Nemo Moonlite Elite Reclining Camp Chair (18 oz )

OK, so I was in REI yesterday, and tried out the Nemo Moonlite Chair. I was able to compare it in real time to the Helinox Chair Zero (which I already own). While I didn’t have a scale on hand, my guess is, if you ditch the Nemo’s “footprint” it will weigh the same as the Helinox.

I went back and forth sitting in each chair. Now granted, I’m a fairly light guy – 5’10” 145lbs. At age 62 I no longer have the butt I had 30 years ago (thanks ageing). What I found was the Helinox was unequivocally more comfortable for my small butt. The little side struts (you can see them where they die-into their little orange keeper at the front end of the chair) of the Nemo dug into my butt and were unpleasant. Didn’t have that problem with the Helinox.

I’m a big fan of Nemo products, and while there were some nice little innovations with the Moonlite chair, I’ll not be switching from the Helinox.

Okay, okay, so who’s going to be the first to fork out the bucks and then modify it with a carbon fiber frame, dyneema foot straps for loose soil and DCF seat? One pound two ounce’s for a chair is an awful luxury..

Psyched that Alité may return. Seems you either love it or hate it. To the question of how it performs. Think of it as a rocking chair. Even with practice it can be pain to get in & out of, but when you’re in and balanced, it’s perfect. The balance thing becomes intuitive after a couple of times, you just do it w/out realizing you’re doing it

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I tried the Nemo chair in store, not for me. I have the bigger one for car camping and like it. But the backpacking chair wasn’t as comfortable as the Monarch & it’s like 6oz more.

Now if you could take the Nemo fabric and put that on an Alité frame 🤔

The latest issue of TrailGroove has a fairly comprehensive review of the Moonlite Elite.  The reviewer confirms all of my personally observed reservations and adds a few more…like Nemo’s advice not to put downward pressure on the recliner adjustment cordage (eg using your hands to help enter/exit).  The actual measured weight discrepancy is also unfortunate given the target market.

The regular “heavy” Moonlight suffers none of the reported shortcomings of the Elite, and using the adjustment webbing to aid entry/exit is one of my personal favorite features.

The Moonlight design could likely be refined to shave a bit of weight, and I suspect it will be in future iterations, but changing any chair’s design by making it smaller, lower, or otherwise less comfortable in order to shave weight is not an attractive compromise for me.

Mylifeoutdoors on YT confirms what you and others have stated about the Moonlite Elite John. At 4:45 he shows how the shorter backed Nemo (than Chair Zero) combined with the way it folds when you sit in it makes the rods poke into your rhomboids. Mylifeoutdoors gives the best visual comparison I’ve seen.

That YT review is very informative, and well done.  The reviewer finding the Chair Zero so comfortable is yet another example of chairs being like shoes and backpacks (and many other things)…you have to find what works for YOU.

I suspect that (m)any of these UL chairs work well for smaller and/or lighter people, but at 6′ 1″ and 225 lbs that aint me.  One has to assume that the designers are fully aware of what they are doing and accepting the tradeoffs needed to make a lighter chair is a business decision.  I will continue to lug the Moonlight on appropriate trips, and the Chammock on those where weight is the deciding factor.

BTW, I tried the Helinox Cafe Chair at REI and thought it was “the perfect chair” in terms of comfort and seating height.  It is also over 3 lbs :)

With the current REI member coupon for 20% off and my $40 dividend/member reward the Moonlie Elite is $104. That is quite a bit less in tax, too. Or I could buy a few other needed items! I enjoy the REI Flexlite Air on short trips. While it is not as solid as the Elite, it’s not like I spend hours in it to read a book like I would at the beach. That said, the Elite using the carry bag as a ground mat is brilliant.

So, I got interested about the Moonlight Elite’s weight. REI has it listed at 1lb 2oz’s. Nemo’s site has it listed at a “packed weight” of 1lb 6oz’s. Hmm. Well, since I needed to pick up a few meals, I took my trusty scale to REI today to see for myself.

Chair Alone:

Wrap-around cover alone:

Total weight of both combined:

So there you have it. Both REI and NEMO are telling the truth, sort of lol.

The Chair Zero with its stuff sack weigh’s 18.30 oz’s (stuff sack is .60 oz’s), so really it becomes a choice of which is more comfortable to you, not which is lighter. Overall, I find the Chair Zero more comfortable.

Whenever I sat in one of these things (camp chairs that use aluminum poles, etc) , regardless of the brand or model, they felt flimsy. So, for my wife and I, we use the crazy creek chair. Doubles as insulation underneath us if our inflatable pads fail. The thing, basically, does not ever break. Great on the snow, on rock, in a meadow…not so great in dirt. An overall win for us. When we first got them we were surprised how very nice it was to sit down and truly rest from a long day of backpacking.