Finest Backpacking Chairs of 2025

A backpacking chair is a luxurious merchandise that may make the tenting portion of a backpacking journey rather more pleasing and relaxed. When you like to take a seat round a campfire to socialize at evening or learn open air whereas sitting upright, bringing a path chair alongside can actually improve a backpacking journey. With path weights between 1 and a couple of kilos, the added weight of carrying a backpacking chair isn’t that onerous, particularly if it’s offset by utilizing different light-weight backpacking gear.

Listed here are the perfect light-weight backpacking and tenting chairs we suggest.

1. Helinox Chair Zero

The Helinox Chair Zero is an excellent light-weight however sturdy camp chair with a single shock-corded pole construction that makes for simple setup. It packs up small making it straightforward to hold within the aspect pocket of a backpack and simple to assemble once you need to have a seat. Slits within the polyester ripstop seat broaden to accommodate your bottom for elevated consolation. Helinox additionally sells a number of accent merchandise, together with Vibram ball ft or a groundsheet to stop sinking in comfortable floor or snow, a problem skilled by all backpacking chairs, which we handle beneath in our part on Select a Backpacking Chair. Learn the SectionHiker Chair Zero Overview.

2. REI Flexlite Air Chair

The REI Flexlite Air Chair is sort of just like the Helinox Chair Zero with the identical model shock-corded poles and hub meeting. It additionally breaks down compactly making it very straightforward to pack in a backpack or in an outdoor pocket. Weighing 16 oz, it’s one ounce lighter than the Helinox Chair Zero, however is greatest used on onerous surfaces as a groundsheet isn’t accessible to stop sinking in comfortable soil or sand. Learn the SectionHiker Flexlite Air Chair Overview.

3. NEMO Moonlite Reclining Chair

The NEMO Moonlite Reclining Chair is an adjustable path chair that allows you to lean backward for stargazing. The backward lean is created by loosening/tightening the arm straps alongside the edges of the chair. The collapsible legs are oval-shaped aluminum tubes that supply a just-right mix of rigidity and adaptability for rock-solid help. The Moonlite’s extra-large ft assist forestall the chair from sinking into sand or the bottom, whereas the seamless engineered seat mesh conforms to your physique once you sit. NEMO makes a good lighter-weight chair, the Moonlite Elite (18 oz), which can also be value consideration. Learn the SectionHiker Moonlite Chair Overview.

4. Helinox Floor Chair

The Helinox Floor Chair has a sq. base that spreads the load extra evenly than ft, which means it’s not as prone to sink into the bottom. Setup is quick and simple with shock-corded poles and intuitive seat attachments. Its supportive 500-denier polyester seat options breathable monofilament mesh aspect panels to maintain you comfy in sizzling environments. The one factor lacking is an ottoman to prop your ft on. Learn the SectionHiker Floor Chair Overview.

5. Large Agnes Skyline UL Chair

The Large Agnes Skyline UL Chair has a totally shock-corded structure and color-coded body that provides a easy setup and breakdown, like the opposite chairs listed above. Nevertheless it has a 15″ seat top and a wider, extra secure seat for added consolation, particularly for bigger and taller backpackers. Metal reinforcements within the chair’s aluminum body and fittings make it a lot sturdier and extra sturdy than is quickly obvious.

6. Grand Trunk Monarch Chair

The Grand Trunk Monarch Legless Chair (previously made by Alite) balances on two rubber ft that allow you to prop your ft up on a log or rock forwards and backwards whereas sitting. It’s fast to assemble with a hub and spoke design and has mesh panels within the seat to maintain you comfy in sizzling climate. When you get used to it, it’s a enjoyable chair for relaxation breaks when mountaineering or at camp.

7. Trekkology Yizi Lite Chair

The Trekology Yizi Lite is a compact and light-weight tenting chair that weighs 26.5 oz with a chair top of 9.8 inches and a max beneficial load of 220 lbs. Its declare to fame is its compactness (12.6” x 5.9” ) making it very straightforward to pack and carry in a backpack. The chair has a heavy-duty 7075 aluminum body with a sturdy 60 nylon ripstop polyester seat. The seat additionally has a aspect pocket to carry small gadgets shut when you sit like a bottle opener or a smartphone, which might simply fall out of your pockets and change into misplaced. Whereas this chair is tremendous comfy to take a seat in, it may be a bit of difficult to face up from for larger folks. Nevertheless it’s an excellent worth and fairly light-weight.

8. Loopy Creek Hex 2.0

9. REI Flexlite Air Stool

The REI Flexlite Air Stool is a light-weight folding stool with a 17.5″ seat top. It has one million and one makes use of round the home, in camp, for fishing, or on the path once you need to sit and have a relaxation. Weighing simply 11.5 oz, it folds up compactly (3.75″ x 13″), making it straightforward to hold on hikes. It has a mesh seat and durable aluminum legs that fold collectively when not in use. We wish to deliver it on hikes and walks with aged family members so that they have a clear place to take a seat and relaxation in the event that they change into fatigued.

10. Hillsound BTR Stool

The Hillsound BTR Stool is a tripod stool with telescoping legs that folds up compactly and is straightforward to hold in a backpack aspect pocket. It has a water-proof nylon mesh seat and is offered in two seat heights, 14″ (12.2 oz / 346g ) and 17″ (14.1 oz / 399g ) with a max load capability of 240 kilos. Whereas it is rather straightforward to pack, it’s sort of tippy once you sit on it on uneven floor and doesn’t present the identical degree of consolation as a chair with a again. Then once more additionally it is a lot simpler and fewer cumbersome to pack.

Select a Backpacking Path Chair

There are a number of kinds of path chairs accessible at present: sling-style chairs with collapsing and shock-corded aluminum legs, stools, chair kits that incorporate a sleeping pad, closed-cell foam sit pads, and inflatable seat cushions.

Worth

The price of a backpacking chair can fluctuate extensively relying on the kind of chair you need. Upright chairs with backs and shock-corded poles are normally the costliest, whereas the value drops the nearer you get to the bottom with sit pads or sleeping pad chair kits. Along with worth, we’d encourage you to think about warranties and return insurance policies as properly. For instance, Helinox gives a 5-year guarantee on all of their chairs, together with the Helinox Chair Zero and the Helinox Floor Chair, which we expect speaks volumes in regards to the high quality of their product. Purchases made from REI merchandise or via REI even have a 1 yr money-back assure, which is useful if you happen to discover that the chair you select doesn’t stack up.

Chair Weight

Whereas chair weight is essential, you want to steadiness it in opposition to the burden capability of the chair to make sure it might maintain your physique weight, seat top, and packability. For instance, the Large Agnes Skyline UL Chair might be the perfect chair for giant and tall backpackers, however it’s considerably heavier than the Helinox Chair Zero or the REI Flexlite Air Chair.

Weight Capability

When selecting a path chair, ensure it might help your physique weight or the burden of the individuals who shall be utilizing it. You don’t need to break the chair or damage your self by having it collapse beneath you. The NEMO Moonlite Reclining Chair is the strongest upright chair listed beneath with an extra-thick body adopted by the Large Agnes Skyline UL. Each are appropriate for tall and large backpackers.

Seat Peak

Path chairs which are low to the bottom just like the Helinox Floor Chair will be very troublesome to rise up from. We usually goal for chairs which have a seat top of 10″. A lot decrease and also you’ll need to add deep squats to your weekday exercises to get in form to rise up out of your path chair. However that is a type of issues that varies from particular person to particular person. When you don’t thoughts crawling within the dust, a low chair or sit pad could also be completely appropriate for you.

Seat Width

Seat width is one other dimension of consolation that’s essential to think about since you need a chair that’s going to be large enough on your butt. Stools just like the REI Path Stool are a superb choice if you happen to don’t like having your derriere squeezed from the edges by a seat, as are sit pads just like the NEMO Chipper or the REI Sit Pad.

Again Assist

If again help is a precedence, you’re going to need to get a chair just like the NEMO Moonlite Reclining Chair which has an adjustable again angle, or the Large Agnes Skyline UL Chair which is extra upright than different chairs.

Chair Ft

Most path chairs will sink in soil, sand, or comfortable floor which will be fairly annoying as a result of it makes it a lot more durable to face up and get out of your chair. When evaluating chairs, search for ones with extensive ft or equipment that forestall sinking. These can add value and weight to the chair to make it usable within the area that offset the chair’s weight. For instance, the Helinox Chair Zero has an added accent groundsheet that stops the chair from sinking in comfortable soil and sand. It prices and weighs additional although. The NEMO Moonlite and the REI Path Stool have wider ft than different chairs, however they will nonetheless sink into the bottom in sure instances. Our favourite accent is a product known as Chair Buddies (see our evaluate), made within the UK, which connect to chair legs and stop sinking. They’re solely suitable with the Helinox Chair Zero and the REI Flexlite Chair although.

Packability

Since you must carry a backpacking chair, you must give some consideration to the way you pack it and the way a lot additional quantity it should take. Do you need to have the chair accessible to be used through the day with out unpacking your backpack or simply in camp? When you pack it in your pack, how a lot additional quantity will it eat? These are all helpful issues when selecting a backpacking chair.

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