Best options for UL camp chairs?

“now I wonder if you could substitute the trekking poles with two 14″ or 17″ tent pole sections.”

Actually I’ve got the CF poles that Joe makes for the Duplex, so I could just bring those to set up the shelter and have my trekking poles free for the chair.

“Any type of thin nylon should work for the headrest piece.”

Remaining somewhat taut is important, I’m afraid of the stretchiness of nylon. I do have some cuben hanging around….

“Okay, I’ve thought about it, no way I’d every haul around that much weight : )”

Have you seen my gut? If I drop that, I can carry two of these without adding to my current total weight…

“Remaining somewhat taut is important, I’m afraid of the stretchiness of nylon. I do have some cuben hanging around….”

I know what you mean.  Supplex nylon doesn’t stretch so much.

So I went ahead and got a Slingback chair, and just got to use it on a 4-day trip. Long story short – it was awesome! I bring a short Ridgerest also, and the combo was super comfy and very versatile. A Z-Lite would probably work even better.

I added a couple of guy lines: one on the front, attached around the clip, to keep it from sliding backward (I ran the line out to a stake about 3 ft in front of me). The second line I looped around where the trekking poles cross each other, and tied the other end around a fist-sized rock, to keep it leaning back a little and provide some counterbalance/stability.

I also experimented with extending the trekking poles and putting the chair on top of rocks and logs…Backcountry UL lounge chair goodness! Definitely a keeper IMO.

Nice Erik

I brought this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YWNNEJ0/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 to a couple of trips. But this design doesn’t allow much movement in the chair and you feel like it’s going to break if you move or try to lean back. I now only bring this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HANX552/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The Thermarest pad is great. So comfortable and doubles as a pillow if need be. Weights 5oz and deflates well. I don’t leave home without it on anything overnight.

I worry about the weight of the seat support:

Saw on another forum that Sling Light is taking pre-orders for another run to ship in January. Price is up to $160, plus $20 for shipping, so pretty pricey. But for those who’ve always wanted a Sling Light, you can pre-order here: Sling Light Pre-Order

Brad W – I’m not surprised that the cheap Chinese rip off of the Helinox Chair One/Zero from Amazon was less than confidence inspiring. As the owner of both a Chair One and Chair Zero, if the design/concept interests you at all I encourage you to check out the authentic item(s). I always carry one or the other depending on the specfics of the trip. They both flex predictably (and comfortably) and I have come to trust them without question.

Check out this old thread:

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/91811/page/2/#comments

The chair I show (June 6 and June 16 2014  post)  is a MYOG project that weighed in at 6.5 oz.   My current version (also, sadly, hand sewn)  weighs in at 4.1 oz total (poles included).   I replaced the two fiberglass stays with 22″ CF small diameter  poles….these collapse down to 12″ and have small trekking pole baskets attached.

I feel porters, horses or llamas are requires when packing in “camp chairs”.

What diameter CF tube do you use, Steve? 4.1 oz is mighty impressive…

0.346″  (about 9mm).

JCH-Thanks, that is good news, I will look into the real deal.

Doug (Referring to June 30, 2018 post picture)
I just came across your Tyvek headrest and had to laugh. My husband was just making fun of me  messing with attaching a head rest to my modified Alite Monarch Chair.  I then read this then the LiteSmith Qwikback UL chair  which I’ve never seen before but basically is the same idea that I came up with.
I think it would work better to attach the fabric to the chair and have the trekking poles hold up the top and be able to move (adjusted by reaching back while sitting just like in the video on Litesmith which I just watched) so as to adjust your headrest tilt (NOT attach the trekking poles to the chair with Velcro).

Only trying to get a pattern I folded down a pillowcase to catch the handles of my crossed trekking poles. Then to attach the material to the chair I folded it over the  pole before inserting it into the chair back sleeve. This allowed me to lengthen or shorten the headrest height and play around with how it would work and adjust.  That’s as far as I got today before reading this. Seemed comfortable to me!

I would probably make it out of ripstop nylon or something like that.  To attach the bottom of the headrest to the chair  would have a reinforced hole / eyelet that the pole inserts through before inserting into the chair-back sleeve. The top of the head rest would have diagonal sleeves to accept the  trekking pole handles just like the LiteSmith  Qwikback Chair back accepts thin poles. (And like the MountainSmith slingback chair.) This would only add the weight of the actual material.  Let me know what you think of this.

Note I  modified an old Monarch chair by replacing the poles with lighter Easton poles  (Thank you Jake @ Tentpole Technologies for doing this for me) so it weighs <17 oz (470g).
Ethan A – And by the way I own a mint condition Sling Light chair from 20 years ago which is excellent with the head rest but the “rectangle” frame is awkward to strap onto your pack though light enough.  Highly doubt is  22 oz. Would be willing to part with it.

Sheltowee Yahoo Hammock Chair is what I have 7 oz. as long as trees are available your good to go and its cheap.

@steve

Could you post some more detail on the 9mm poles you used for your chair?

How do they collapse? Where did you get the tubing from?

Thanks!

I finally splurged and got a couple of the Helinox Zeros on an REI sale for $70 each for my wife and myself. Figured they could come in handy at parks, or lawn seating at concerts, or car camping. We joke that it’s a sign we are now officially “old people” (tho we are only 34 and 29).

I brought these on 2 recent bike camping trips and they were super comfy and convenient. Much nicer than on-the-ground chairs, including the monarch/mayfly (that one sits so low it’s tough to get in and out, but then again, I’m always restless and like to move about).

I was able to put both chairs and most of my heavy camp gear into a stuff sack and bungee it to my handlebars. Super small pack size, for a full chair. I’m not sure I’ll bring it on a longer hike, I already have 2 luxury items (an 8 oz camp lantern and a 4 oz speaker). But it would be great for a more social trip, say 5-8 miles in and hang out at camp type thing.

I carried the Helinox Chair Zero on the Colorado Trail – absolutely loved it!  The 1 lb was well worth it for me.

Googled CF chairs and saw this at 2.68 oz….don’t know how durable, but looks pretty comfortable.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/601370824/ultralight-cuben-fiber-dcf-backpacking?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=cuben+fiber&ref=sr_gallery-1-3&organic_search_click=1

Have you tried a hammock as a camp chair?  After a backpacking trip last summer with a friend that had a hammock I don’t see the how a chair wins out except above treeline.  I have the ENO SuperSub which weighs about 10oz and takes up far less space than chairs and is far more comfortable.

The Quickbak chair looks right and the sub 3 oz. weight is great.

Erik G:   Sorry for the VERY late reply to your question.  I used these for the support poles:

https://www.questoutfitters.com/Tent_Poles_CF.htm

#4150 & 4151.   I bought 2 of each and cut them down to desired lengths.  The tricky part was attaching  mini trekking pole baskets to the feet…necessary to keep them ‘above ground’ in soft soil.   For this I used  tape and JB weld epoxy.   The chair is holding up great…I take it along on almost every overnight hike.

This chair is pretty light because you don’t have to carry it, but it’s not portable.

Nice ‘Piper’!     And you don’t need to cut, glue, sew, etc.  :o