Chair Feet

[Tim (Slowhike) Garner]

I came up with a way to keep my chair feet from sinking in soft ground.

The pictures are from when they were new, but they have been used enough now that I am satisfied with the performance.

No sinking!

 

I may go back to try an earlier version, were I use a pack cloth to form a small tent for each foot, with webbing sewn to what will be the bottom, that is between the foot and the ground, for long life.

That webbing loop is a challenge to sew. First part with the sewing machine, then hand sew.

 

[Tim (Slowhike) Garner]

[Tim (Slowhike) Garner]

[Tim (Slowhike) Garner]

[Steve M]

Very clever Tim.  Another option is to attach trekking pole baskets on the ends.

Your idea though is probably lighter… And distributes the weight over a larger area.

[JCH]

Tim – Clever Idea…sort of a very minimal version of Helinox’s ground sheet.  Do you find the adjustment buckles to be necessary, or is that so it can fit different chairs?

That looks like a Nemo Moonlite chair in the pictures…is that correct?  I recently grabbed one at a big discount from REI and was hoping the stock feet would sink less than Helinox chairs.  I am quessing that was not your expereince?

 

[Tim (Slowhike) Garner]

Yes, that is the Nemo Moonlite chair. Not the lightest option but I wanted a chair rated well beyond my current weight. I may get a lighter chair at some point. But it sure is comfy!

I decided to use the buckles so it could be pulled tight from foot to foot. And so, it could be used on various chairs.

And yeah, the wider feet on the Moonlight are a little less subjectable to sinking but if the ground is really soft, they still will sink as they are.

[JCH]

Tim – I have found it increasingly difficult to get in and out of the Helinox Chair Zero to the point where I have had to abandon it…it is just too low to the ground. Even the Chair One is now more difficult to enter/exit than I choose to accept.  I found the Moonlite to be a little taller than the One and using the straps as handles of sorts really helps getting in and out.  It is my luxury item for the foreseeable future.  If you re thinking of finding a lighter chair, you may want to pay attention to the seat height as, for me at least, that is almost more important than the comfort.

For a UL “chair” I am a big fan of the Chammock and it is what I pack when minimum pack weight is the goal.  Their suspension/carabiners/etc, are way too heavy but can easily be replaced with some UL webbing and 7/16 amsteel for a total system weight of 10 oz. The trick to making the Chammock comfortable is to hang it such that with knees bent 90 degrees, they are slightly above your hips.  I could sleep in that thing. Downside: trees required and it can’t be moved.

Your idea has made me think I should experiment with some of the above webbing and see if I can eliminate the buckles.  I’ll report back on success/failure.

[Dan]

Would thin aluminum or hard plastic disks be lighter and less bulky? Although I can see that the covers would be very convenient because of the way they attach.

[Tim (Slowhike) Garner]

“I found the Moonlite to be a little taller than the One and using the straps as handles of sorts really helps getting in and out.  It is my luxury item for the foreseeable future. ”

Same here.

And yeah, seat height is extremely important anytime I have looked at chairs.

 

I had not seen the Chammock but I like it.

A little secret, I have been looking at a way to sleep with my torso in a somewhat reclined position when camping and backpacking because of the following.

My sleep apnea has gotten worse, and I have had bad episodes, both in my bed and my hammock, even with the CPAP.  Scares me a little in that it will limit my camping and especially backpacking.

I am getting back into better shape and hoping to lose weight. That will most likely help with the sleep apnea.

But in the meantime.

But I have been sleeping in my recliner with no CPAP and no rude awakenings for several weeks now.

I bought a hammock chair from Dream Hammocks and it may work with some addition for the legs. But I am working on a different version that may work better.

I’ll share more on that when I can.

[Tim (Slowhike) Garner]

“Would thin aluminum or hard plastic disks be lighter and less bulky?”

That could be Dan. Just a matter of coming up with a way of attaching them.

[MJ H]

I’ve never tried these (or a chair when I hike), but if you wanted to attach a disk to the foot of a chair, there’s this thing.

[Bill in Roswell]

Cheap whiffle golf balls (12 for $6) prevent my UL chair from sinking in soft dirt or sand. Tested on Cumberland Island GA. Chair fits into REI Flexlite Air storage bag with balls attached. Just cut out plastic between 4 large holes for a snug fit.

View post on imgur.com

[JCH]

Yes.  The plastic practice golf ball hack is the best I have found so far and @ 5g per foot likely the lightest.  Also tested on Cumberland Stafford campsite and beach (below high tide line where the sand is reasonably packed) and on sand along the banks of the Suwannee river. However they do wear out, make packing the chair slightly more bulky and can still sink in very soft sand/soil.

The Helinox ground sheet is the only true solution I have found for soft sand but it is too heavy, too expensive and too futzy. The Chair Buddies look like they would work well, and Phillip Werner (SectionHiker.com) liked them but they also are too expensive and too heavy.

Hoping Tim’s strap idea will prove to be a good middle ground solution.

[Bill in Roswell]

Someone with a 3D printer could try a solution in cheap plastic then make a better plastic version in a refined design. Ive seen a few tries with Tyvek but they didn’t hold up for the ling haul.

[Brian G]

I, too, use plastic “whiffle” golf balls on the feet of my light camping chair.  Cost nothing (already had them) and they work extremely well.  Also:  easy to wash off the mud…

[John S.]

Replace Tim Garner’s straps with tyvek straps. Edit: Missed seeing Bill’s comment about tyvek.

[Tim (Slowhike) Garner]

The foot-to-foot straps could be made a little lighter by making the precisely for a particular chair with no buckles. I may work on that today.

[JCH]

Started doing precisely that this morning. Decided to go diagonally across, right front to left rear, etc. Looks like they’ll come out right around 0.6 oz per strap. Hand sewn (not fun) with 6 pound test fishing line.  Will post when completed.

[Tim (Slowhike) Garner]

JCH, nice. Look forward to seeing it.

[JCH]

Finished up this morning and tested in the backyard while eating lunch :)  These are going to work better than the golf balls in softer sand/soil and while the webbing will easily outlive the golf ball hack it remains to be seen how the stitching holds up.  I’m quite envious of Tim’s nice professional box stitches.  The straps also roll up with the chair nicely and do not add to its packed bulk which sadly, the golf ball feet do.  Total weight for both straps is 34 g or 1.2 oz.  I realized several things during construction:

1. Since the legs spead a bit when the chair is under load, sizing the straps so that they easily slip over the feet leaves enough slack that they don’t become too tight once you are in the chair.  Don’t get too worked up about the straps being loose when the chair is empty.

2. It is important to sew the cup (circle of webbing) back onto the run right under where the foot sits.  If you do not, the pull of the strap will rotate the cup off of the foot.  It looks like Tim too came to this realization as on closer inspection I realized that his straps have the same construction.

Materials used were Dutch 1″ Black Premium Webbing (7 g/ft) and 6 lb test monofilament fishing line.

When I was all done and proudly showing off my handiwork to my wife she said “Why not just use those brass grommets to hold it all together?”.  Well…DUH.  If the stitching proves to be a weak point, I will likely try making another pair using the grommets.  They would increase the weight by 14.4 g or 0.5 oz (1.8 g each)

 

 

[Tim (Slowhike) Garner]

JCL, very nice!

You are right about making it so the cup doesn’t rotate off the foot.

And I think in really soft ground, your cross straps would be even better.

The brass grommets sound interesting.

 

I have asked a few people if there was a bonding agent that would permanently bond strap material. That would make the loop job much easier.

I tried something, can’t remember what at the moment, maybe JB Weld? It had pretty good shear strength, but it could peel loose.

It seems like there should be something that would make a permanent bond and retain a little flexibility.

Maybe with another type webbing other than nylon.

[McDowell Crook]

I 3D-printed printed these chair ends for my Helinox Chair Zero and they work pretty darn well. Adds maybe an ounce total to the chair. Of course, glue is important. After some failures I finally used a Gorilla Glue that kept them on for around six months of regular use.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3678280

[Bill in Roswell]

JCH the straps rock. Crossed straps would help a lot in loose sand, too

McDowell your printed feet look amazing. What does a set weigh?

[DWR D]

Looking at the printed feet, if you don’t have a printer I would think you could take a block of foam (like, say a yoga block) and carve a set of feet about any shape and size you want…

[Author]

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