light weight camp chair?

[caverdude]

Anyone know of a good light weight camp chair that can be packed easily? I have noticed that when primitive camping the one thing I miss is a chair to sit in/on while cooking and sitting around the camp fire. I guess the problem is that a chair would have to be fairly heavy to support a 230lb individual.

[Perfesser]

When hunting I take a "beach" style lawn chair. The kind that is only a foot or so tall. It's rigged with shoulder straps but I don't carry a pack, much prefer web gear. A 1.5" foam butt pad goes between the chair and my back. Quite comfy but too wide for thick bush.   If that isn't to your liking why not a hammock?
Hang from a couple of trees and sit sideways.

[fritz_monroe]

Does it have to be lightweight because you are backpacking in?  If so, how about a folding camp stool?  Not all that comfortable, but does what it is supposed to do.

[patrat]

The original Crazy Creek chair designs were decently portable and doubled as a sleep pad, though it wasnt especially comfortable in either capacity.

[ttubravesrock]

There are new Crazy Creek style chairs that are designed to hold your sleeping pad.  I think they are marketed by Thermarest.

If you go with them, I highly recommend the following:

1) Don't use an inflatable foam pad. (Actually I would recommend not using them anyway because they do not insulate you from the cold as well and they are prone to leaking.)
2) They are terribly uncomfortable sitting flat on the ground, but they are great if you treat them more like a rocking chair or one of those video game chairs. It feels like sitting on a hammock that just barely touches the ground.

[chezrad]

Build a hammock chair. Lightweight, small, comfortable if made large enough. Only question, are there trees where you camp?

[Garandman]

Does it have to be lightweight because you are backpacking in?  If so, how about a folding camp stool?  Not all that comfortable, but does what it is supposed to do.

That's what I use. 

Alite makes a couple that are light and easy to collapse, but not full height.

http://alitedesigns.com/

[caverdude]

Does it have to be lightweight because you are backpacking in?  If so, how about a folding camp stool?  Not all that comfortable, but does what it is supposed to do.

This camp stool looks like what i was considering.. so far tree's have not been close enough to the fire rings on the last 2 trips to make the hammock useful in this way. That mantis chair looks like it would be good for resting but not sitting up and cooking. Yes I like the camp stool, I wonder how much it weighs in at.

[fritz_monroe]

They are surprisingly heavy.  That one's Amazon page says that it is 2 lbs.

[Nicodemus]

My recent interest in a solid camp chair has gone into the DIY realm.

I've gone through too many camp chairs to keep dishing out a lot of dough on them, and most of them are really unwieldy in spite of their ability to fold up.

Granted I live, hike and camp in areas where wood is easily found.

[ridge rover]

I have this tripod stool. Its one pound.
http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___41192

This one is one pound 7 oz. The difference between the two seem to be the set-up size as stated.
http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___41198


I carry a towel size piece of parachute material I had sewed into bandana style. I use it for chairs, tables, etc.


Kifaru has reissued an older item. Its fashioned after an indian tripod chair. It is expensive, but may give you some improvisational ideas.
http://store.kifaru.net/field-chair-p27.aspx

[caverdude]

I have this tripod stool. Its one pound.
http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___41192

This one is one pound 7 oz. The difference between the two seem to be the set-up size as stated.
http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___41198


I carry a towel size piece of parachute material I had sewed into bandana style. I use it for chairs, tables, etc.


Kifaru has reissued an older item. Its fashioned after an indian tripod chair. It is expensive, but may give you some improvisational ideas.
http://store.kifaru.net/field-chair-p27.aspx

very nice. I think I will try one of these. Also I had the idea the other day of something like a mini hammock used solely as a chair. Which would work if you had two trees close enough to the fire ring.

[ridge rover]

The book Nuclear War Survival Skills has some insight and pics to check out. Here's the link to the pics. Pic figure 14.5 is most interesting. You will notice the similarity to chairs and hammocks of ships of old.
http://www.oism.org/nwss/s73p925.htm


I still haven't found a pic of the indian floor tripod chair yet.

[LdMorgan]

Search Google or You Tube  for "Australian Bush Chair".

If you can set up a cooking tripod you can set up a comfy-chair.

[Jack Crabb]

I tried one of these, Alite Designs Monarch Chair http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007YR1CAO/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1. At 21 oz., they have back support, are compact, and fairly well made.

[caverdude]

Search Google or You Tube  for "Australian Bush Chair".

If you can set up a cooking tripod you can set up a comfy-chair.

That is cool and all one needs is a square of heavy material and some cordage. It is now illegal to cut live trees on public lands in the USA for this purpose. You can use dead wood, though there may come a day when they say you can't because you are disturbing habitat. So that leaves this type of chair for private lands. 

[BillP38]

Search Google or You Tube  for "Australian Bush Chair".

If you can set up a cooking tripod you can set up a comfy-chair.

Not sure if this is the video you meant, funny thing in the "end"....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XWEU1A0qmI

[LdMorgan]

OW! 

Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b47kv8__B7o

than a comfy-chair designed by Vlad the Impaler.

[endurance]

You can also use your walking stick and use it to prop up your pack at a near 90 degree angle.  It's always made a comfortable chair for me on the trail.  Go ahead, lean back and as long as you have your walking stick digging into the ground and the other end under the top pouch of your pack, you're not going anywhere.

[Adam B.]

I picked up one of these before backpacking in the snow this weekend and it was BY FAR the most useful thing I picked up.

http://www.rei.com/product/829826/therm-a-rest-z-lite-sol-sleeping-pad,-silver/limon,-small?preferredSku=8298260001&cm_mmc=cse_froogle-_-pla-_-product-_-8298260001&mr:referralID=aad54f49-8b58-11e2-a969-001b2166c2c0

Drape it over some rocks, and you have a way to keep your butt dry. Lay it over a log or two and you have a padded chair. You can even unfold it in such a way that if you have 2 uneven logs you can unfold 2 sections on one side, and 5 or 6 on the other side to get a padded seat that comforms to an uneven surface such as two logs laying side by side.

You can drop it on the ground, and lay it over a rock behind you to make a "woodland recliner" — and then you can lay on it when you go to sleep and have a nice way to keep moisture and the rock hard ground from bothering you at night. AND it is so lightweight that you would never even know it is there (if you can find a way to strap it to your pack).

Another thing you can do I have seen — IF there is a proper overhanging branch is to make a "Paracord Towel Chair"

http://www.instructables.com/id/Super-easy-Paracord-Camp-Chair/

Just throw a couple lines over the branch and tie up the corners of a towel and you have a nice camp chair — or swing — which can come in handy for various things!

[caverdude]

Ok I bought the trip pod chair. I also bought a $12 camp toilet seat stand from campmor, though not for packing. Will use it when camping at the BOV or from the BOV or maybe at the BOL.

Thanks for all the ideas so far guys, I hope to try some of those improvised camp seats. It looks like for some of them you need the right situation, but some of those designs will come in handy.

[ridge rover]

Here's a link to the native American version of a campfire/tipi chair. Google willow backrest chair for other info like construction, etc.

http://www.jedediah-starr.com/closeup.asp?cid=109&pid=2162&offset=0

[caverdude]

Here's a link to the native American version of a campfire/tipi chair. Google willow backrest chair for other info like construction, etc.

http://www.jedediah-starr.com/closeup.asp?cid=109&pid=2162&offset=0

Another Rondevois supplier, awesome.

[theangler]

If I'm canoeing / car camping I'll bring a regular fold up camp chair, but if hiking / backpacking nothing.  For me, it's not worth the weight.

[caverdude]

If I'm canoeing / car camping I'll bring a regular fold up camp chair, but if hiking / backpacking nothing.  For me, it's not worth the weight.

I'm 43 and I find that getting on my knees or sitting Indian cross leg style is not an option anymore. I did buy the campmor trip chair. It is great. weights 1lb and sturdy materials. I'd say you still need to be a bit careful when sitting down and not plop down too hard. Would also be a nice hunting chair.

[theangler]

I hear ya caverdude, I'm sure that the knees will catch up to me eventually.  I happened to be in EMS today and saw this: http://www.amazon.com/Byer-Maine-TriLite-Folding-Stool/dp/B005CZYK7W

[caverdude]

I know I didn't mistype tripod twice above (trip) oh well. yes that looks like a good one to try too. I will by several of these over time and keep extra's in my BOV for times when a group camps next to BOV. BTW thats what Arkansas state parks call Primitive Camping. you park and setup tent next to your vehicle. That is with other camp sites all around you.

[Adam B.]

I have gone into backpacking campsites several miles back in the woods to come up on sites where people have gone to elaborate lengths to make chairs and recliners out of ROCKS and/or wood.

I remember this one where someone ambitious built a bunch of "rock recliners" around a fire ring in a circle — and draping your therma-rest over the rocks made them just as comfortable as a lazy-boy recliner — but 10x more awesome. They even had arm rests.

Just another idea, something else you won't have to carry — albeit I never have that much ambition myself after going on a 10 mile hike all loaded down.

[burbot]

Even though you decided on the tripod chair, I thought I'd add my 2 cents for others.  I had a tripod chair that had legs that broke apart in half, but were held together by an elastic cord so they didn't come completely apart.  The chair would then fit inside a pouch no more than 4" in diameter and maybe 10" long.  The pouch had a clip that would attach to a belt loop, pack, etc.  It was my favorite chair to carry while hunting on those duck trips you may move from small pond to small pond, roving an area finding various dove spots, still hunting for deer, flyfishing for trout, and even ice fishing.  Anytime you were doing a lot of walking, but wanted to sit for a while it was perfect.  Extremely light and easy to carry and comfortable enough to sit on for a while.  Lost it on bowhunting opener/dove trip last year and will replace it soon.  Would be a great backpacking chair for those who don't like to or are just too uncomfortable to sit on the ground or where the terrain doesn't supply the rocks or down trees for places to rest.