Camp Chair at Philmont?

[Chuck C.]

Is there any justifying taking a light weight camp chair like the Alite Monarch to Philmont?

This weekend, we did a shakedown and spent a fair amount of time in the evening by the fire. I had a Z-Seat pad, but being on the ground was still tough after a while.

For a weekend trip, the 19oz penalty of my Monarch may have been worth it. But for 2 weeks at Philmont, I’m not so sure. I suppose it comes down to how much sitting around will we be doing at Philmont. Also, I’m wondering if most of the Philmont campsites have either natural (large rocks and logs) or artificial (benches) seating?

For those who have gone, did you take a chair? If you didn’t take one, do you wish you had?

[Jake J]

I cant comment as to natural seating areas at Philmont as I havent been yet, my son is still a couple of years too young. But, we’re sending a group from our troop this summer and a couple of dads have picked up the Helinox Chair Zero to take with them to Philmont. I have one and have found the extra pound of weight to be negligible in the grand scheme of things. Much better than sitting on a bear can at the end of the day.

[JCH]

+1 on the Chair Zero :)  Well worth the weight if you aren’t comfortable sitting on the ground.

[Jay L]

For many years I have used a simple “sit pad” but decided for my PSR trek last summer to upgrade.  I took a Helinox Ground Chair.  I liked it better than the Chair One or Chair Zero because the stories I had read about the legs of those sinking into soft ground.  I liked it better than the Crazy Creek style chair I already had because it got me up off the ground a couple of inches.  Weight wise it was very similar to both of the alternatives.

Most of the campsites we were in had a few rocks or logs but of course that gets really old really fast. Plus – those were mostly around the fire ring and that is where the Scouts congregated so the adults mostly sat away the fire ring. We were in camp by mid afternoon every day so there was lots of time for sitting around.  I usually used it for lunch each day but didnt bother for any other trail stops – other guys who took a Crazy Creek did get theirs out for the shortest of stops.

In the end, it was easy to justify the weight because I had upgraded several other items and saved more than the weight of the chair.

[Bruce Kolkebeck]

I took a stool with me 4 times to Philmont. It just made my life happier to be above the ground. You can’t find one less than 1 pound but it was worth the weight. When I hiked the AT this year I didn’t bring one and missed it terribly. Remember, you are on vacation!

 

BK

[David Thomas]

I’ll just point out the lighter, intermediate (between a rock and hard chair) approach: bring a sit pad.  Either 8″ x 16″  of an old CCF pad or trim a gardening kneeling pad down to a foot of length.  It makes the rocks and logs more comfortable and not so cold.  Doubles as an extension on your sleeping pad or goes in your stuff sack with your clothes as your pillow at night.

I’ve got a bunch of these around:

that we use for concerts and fishing trips when you want more than a stool but less weight than those ubiquitous steel-framed camp chairs with the cup holders.  Having a back on the chair sure is nice.  Coleman Woodsman II, $17 at Walmart, 1320 grams on my scale, 17-inch seat height.  Not UL,  but cheap and available intermediately, locally.

Does anyone makes a UL version of a “thermo-lounger”?  Those sleeves for a thermarest that fixed it at an (adjustable) 80-90-100 degree angle.

Okay, did a little googling.  The original thermalounger was pretty heavier.  Crazy Creek has a camp chair that doesn’t use a sleeping pad for $26 on Amazon.  The listing says it’s 1.15 pounds:

Gives you a back, but no height.  A reviewer did confirm the weight: 1 pound, 1.5 ounces.

[JCH]

I took a Helinox Ground Chair. I liked it better than the Chair One or Chair Zero because the stories I had read about the legs of those sinking into soft ground.

Respectfully submitted. This works very well, with either the Cair Zero or One, and is durable and dependable. I have about 20 days on this mod with no problems.  20g total for the mod.

[Nate Ward]

No such thing as a backpacking chair on my first trip in ’85…..past two trips and my up coming 2018 trip…yes my Monarch will be in my pack!  At any age above 30 you will like to get some pressure off the back!  Well worth the little extra weight.  (2016 I hit the trail at 39 lbs…that’s with 3 days food, water and crew gear)

[Aubrey W. Bogard]

I’m not sure who posted on this forum that “Philmont is not ultralight backpacking,” or something to that effect, but I found that to be true for my one trek last year.  Itinerary mileages vary, and thus the amount of time one might have sitting around in camp varies with the itinerary.  For our 70+ mile trek, there was sufficient time spent sitting on most days that I was thankful for the comfort of my Helinox Ground Chair.  On our initial shakedowns I did not bring a chair and made do with a foam sit pad, but I began to covet the back support and ability to be above the ground that others’ chairs provided.

[Steve G]

Chuck — A sit pad made from old closed cell foam sleeping pad worked well for me — but I have never minded sitting on the ground so it certainly would not work for everybody.  There are usually some good logs to sit on at campsites and I liked to lie back on my sleeping pad and read outside the tent if we got to camp early.  I am really glad that I brought a high quality sleeping pad and pillow to Philmont last summer (Thermarest Nemo UL pad and a Summit pillow).  Now those were lifesavers!  Have fun at Philmont.

[Matthew / BPL]

I’ve been experimenting with larger surpass lately and I’m surprised how comfortable I can get with one. I met a PCT hiker with a full square of ZLite pad (20″ x 20″?) that alowed her to sit comfortably on crisscross style. Before that, I hadn’t considered anything larger than two my butt.

I’ve used the GG pad from my Kumo, a GG 1/8″ pad, blue CCF and reflectix pads. All of them are nice, I don’t have a clear favorite.

I use a NeoAir pad and it’s nice knowing I have a torso size foam pad as backup in case of an unrepairable leak.

[Chuck C.]

Thanks everyone for your responses! It sounds like there is enough sitting around at Philmont to justify the weight of a small chair, which is great to know. I’m in my late 40’s and sitting on the ground for long periods of time gets old real quick!  I already own the Alite Monarch, so I’ll probably just take that.  This will give me a good excuse to use it, since I always leave it at home.

I also really like Bruce’s advice to remember that it is vacation. I tend to get focused on things like gear and weight, but the real point of Philmont is to have fun and make memories with the boys in the Troop.That’s a great reminder.

 

[Jamie Barnes]

Just my two cents worth – we are taking two crews this summer. Most of the adult advisors going went on an all adult autumn adventure week long trek this past September. We wanted to do a good shakedown trip to try out some new gear, see the place for those who had never been (including myself), etc. I was concerned about taking a chair and my back. I was 49 when we went and don’t have chronic back issues but it gets tight when I don’t have back support sitting around, etc. I decided I’d worked hard getting my pack weight down and wasn’t going to take a chair. I only took a closed cell foam sit pad, That worked well for me. During the end of the trip one of the other guys let me use an REI inflatable sit pad – https://www.rei.com/product/845302/rei-co-op-sit-pad. It weighs a little over 4 oz. Worked better than the closed cell foam one. Gave much better cushioning. My concerns about my back hurting was unfounded. There are enough trees, logs, rocks, etc. at campsites – staffed and trail – to get some back support. Granted you are sitting on the ground or on a sit pad but I didn’t find that an issue at least for the week we were there. I’ll probably end up taking the REI inflatable sit pad due to the more cushioning. Hope this helps. :-)

Here’s another chair idea. Light but doesn’t get you off the ground – http://www.backpacker.com/gear/mountainsmith-slingback-chair

Jamie.

[Edgar M]

I took a Monarch in 2013.  I didn’t really notice the extra weight, but my base weight at the time was north of 30lbs.  It was nice to sit on for meals, etc, but I found that others ended up using it more than me.

I left it at home in 2016.  Instead, I cut a piece of closed cell foam just big enough to cover my “sit” bones.  The foam was about 1.5″ thick and was cut from a lightweight “gardening” knee pad.  I didn’t miss the Monarch.  For reference, I turned 50 on the trail last year and have periodic back issues if I don’t keep up with my stretching and back specific exercises.  You will find that most of the camp sites have logs or rocks that you can use for seats.

[Bob Shuff]

Could you take a hammock?  I heard they don’t allow them for overnight sleeping, but do they forbid their use all the time?  I guess you would still want something around the fire, but there’s nothing better than a hammock in the afternoon.

[Jamie Barnes]

No hammocks, period. They are on the forbidden list just like deodorant. They don’t want damage done to the trees and they state a safety concern in the council/unit planning guide. I’m guessing the safety concern is scouts falling out of them.

Jamie

[Michael C]

I never regretted having the Alite last year on our trip.

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