10 Best Backpacking Chairs of 2026
A backpacking chair is a luxury item that can make the camping portion of a backpacking trip much more enjoyable and relaxed. If you like to sit around a campfire to socialize at night or read outdoors while sitting upright, bringing a trail chair along can really enhance a backpacking trip. With trail weights between 1 and 2 pounds, the added weight of carrying a backpacking chair isn’t that onerous, especially if it’s offset by using ultralight backpacking gear.
Here are the best lightweight backpacking and camping chairs we recommend.
| Make / Model | Weight | Seat Height | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Helinox Chair Zero LT | 16.3 | 7" | $160 |
| REI Flexlite Air Chair | 16 oz | 11" | $100 |
| NEMO Moonlite Chair | 30 oz | 10.5" | $170 |
| Helinox Ground Chair | 23 oz | 4" | $140 |
| Big Agnes Skyline UL Chair | 28 oz | 15" | $200 |
| Grand Trunk Mayfly Chair | 25.6 oz | 3-8" | $90 |
| Trekology Yizi Lite | 26.5 oz | 9.8" | $54 |
| Crazy Creek Hex 2.0 | 20.8 oz | 0.5" | $70 |
| REI Flexlite Air Stool | 11.5 oz | 17" | $70 |
| Hillsound BTR Stool | 14.1 oz | 17" | $90 |
1. Helinox Chair Zero LT
2. REI Flexlite Air Chair
3. NEMO Moonlite Reclining Chair
4. Helinox Ground Chair
The Helinox Ground Chair has a square base that spreads the load more evenly than feet, meaning it is not as likely to sink into the ground. Setup is fast and easy with shock-corded poles and intuitive seat attachments. Its supportive 500-denier polyester seat features breathable monofilament mesh side panels to keep you comfortable in hot environments. The only thing missing is an ottoman to prop your feet on. Read the SectionHiker Ground Chair Review.
5. Big Agnes Skyline UL Chair
6. Grand Trunk Mayfly Low Ground Chair
7. Trekkology Yizi Lite Chair
8. Crazy Creek Hex 2.0
9. REI Flexlite Air Stool
10. Hillsound BTR Stool
How to Choose a Backpacking Trail Chair
There are several types of trail chairs available today: 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.
Price
The cost of a backpacking chair can vary widely depending on the type of chair you want. Upright chairs with backs and shock-corded poles are usually the most expensive, while the price drops the closer you get to the ground with sit pads or sleeping pad chair kits. In addition to price, we’d encourage you to consider warranties and return policies as well. For example, Helinox offers a 5-year warranty on all of their chairs, including the Helinox Chair Zero and the Helinox Ground Chair, which we think speaks volumes about the quality of their product. Purchases made of REI products or through REI also have a 1 year money-back guarantee, which is helpful if you find that the chair you choose doesn’t stack up.
Chair Weight
While chair weight is important, you need to balance it against the weight capacity of the chair to ensure it can hold your body weight, seat height, and packability. For example, the Big Agnes Skyline UL Chair is probably the best chair for big and tall backpackers, but it is significantly heavier than the Helinox Chair Zero or the REI Flexlite Air Chair.
Weight Capacity
When choosing a trail chair, make sure it can support your body weight or the weight of the people who will be using it. You don’t want to break the chair or hurt yourself by having it collapse under you. The NEMO Moonlite Reclining Chair is the strongest upright chair listed below with an extra-thick frame followed by the Big Agnes Skyline UL. Both are suitable for tall and big backpackers.
Seat Height
Trail chairs that are low to the ground like the Helinox Ground Chair can be very difficult to get up from. We generally aim for chairs that have a seat height of 10″. Much lower and you’ll want to add deep squats to your weekday workouts to get in shape to get up from your trail chair. But this is one of those things that varies from individual to individual. If you don’t mind crawling in the dirt, a low chair or sit pad may be perfectly suitable for you.
Seat Width
Seat width is another dimension of comfort that is important to consider because you want a chair that is going to be big enough for your butt. Stools like the REI Trail Stool are a good option if you don’t like having your derriere squeezed from the sides by a seat, as are sit pads like the NEMO Chipper or the REI Sit Pad.
Back Support
If back support is a priority, you’re going to want to get a chair like the NEMO Moonlite Reclining Chair which has an adjustable back angle, or the Big Agnes Skyline UL Chair which is more upright than other chairs.
Chair Feet
Most trail chairs will sink in soil, sand, or soft ground which can be pretty annoying because it makes it much harder to stand up and get out of your chair. When comparing chairs, look for ones with wide feet or accessories that prevent sinking. These can add cost and weight to the chair to make it usable in the field that offset the chair’s weight. For example, the Helinox Chair Zero has an added accessory groundsheet that prevents the chair from sinking in soft soil and sand. It costs and weighs extra though. The NEMO Moonlite and the REI Trail Stool have wider feet than other chairs, but they can still sink into the ground in certain cases. Our favorite accessory is a product called Chair Buddies (see our review), made in the UK, which attach to chair legs and prevent sinking. They’re only compatible with the Helinox Chair Zero and the REI Flexlite Chair though.
Packability
Since you have to carry a backpacking chair, you should give some consideration to how you pack it and how much extra volume it will take. Do you want to have the chair accessible for use during the day without unpacking your backpack or just in camp? If you pack it in your pack, how much extra volume will it consume? These are all useful considerations when choosing a backpacking chair.
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With bilateral knee replacements, my days of deep squats and crawling in the dirt are long over. I could charge admission for the entertainment of watching me get up off the floor! I enjoy using the BA Skyline chair. For me, its weight is worth having a dry, comfortable place to sit if I’m not going to camp at a shelter. I DIY’d a groundsheet from a nearly-weightless birdseed bag.
Chair Buddies site appears to be broken or offline.
Typo on nemo weight in first data table.
Actually, it’s not a typo. Go to the Nemo website and check. I’ve also verified it in review.
The Stansport camp stool never gets any attention. It straps to the outside of my pack so it’s always ready for quick deployment. 1lb and used to be cheap$ I’ve had the same one for atleast 10 years.
Great list! One addition/annex to #5 is the BA skyline stool. 17 oz and 15” height.
Glad you are tackling this important topic.
After 50+ years of backpacking and hiking I’m sick and tired of sitting on a log or rock that’s never level or comfortable.
Over this last year I’ve looked at every category of kit I carry. After spending lots of money and getting a lighter base weight I feel I can now splurge on and take a chair.
Since then I’ve purchased two. First is my Stansport stool. It’s light packs easily and is reasonably comfortable.
It’s higher than my true camp chair which makes it easier to enter and exit. It’s also easier to bend over to eat and do chores if needed. That said it’s not a chair you can take a nap in given the opportunity. Nor will it give back support something I long for at days end.
The other is my Helionox Chair Zero. Harder to set up than the stool for those quick breaks on the trail. For that the Stansport wins the day.
The Helo is good for a nap and relaxing but that’s about it. It’s lower and harder to get in and out of. It’s back support is tops so those long trail days are easier to take. It’s hard to consume food while in it as everything that’s spilled gets right on your lap something the stool easily avoids.
I see both being good options. For a day hike the stool will go . For backpacking it’s a tossup but I would lean toward the chair. We shall see as the chair has yet to be tested in real world conditions.
I wonder if a Carbon Fiber chair which would be lighter has been made? . Everything else is now made of Carbon why not a chair?
Hope this helps.
Yes! I have a 1.5 carbon fiber chair. It’s by MSnaile. I got it from Amazon. It showed up days later, which is really fast considering we are covered in feet of snow, even in the roads. It is very sturdy and comfortable and easy to set up. For about $60., it is an amazing and very attractive dupe.
The ground here is very wet and cold all the time that it is not covered in snow. It’s also full of rocks, tree roots, bear scat. I take The Chair. No one has ever made fun of it. Its noce to sit on a chair at the end of the day.
I purchased an AntiiMatter chair. It’s surprisingly comfortable although it doesn’t get you off the ground (but neither do Crazy Creek chairs). Weighs 8 oz in stuff stack. 6.7 without.
https://www.garagegrowngear.com/products/antimatter-chair-by-no-matter-products?srsltid=ARcRdno8X9mXCqScBsaS06IXUvuXQlQTpYvlv9OsO1ccr69z5NXXRqgN
I’m one of those who can no longer get up from a low position. When I compared weight and seat height, plus cost, the REI won. I was able to get a set of chair buddies (round discs to put on the leg bottoms to keep from sinking in soft dirt or sand. I haven’t had to use them yet. I may play with making a mat from Dyneemy with corner pockets for the chair leg ends. I also have one of those super light folding foam pads for quick stops and damp surfaces. It can also go under ones sleeping pad for a bit more padding and insulation.
Great review! A scrap of Tyvek and duct tape makes for a DIY ground cloth so you don’t sink in to soft sand
I have a Helinox Chair Zero. I get told its a waste, but it is fantastic. Its a pound, its sturdy, water doesn’t hurt it. WHY? I live in Alaska. There is snow on the ground from October till April or May. When that is gone, it’s always cold and wet. And full of scat. We have several types of bears – believe it or not both thrive around Anchorage. Plenty to eat, and there are trees. The further North or East you go, less bear. Also wolf poop, Moose poop, all sorts of animals….and tree roots and rocks. The Anchorage area has an active volcano within 75 miles. Oh, and I am 63.
I recently got a copy of the Chair Zero type on Amazon sold by “Snail”. Its about $60 bucks at the time I purchased it. Its a pound and a half, sturdy, made of carbon fiber. It is a STEAL. Packs down really small. Its comfy too.
I have the BTR camp stool, and I love it. It sacrifices back support, but the advantage of the stool are that I can keep it in a side pocket of my pack & quickly deploy it so that I can sit — I don’t even have to take off my pack. (That makes it easier to convince a tired friend to take a short break & sit down.) I also like being a little bit higher off the ground than the lightweight chairs’ seat deck.
Shortly after buying it, I listened to a podcast that explained the empirical research that shows sitting in upright improves recovery. As we age, recovery is more important. People don’t quibble much about carrying a heavier but far more comfortable sleeping pad/mattress, but they’ll act like a camp chair is the equivalent of carrying a cast iron frying pan. For this creaky-boned old broad, that less-than-a-pound camp stool is worth the extra weight.