Re the air chair and concerns:
I have both the helinox zero and s2s air chair and have some experience from years of use/misuse
Works fine from actual experience
Benh: actually weighs less than the helinox zero (S2S regular size air chair claimed 240g actual 260g; helinox zero claimed 500g actual 490g) – but you do need an air mat as part of your sleep system
You are correct, they are specific to the width of pad – with the open S2S design it doesnt matter on length, with the closed end thermarest design length does
Works with different brand air matresses dependent on width and thickness
Really only suitable for use with air matresses – ive tried and tried ccf pads and havent been successful (yet!! I have some ideas now for a sit pad version using just nylon that should be marginally lighter and also negate the need for the air mat)
Most have light plasticy rods in the back for structural support along the usual webbing and buckles for support
The thermarest models use heavier webbing and buckles than the S2S
Stresses on the chair or the air mattress from sitting on it are really not the main concern here assuming you arent silly with it or mistreat it- read on
What you do need to be careful of:
First of all, its your sleeping matt inside it. If that fails u r sleeping direct on the groundsheet.
No flopping down into it. Sit with a little care – just like you dont jump on your air mattress or drop onto it, no need to be paranoid just gentle. If do heavily flop into it you will eventually pop or delaminate the air matress inner walls which is not great
Not recommended for use direct on bare ground or rock. You really should use a protective sheet. If you dont, you will puncture your air mat quicker and more often (see previous point about sleeping on the.ground). Bit of fun for friends though trying to predict when it will pop. Run a lottery to liven it up.
Bring a patch repair kit for your mat (see previous points).
Not recommended being left untended in the vicinity of the camp fire with friends. Sparks landing on it when your camp companion kindly puts more wood on the fire just after youve stepped up to do something (and left your chair unprotected from spark generating pyromaniacs) are more than likely to result in burn hole punctures. Larger ones are hard to fix properly in the field (Refer previous points).
Low to the ground so harder to get up from if not flexible or just plain stuffed at end of the day – however it is easy to fall asleep in, and as it is low to the ground not so bad if you were to fall over. You can just roll over onto your side to get out of it.
Lower than a helinox and can be used inside the tent or under a tarp – and with a wider base than the pointy-end chair legs there is less psi on your groundsheet/tent floor in a concentrated area.
At the end of the day before you go to bed you do still need to dismantle the air chair and make your bed with the air mat
The air chair and air mat can fly an impressive distance in strong winds, enough to almost reach the older side of the river before landing gracefully and floating downstream. Helinox chairs dont fly, they just tumble a short distance (and sink).
The helinox chair –
The most comfortable and easy to nod off in
Nearly twice the weight – but doesnt need an air mattress, you can be using a ccf for your sleep system
Can be somewhat fiddly to assemble if tired or cold
Dont need to worry so much about pyromaniac friends around the camp fire with it, any burn holes resulting arent fatal and it isnt your sleep system on the firing line
Not recommended to flop into either – the back legs dig in the ground and youll fall over onto your back, which can be either or both hilarious or painful – after much abuse, I still havent broken the legs though. These are surprisingly sturdy.
