Ultralight Camping Chair

What makes an ultralight camping chair different

A regular camp chair folds. An ultralight camping chair comes apart. That's the whole difference, and everything else follows from it.

Instead of a steel frame with hinges, you get a set of hollow aluminum poles strung on shock cord, like tent poles. The poles snap into two plastic hubs, one at each end. Then a fabric seat hooks over the pole tips and hangs between them like a sling. One maker's full-size chair is built exactly that way: aluminum alloy poles with shock cord, resin hubs and rubber feet. No screws, no tools.

Take it down and the whole chair rolls into a sack you could mistake for a thermos. One maker's full-size ultralight chair packs to 14 by 4.5 by 4.5 inches. That's why this kind of chair rides in a daypack, a kayak hatch or a bike bag, places a folding quad chair never goes.

The basics every camp chair shares (frame, fabric, capacity, how to read a spec sheet) are on the main camping chair page. This page sticks to what changes when the chair has to be light.

How the ultralight table is built

The table under this text lists chairs whose maker or listing sells them as compact ultralight chairs, or that weigh 3 lb or less as the maker states it. Lightest comes first. You'll see weight, weight capacity, seat height, seat width, back height, frame material and packed size where the maker or the listing states them (weight is the maker's alone; the table marks values read from the listing). A dash means neither states it, not that the value is zero.

The list changes as makers add and drop models, so I won't quote it here. Read it from the top down and stop at the first chair that passes your seat-height and capacity checks below.

What to look at when you pick an ultralight camping chair

These are in the order I'd check them. Weight first, because it's the reason you're here. Then the things weight costs you.

Read weight twice: assembled and packed

Makers often print two weights, and they aren't the same thing.

• Assembled (or trail) weight: the chair alone, built and ready to sit in
• Packed weight: the chair plus its bag and any small parts that ride along

The gap is small but real. One maker lists its lightest chair at 1 lb 2 oz assembled and 1 lb 2.5 oz packed. Its full-size chair is 1 lb 15 oz assembled and 2 lb 2 oz packed. Another maker lists a version of its lightest chair at 1 lb 1.5 oz trail weight and 1 lb 3 oz packed.

Rule of thumb: compare chairs by the same number. If one listing gives trail weight and another gives packed weight, you're comparing a sandwich to a sandwich in a lunchbox. And if you carry the bag, carry the packed number in your head too.

The table sorts by the weight the maker states. For a pack trip, that sort order is the one that matters most. For a car camp, it's nice and not much more.

Expect the lightest chairs to sit lowest

Here's the trade nobody prints on the box. When makers shave weight, the seat comes down and the frame shrinks. One maker says it plainly in its own comparison: the lighter chair has a lower seat profile, while the heavier one is a full-size chair with a higher seat and slightly larger dimensions.

A lower seat is fine for a 30-year-old on a sandbar. It's a different story at the end of a long day with stiff knees. Getting into a low sling is easy. Getting out of one is a two-step move, and the second step sometimes needs a tree. (I've used the tree. The tree didn't mind.)

Jess's take, and she's a physical therapist: "A low seat is a squat with a backrest. If you can't squat that low and stand up without your hands, buy the taller chair."

Seat height shows in the table when the maker or the listing states it. Check it against a chair you already own. Measure your kitchen chair from floor to the front edge of the seat and you have a baseline that doesn't argue.

Weight capacity runs lower as the poles get thinner

Thinner poles mean a lower rating. One maker lists 265 lb for its lightest chair and 320 lb for its full-size one. Its guide adds a condition that applies to every sling chair: the rating assumes your weight is spread evenly.

That condition is the important part. A sling chair takes your weight through the fabric into four pole tips. Drop into it sideways, lean hard on one corner to reach the cooler, or rock back on two legs, and you put a lot of load on one pole and one hub.

Read capacity as a ceiling. Leave room for your November coat, the pack in your lap and the boots you didn't take off. The table shows the stated capacity for each chair; if you're near the top of it, the heavy duty camping chair page is the better place to shop.

Packed size decides which bag it rides in

Packed size is a length and two widths. One maker's full-size chair packs to 14 by 4.5 by 4.5 inches; its lightest packs to 14 by 4 by 4 inches. That's a water-bottle pocket for the small one and the inside of a daypack for the bigger one.

Measure the place it has to go before you buy. A side pocket, a kayak hatch and a bike pannier all have hard limits. A chair that's half an inch too long rides outside the pack and snags every branch on the way to the stand.

Frame and hubs are where the chair holds together

Almost every chair in this class uses aluminum poles. The material is the same story you've heard from tent poles: light, stiff, and it bends instead of springing back if you abuse it. Shock cord inside the poles keeps the sections together so you can't lose one in the leaves.

The hubs matter just as much. They're molded plastic (one maker calls its hubs resin, another calls them nylon resin), and every pole tip seats into one. A cracked hub is a chair you can't sit in. Check both hubs and every pole socket at the start of the season, the same way you'd check a stand strap. Square and true, or it stays home.

One maker's chair adds a self-equalizing center pole that levels the seat on uneven ground. That's worth knowing if your camp, like ours, doesn't have a flat spot that isn't already the driveway.

Feet decide whether you sink

This is the one most people learn the hard way. Four thin pole tips on soft ground act like tent stakes. You sit down level and slowly settle toward the back left corner.

Makers know it, and they sell fixes:

• Wide rubber feet that spread your weight across sand, dirt and grass
• A cross strap tied between the legs, which one maker says increases the ground surface area and keeps the legs from sinking
• A ground sheet the whole chair stands on, for a wide, stable base

One maker's guide says to use its chair on flat, solid surfaces only. If your sitting spot is a soft field edge, a sandy riverbank or the mud by the boat ramp, budget for one of those fixes. It weighs a few ounces. One maker lists its ground sheet at 7 oz, which is the price of not tipping.

Back height and seat width are where comfort hides

Back height and seat width show in the table when the maker or the listing states them. A low back makes a lighter chair; it also means your head has nothing to rest on. A narrow seat saves fabric and weight; it also means your elbows go somewhere.

If you sit for an hour at a time (a still-hunt break, a long lunch on the ridge), a taller back is worth a few ounces. If you sit for ten minutes to eat a sandwich, a camp stool might be all you need.

Kinds of ultralight chairs and when to choose which

The smallest backpacking chairs

The lightest, lowest and smallest chairs a maker builds. They make sense when weight is the whole story: overnight pack trips, a long walk to a far stand, a bike trip where every bag is full. Expect a low seat and a lower capacity.

Full-size ultralight chairs

Same pole-and-hub design, bigger frame and higher seat. These are the chairs most people mean when they say "lightweight camping chair". One maker's full-size chair weighs 13 oz more than its lightest, and it still packs small enough for a daypack.

High-back and specialty versions

Taller backs, extra-wide seats, rocking feet and beach versions use the same idea with more fabric and more pole. They're heavier, but most still beat a steel folding chair by a wide margin. For a recline, the reclining camping chair page covers the types built for it.

Setting it up without a fight

The first assembly is the slowest. After that it's quicker than finding the coffee.

1. Unroll the poles and let the shock cord pull every section together. Check that each joint is fully seated, with no gap.
2. Seat every pole end into its hub socket.
3. Hook the seat's corner pockets over the pole tips. One maker's guide suggests laying the chair on its back after the first corners go on, which makes the last ones easier to stretch.
4. Set it on flat, solid ground, add feet or a sheet if the ground is soft, and sit straight down.

Be careful during assembly. The last corner goes on under tension, and one maker's guide warns about injury while assembling. Keep fingers out from between the pocket and the pole tip.

To pack it, makers describe rolling the frame up inside the folded seat and sliding the bundle into the bag. Pull poles apart at the joints, never by stretching the shock cord.

Care that keeps a light chair light

Light gear doesn't forgive much. A few habits keep it working:

• Spot-clean only: one maker says the seat isn't machine washable and should be spot-cleaned with warm water; another adds mild soap and a sponge, and says to skip machine washing, tumble drying, bleach and dry cleaning
• Dry it before it goes in the bag: both makers say to let the seat dry fully before packing
• Store it cool and dry, in its stuff sack, away from heat
• Shake grit out of the hubs and pole ends; sand in a socket wears it out
• Check the shock cord each spring; when it goes slack, poles fall apart in your hands

A wet chair rolled up in October and opened in May is a science project. Ask anybody who has opened one.

Keep it back from the fire

One maker's guide says to keep its chair away from excessive heat and open flames. Thin nylon and plastic hubs don't take heat well. Smokey Bear's campfire guidance is to clear an area at least 10 feet across around the fire and to keep tents and other gear at least 15 feet away.

Who should skip an ultralight camping chair

Skip it if you car camp and the chair rides 30 feet from the tailgate to the fire ring. A heavier folding chair with a higher seat, a cup holder and arms costs you nothing on that walk. The main camping chair page covers those.

Skip it if getting out of a low seat is already a project. The lightest chairs sit lowest; buy height instead, even if it weighs more.

Skip it if you're near the top of the capacity ratings, or if you like to lean, rock or slouch sideways. A sling on thin poles wants you sitting square.

My one opinion on this page: buy an ultralight chair for the walk, not for the fire ring. The reason is the trade the makers state themselves. Lighter means a lower seat and a smaller frame, and a chair built for the pack is still fabric and plastic that one maker says to keep away from open flames. If your chair never leaves the truck bed, you're paying in comfort for ounces you never carry.

If it does leave the truck, though, nothing else comes close. Pack it last, set it up first, and keep the bag where you can find it on the way out.