The Finest Backpacking Chairs of 2023

Regardless of how cool or comfortable a camp chair is, it’s not a backpacking chair except you possibly can carry it. For this evaluate, we regarded for chairs that supply a very good steadiness of help and sturdiness, are packable, and weigh beneath 4 kilos.

To decide on the most effective backpacking chairs, we researched and ranked greater than 10 chairs from eight manufacturers. We evaluated chairs primarily based on their options, value, suggestions from our testing, and the amount of constructive opinions.

If you happen to need assistance figuring out your distinctive wants, take a look at our comparability chart, purchaser’s information, and FAQ. In any other case, scroll by way of our picks for the most effective backpacking chairs of 2023:

Editor’s Word: We refreshed this text on September 5, 2023, including a product and a number of other photographs, and making certain every current chair is in inventory and up-to-date.

The Finest Backpacking Chairs of 2023

The Finest Base Camp Chair

Whereas this didn’t make the reduce for backpacking (it doesn’t meet our weight requirement), it’s nonetheless one in all our favorites from base camp to trailhead and many locations in between.

Backpacking Chairs Comparability Chart

How We Examined Backpacking Chairs

Miya Tsudome is without doubt one of the major gear testers on this evaluate. Combining a decade of backpacking expertise with years of authoring gear opinions, she’s well-suited that can assist you take advantage of knowledgeable buying choice to your backpacking chair wants.

Residing in Bishop on the flanks of the Sierra Nevada mountains, Miya spends most of her summers backpacking out to alpine climbing aims and is aware of how good it’s to have a snug seat to lounge in on the finish of an extended climbing day.

She and the opposite testers on this evaluate spent a number of weeks assessing the consolation, stability, ease of setup, packability, and extra for all 13 chairs on this lineup. This info will assist you wade by way of the plethora of chairs in the marketplace to search out the most effective backpacking chair for you.

Purchaser’s Information: Learn how to Select a Backpacking Chair

Consolation/Again Help

Though you may want a chair that’s gentle and sufficiently small to pack in your backpacking journeys, it’s good to search out one which doesn’t skimp on consolation or again help in case you’re trying to lounge on the finish of an extended climbing day.

The REI Flexlite Air Chair supplies the right quantity of consolation and again help together with its gentle weight, which is why it’s our prime decide. With an 11-inch seat peak, your again is nicely supported once you settle into the chair, permitting you to lean again with out feeling unstable.

The Helinox Floor Chair, Chair One, and Chair Zero all have related seat heights and sturdy, supportive materials of their giant bucket seats — making all of them snug fashions.

Though the Loopy Creek Hex 2.0 chair doesn’t have the inflexible legs or construction of a typical tenting chair, this mannequin is remarkably snug. As a result of you may have the flexibility to regulate the straps, you’re in a position to configure the angle of the again help simply the way you prefer it, and we liked having the ability to lean again with the total help of the chair cradling our our bodies.

Taking the idea of the Loopy Creek even additional is the Therm-a-Relaxation Trekker Chair, which lets you insert your sleeping pad into the chair design to create the plushest seat out of all those we reviewed. The one draw back is you need to have a suitable sleeping pad along with the chair.

Decrease on the overall consolation checklist are the chairs with none again help in any respect. This consists of the Therm-a-Relaxation Z Seat and the Hillsound Tools BTR Stool. These chairs are made for extra sensible use as an alternative of long-term lounging, and are additionally lighter than conventional camp chairs because of this, which can be fascinating for some people.

Stability

As a result of these backpacking chairs will seemingly be used on various terrain, stability is a vital function to contemplate when making your buying choice. Our runner-up chair, the Helinox Floor Chair, is a good selection on this regard, with its low-to-the-ground, square-shaped base.

This distinctive design function distributes weight extra evenly throughout the bottom, making it much less seemingly you’ll tip over on uneven terrain. It’s also decrease to the bottom than different backpacking chairs in our lineup, making it much more steady.

Different chairs that rank excessive within the stability class are the Loopy Creek Hex 2.0, the Therm-a-Relaxation Z Seat, and the Therm-a-Relaxation Trekker Chair. Since none of those chairs have legs and all are seats which might be positioned straight on the bottom, there’s little to no likelihood they may tip over, and so they simply can be utilized in sand, on rocks, on slopes, or snow.

Measurement and Weight

Backpacking chairs usually are not actually an “important” backpacking merchandise, however they positive could make your tenting expertise far more snug. Nonetheless, measurement and weight are vital issues to contemplate when selecting a chair to buy. You wish to make sure the chair received’t be too cumbersome to slot in your backpacking backpack and that it’s gentle sufficient to justify bringing alongside.

The Therm-a-Relaxation Z Seat is indisputably the lightest and most compact “chair” in our lineup. Weighing in at a mere 2 ounces and folding up accordion-style right into a measurement barely wider than a Nalgene bottle, this seat can simply slot in your pack with out including bulk or weight. It’s positively your best option for the ultralight backpackers who aren’t in search of a chair per se however a pleasant seating pad for maintaining your bum heat at camp.

The Hillsound Tools Stool is available in at a detailed second, weighing in at 12.2 ounces and in addition folding up right into a compact cylinder that may be stowed simply in one of many outdoors pockets of your pack.

Each of those chairs are the lightest but additionally lack again help. In order for you a light-weight, packable chair that’s truly a correct “chair,” the lightest one is our class winner, the REI Flexlite Air. Weighing in at solely a pound and folding up right into a small 5×16-inch bundle, this chair is a good selection for many who are acutely aware about weight however don’t wish to sacrifice again help.

The Helinox Floor Chair and Chair Zero are additionally good bets, weighing in at 1 pound 4.8 ounces and 1 pound 2 ounces, respectively, and each pack up right into a small measurement.

Lastly, the Loopy Creek can be an ideal compromise between being light-weight and packable (however with out sacrificing again help). It is available in at a light-weight 1 pound 5 ounces and is a extra snug folding chair total, making it our most well-liked selection of chairs on this design class.

Ease of Setup

Each backpacking chair we reviewed has comparatively easy setups, permitting you to get from pounding the path to lounging at camp as shortly and painlessly as attainable. Some chairs are noticeably simpler to arrange than others, nevertheless, which we are going to talk about on this part.

Indisputably the only chair within the lineup is the Therm-a-Relaxation Z Seat. Because it’s only a small, insulated pad, it folds up accordion type and may be dispatched as shortly as eradicating the connected rubber band holding it collectively, opening it up, and sitting down.

The second best to arrange is the Hillsound Tools BTR Stool. Merely prolong and twist the legs open, and the stool is able to use.

The Loopy Creek can be a breeze to arrange however takes a second to regulate. You’ll wish to open up these folding seats and sit inside them whereas adjusting their facet straps for probably the most snug match and to search out your most well-liked angle.

The remainder of the chairs in our evaluate observe the usual tenting chair setup: unfold the chair legs and join them into all their joints to make the body, then merely stretch the seat cloth and set up their corners into the designated chair legs. This takes a minute or two tops.

Backpacking Chair vs. Tenting Chair

This complete evaluate particularly covers the most effective backpacking chairs, which could make a few of you marvel what the distinction is from tenting chairs. This is a vital distinction to make.

To qualify as a backpacking chair, these seats have to be light-weight, pack all the way down to a comparatively small and transportable measurement, and be easy to arrange. When occurring a backpacking journey, whether or not it’s in a single day or a multi-day trek, area in your pack and weight matter. All the chairs in our evaluate (moreover the Coleman Quad) pack all the way down to a measurement that may match into or on the surface of a backpacking pack.

If you happen to do plenty of automotive tenting, nevertheless, which suggests you’re driving as much as a campsite and carrying your entire gear in your automotive, you would possibly wish to contemplate shopping for a camp chair as an alternative. A majority of these chairs will sometimes be greater and extra snug, with taller backs for help, and typically equipment like cup holders or additional cushioning within the seat or backrest.

The Coleman Quad is a good instance and easily folds open and closed, making it a breeze to seize out of the tailgate and pop open by the hearth.

Totally different Varieties of Backpacking Chairs

Whereas they could look like a comparatively easy buy, backpacking chairs truly are available in many alternative sizes and styles. The most typical kind is the two-piece, legs plus cloth bucket seat chair. The REI Flexlite Air, Helinox Floor, Chair One, and Chair Zero, ALPS Mountaineering Sprint Chair, and Massive Agnes Skyline UL Chair are all of this design, with collapsable legs and a material seat that may be rolled up and packed into your backpack.

Different sorts of chairs yow will discover for backpacking are stools, just like the Hillsound Tools BTR or foldable chairs just like the Loopy Creek. Stools may be nice to have on a fishing or river journey, and foldable chairs are an ideal ultralight possibility for lounging at camp after an extended day of climbing with out carrying an excessive amount of weight or bulk.

Essentially the most distinctive type of backpacking chair we’ve come throughout is the Therm-a-Relaxation Trekker Chair, which makes use of your sleeping pad to make an opulent, snug camp seat. Whereas it requires you to have a suitable sleeping pad, it makes use of one thing that’s already in your pack to create a chair, which we actually like. Plus you should use it with out the pad as a foldable seat, making it a flexible possibility.

Lastly is the bottom pad type seat, just like the Therm-a-Relaxation Z Seat. Whereas it could not appear to be a lot, this insulated pad can be versatile and so gentle it’s onerous to not pack. The distinction between sitting on the chilly floor and having an insulated piece of froth beneath you is night time and day, and you can even use it as additional cushioning beneath your sleeping pad or to increase it when you have a three-quarter-length pad.

It’s value taking a second to consider how you’ll more than likely make the most of your chair earlier than deciding which would be the greatest backpacking chair to your wants.

Construct High quality

Backpacking chairs are available in all sizes and styles and are made with completely different supplies that have an effect on their total construct high quality. Helinox is excessive on the checklist when it comes to the standard of supplies in its chairs, with its light-weight, aluminum leg poles and ripstop polyester seats. The REI Flexlite Air and Flexlite Camp Boss are made with the identical supplies, making certain their gentle weight is met with a high-quality design.

Massive Agnes is an organization that doesn’t skimp on high quality both and is thought for top-shelf tents and sleeping baggage. The corporate’s chair sport is not any completely different. The Mica Basin and Skyline UL are made with what Massive Agnes calls “plane aluminum pole techniques,” and the proprietary high-tenacity Robic nylon with polyester ripstop ensures sturdiness.

Whereas the Loopy Creek Hex 2.0 could appear to be a easy chair, it’s made with 8mm high-density cored EVA closed-cell foam which supplies insulation and has a sturdy outer shell made with 210D coated ripstop nylon for abrasion-resistance and weatherproofing. The carbon fiber stays inside the folded seat are remarkably robust and make sure you’ll have a chair that lasts journey after journey.

FAQ

Discovering the most effective backpacking chair has to do along with your threshold of consolation and the way a lot you’re prepared to hold. If weight isn’t your major concern and you’ll solely be climbing for a brief period of time, hauling one thing just like the Massive Agnes Mica can be an ideal possibility, because it packs plenty of consolation into a comparatively small bundle.

If ultralight minimalism is essential, nevertheless, it’s possible you’ll wish to stick to the bare-bones, no-frills Therm-a-Relaxation Z Seat, a easy sq. of froth that may disappear in your pack. It completely is dependent upon private desire.

That mentioned, not all backpacking chairs are equal. Some are positively increased high quality than others, and it’s vital to contemplate the sturdiness and dependability of something you’re taking into the backcountry. Every little thing on this information has been examined by adventurers who know what to search for in stable, dependable gear, and you may belief their trustworthy opinion.

Backpacking chairs supply the last word stage of backcountry consolation. There’s nothing fairly like sitting in an precise chair across the fireplace after a grueling hike as an alternative of getting sap throughout your shorts and leaning in opposition to a knobby tree. Consolation virtually at all times comes at the price of weight, although, which backpackers are at all times making an attempt to whittle down.

A backpacking chair ought to strike an acceptable steadiness between consolation, weight, and bulk. If you happen to don’t really feel snug carrying it for miles in your again, it received’t be definitely worth the reward you get on the finish of the day.

Backpacking chairs ought to be capable to pack up sufficiently small to suit simply inside, or strap to the surface, of your pack.

Whereas the lightest backpacking “chair” we’ve on this checklist is the Therm-a-Relaxation Z Seat, this actually doesn’t supply a lot help and luxury. The lightest product we’d classify as extra of a traditional “chair” we reviewed is the REI Flexlite Air Chair, coming in at round a pound.

Tenting chairs, typically, don’t pack down as small and are fairly cumbersome however do supply a great deal of consolation. To qualify for this checklist, every backpacking chair have to be light-weight, pack all the way down to a comparatively small and transportable measurement, and be easy to arrange.