floor.

Some backcountry campsites have features that provide natural seating. While a rock or a log to sit on stool-wise is a good start, for my part I want something that I can lean against: a big tree that curves gracefully into its roots or a boulder or ledge that slopes into the ground at a comfy angle. But in many sites it can be hard to get comfortable for a little afternoon meditation or for cooking the evening meal. Under these conditions, a chair, however minimal, can be a great civilizer.

Read more: Helinox Ground Chair reviews (6)

Reviewed by StoicFabian

This is one of those items that is a luxury and unnecessary weight/bulk to carry around (especially for light/fast backpacking)—like my portable Wacaco espresso machine. But once you try it it’s hard to go without in some trips.

Comfort and convenience in the wilderness Every once in a while I buy a new item or piece of gear that has me looking and tinkering with my bag to see what could be dropped to make way for the new gadget (or become mentally prepared to carry the extra load, which is not too uncommon).  This has happened many times before. One example is my Wacaco Nanopresso: it’s almost a pound of luxury just to have a creamy, thick, and tasty espresso out in the nature. Since that’s no little pleasure in my book, something had to give.  The same happened with the S2S Air Chair.

Read more: Sea to Summit Air Chair review (1)

Featured review by Teri Anderson

Lightweight, super portable, versatile backpacking chair. Easy setup and take down, and packs up nice and compact.

I did a lot of research before choosing this chair for my backpacking trips. I wanted something that was light, packable, versatile, comfortable and tough. This chair meets all requirements.  It only weighs 21 ounces and rolls up nice and tight with a built-in strap to tighten it up. I strap it to the lid of my backpack. It is great to be able to have a nice place to rest in the middle of a backpacking trip.  The chair is super easy to set up—unroll it, fold it to whatever angle you choose and click together the adjustable straps.

Read more: Crazy Creek Hex 2.0 Original Camp Chair reviews (2)

Reviewed by KiwiKlimber

A compact camping chair that comes in under 2 pounds, making it an option for backcountry use or most commonly, an easy to haul option for those times in the frontcountry when you need a chair (car camping, backyard cookouts, beach trips, and more).

Conditions:  I’ve used the NEMO Moonlite Reclining Camp Chair for nearly four months, from late spring through summer and now as we head into the early days of autumn. The chair has been used during weekend camping trips, day trips to the beach, at several backyard cookouts, and pulled out of the trunk at the trailhead when I’m back at the car after a strenuous hike (I love sitting it in to take my sweaty boots off and enjoy a moment of rest before getting back in the car). It’s been used primarily by me (6'2" and 200 lbs or 1.88m and 90.7kg), but also my 2-year-old daughter took a liking to it because she could easily get in and out of it without it tipping over.

Read more: NEMO Moonlite Reclining Chair review (1)

Reviewed by KiwiKlimber

A lightweight chair that is somewhere in between an all-purpose and a lightweight camp chair. Incredibly easy to set up and a durable base make it a good option for many functions.

Conditions: I have been using the LEKI Sub1 for a wide range of purposes in a variety of conditions for nearly four months. The chair has been exposed to sun, snow, rain, and wind. The Sub1 has been used for car camping, hunting, tailgating, and hanging around the backyard fire pit. It has also been packed into an Osprey Atmos 65 and carried into the backcountry on a two-day trip. While it served me well in the backcountry, it took up a little too much room in the pack for me to consider it a long-term solution of my backcountry camping kit.

Read more: Leki Sub1 review (1)

Reviewed by G00se

GCI Outdoor's Packseat Portable Stool is a fairly lightweight seat that spares a camper from sitting on the ground, pointy rock, or wobbly log. The Packseat is best used for base-camping, trip canoeing, or hiking (when you don't care how much weight you carry). This reviewer finds the Packseat to be the best $20 he's ever spent on camp “furniture.”

I had seen the Packseat at my local Dick's Sporting Goods a few months ago. As my canoe trip to the Boundary Waters approached, I began to think how nice it would be to have something like this to sit on. At only $20, I figured it was worth trying, and I'm glad I did. The Packseat is a 13” x 13” three-legged stool, standing 21” tall. Weighing 19 oz, the Packseat is not going to wind up in the pack of anyone who proudly calls themselves a “Gram Weenie.” However, for my trip, where base-camping was the norm and portages were few, I found the Packseat to be a welcome addition to my gear.

Read more: GCI Outdoor PackSeat review (1)

Reviewed by Second Gear

This seat is a nifty solution for an extremely light backcountry seat. It's nice to decide where to sit instead of picking the best spot that nature offers.

THE "BAD" It can be fussy to set up until you get the hang of it. To get the best set for poles remember to give yourself some room in the back for the "lean."  It takes a little practice to get the geometry right for your body to figure out just "where" to park your carcass when you sit so the tension, the back, etc, all sit where is comfortable for you. You have to have collapsible poles. I have a really nice set of Lekis that I can't use with this, so I had to do something different. THE GOOD :) It's wonderful to have a back for a chair in the backcountry or hiking.

Read more: Mountainsmith Slingback review (1)