Big Agnes Cyclone SL Chair Kit Review

The Cyclone chair design is very similar to the Therm-a-Rest chair kit (both my older UL version and the current Trekker version). Weight savings are achieved by making each component lighter than what is used in the Therm-a-Rest chair. Fabric is lightweight Cordura rip-stop nylon instead of a heavier nylon, the stays are aluminum tent stays rather than composite rods, the webbing is 5/8 inch instead of 1 inch with correspondingly smaller buckles, and reinforcement where the two stays meet is less substantial in the Big Agnes chair.

Big Agnes did not stop with lighter materials, but also employed some clever redesign to reduce chair weight. The pad pockets are significantly shorter, but most notably, the stays forming the Cyclone seat bottom are four inches shorter than the back stays (instead of equal length as in the Therm-a-Rest). The Cyclone back stays are about 3/4 inch shorter, and of course the bottom stays are considerably shorter, than those on the Therm-a-Rest, but the total length of the Cyclone is only about an inch less than the 37.5-inch Therm-a-Rest UL chair kit (the Crazy Creek Backpacker Lite AIR chair is 31.5 inches long). The Big Agnes chair kit almost catches the Therm-a-Rest in overall length because the chair back extends 5 inches beyond the end of the stays. This extra tall cushioning helps make the Cyclone quite comfortable.

One feature saves weight but is inconvenient: the webbing is not long enough for the ends to remain clipped together when the chair is laid out flat. That means the side release buckles on both sides must be unclipped before a pad can be inserted. The buckles are small enough that I sometimes had to try twice to get them unclipped.

The Big Agnes Cyclone SL Chair Kit is designed as a companion for the Clearview Pad, but it will work with any 20-inch wide inflatable pad. The Cyclone also makes an acceptable chair when combined with 20-inch wide foam pads and even the less-than-20-inch wide Bozeman Mountain Works TorsoLite pad. Without the stiffness of an inflatable pad the resultant chair is not as comfortable since the chair collapses around the user's torso and legs, but it still provides good back support.

Will and I both tested the Cyclone on the trail with the 60-inch long Big Agnes Clearview mummy pad. The pad was too short to double in the chair adapter, but it worked well to fold the top and bottom of the pad under to fit the length of the chair adapter. I struggled at first to get a fully inflated Clearview pad into the chair kit. One end of the pad would pop out of the short pocket while I attempted to insert the other end. Once I started holding down the inserted end with my knee I found I could quickly finish the job of getting the chair put together.

The Cyclone sacrifices durability for weight but the 4 ounce weight savings is well worth the sacrifice in my mind. I certainly do not expect the Cyclone to hold up for twenty years like my Therm-a-Rest chair. However, I do expect good quality control. After just one five-day trip, my test sample has some stitching pulling out where the reinforcing hinge is sewn on. The stitching is not in a wear area so it appears the problem is one of quality control.

Many ultralight backpackers will sneer at taking a 6 ounce chair along, but if you are a chair user, you'll applaud Big Agnes for reducing chair weight by a whopping 40 percent. For those of you still sneering - beware - once you enjoy the ease of relaxing around a circle of alcohol stoves with your legs out stretched, leaning back in a cushy chair, it may be hard to leave the chair at home the next trip.

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