I get it. Generally, it’s exhausting to justify packing a camp chair on a backpacking journey. It looks as if a luxurious merchandise we’d not have area for, selecting to sit down uncomfortably on a slanting log, awkward boulder, or within the dust hunched over our camp range. However as of late, it turns into simpler and simpler to justify when a chair just like the REI Co-op Flexlite Air ($100) packs all the way down to virtually nothing — and might solely add a pound extra weight.
The Flexlite Air is the smallest and lightest addition to the REI tenting chair quiver and is a superb selection for ultralight backpackers and leisure campers alike. At a mid-range value level, this snug seat is insanely mild, weighing a mere 16 ounces. For that weight, it’s exhausting to make an excuse to not convey it alongside on each backpacking journey.
I measured this chair towards a number of different prime contenders in our general assessment of backpacking chairs, holding the Flexlite as much as rigorous testing requirements and testing it over the course of a number of months and thru totally different seasons.
This chair got here out on tenting journeys to the Alabama Hills in Southern California and routinely acquired dragged out to yard hangouts, and I had varied associates of various heights and weights sit down and provides their two cents. The reviews had been unanimous: that is the perfect seat in camp.
Briefly: The REI Co-op Flexlite Air Chair is impossibly mild, making it the right companion for backpacking journeys the place you need to bask in some additional consolation however don’t need to add an excessive amount of additional weight. At an inexpensive value, it’s an important selection for area of interest ultralight backpackers and informal campers alike.
The Flexlite Air Chair at present enjoys the Finest Total designation in our Finest Backpacking Chairs Purchaser’s Information — try the lineup to see how the Flexlite measures up towards the remainder of the market.
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Weight
16 oz. -
Seat top
11″ -
Weight restrict
250 lbs. -
Packed dimension
5″ x 16” -
Supplies
Ripstop nylon and aluminum
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Light-weight at simply 1 pound -
Fast and simple setup -
Aluminum poles are sturdy and seat securely -
11″ seat top is about good for kicking again or sitting at a desk -
Reasonably priced pricing
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Slim legs make it really feel barely unstable -
Again help is not the perfect on the market
REI Co-op Flexlite Air Chair: Assessment
First Impressions
The primary time I dealt with it, I used to be severely impressed that you might purchase a chair this ultralight at a comparatively inexpensive value. The legs on the REI Co-op Flexlite Air Chair are fairly skinny and, due to this fact, don’t encourage the utmost confidence of all of the chairs I’ve ever examined, however that is the trade-off for the load.
Feeling mild as a feather straight out of the bag, the 16 ounces of the Flexlite Air is lighter than most choices on the market — together with the base-model Flexlite Chair it’s cousins with.
This camp chair’s two-leg aluminum body design makes setup simple, too. The joints pop simply into place within the plastic hubs when coaxed, and the seat top of 11 inches lets you sit up comfortably with out feeling too low to the bottom. The material stretches simply over the body, and the seat is snug proper out of the gate.
When the time involves roll out, the Flexlite folds down rapidly and simply into an included, light-weight stuff sack. There’s no wrestle to squeeze the supplies again into the stuff sack, which is tremendously appreciated, and when packed, the chair is concerning the dimension of a Nalgene bottle — good for sliding into the bottle pocket in your pack.
Flexlite Air Has Obtained Your Again
The Flexlite Air consists of two components — a collapsible aluminum body and a sling of ripstop nylon material. Whereas different designs go for mesh of their seats for breathability, the Flexlite Air retains it easy with a single panel of light-weight nylon.
This not solely reduces irritating seam traces, nevertheless it additionally retains issues stronger by lowering the variety of failure factors. The seat itself is snug and supportive, and that 11” seat top strikes steadiness between being low sufficient to the bottom to sit back, however excessive sufficient to sit down up at a small desk and play card video games.
Whereas another chairs have deep, scooped seats, the Flexlite Air is a little more taut, permitting you to sit down up straighter. The again help is ample, although not noteworthy, with a 22-inch whole top.
Ultimately, the Flexlite Air’s consolation is nothing to put in writing dwelling about, however for a mere 1-pound weight, it’s loads snug sufficient! When you think about that even backless camp stools weigh extra, you get a good suggestion of the worth of the commerce right here.
REI determined to go together with an uncommon body design with the Flexlite sequence — the aluminum body has 4 small legs linked by a strut that runs entrance to again as a substitute of facet to facet like different chair designs. This would possibly work higher if the legs had been decrease and additional aside. And whereas it’s a bit tippier than another chairs I’ve examined, it nonetheless has a agency grip on terra firma.
Inevitable rocking motions when reaching ahead for one more marshmallow or leaning over to fireside up your Jetboil can lead to an unstable feeling because the chair teeters together with your weight with out counterbalance help from the tall again. After a night of sitting within the chair, you study to foretell it, and by the top of the night time, I had no points kicking again.
As virtually a trade-off, this design opens up a unique type of stability, and that’s if you happen to lean your weight backward to search for the celebs. With much less probability of toppling over in your light-weight chair, we might watch the night time roll by, not like another extra upright chairs.
The Measurement of a Nalgene and a Handful of Ounces
I already knew the Flexlite Air would take the cake on this class, however the dimension and weight for the value level of this chair are positively value repeating. A mere 1 pound, even ultralight backpackers would have problem discovering a motive to show their noses up at this worthwhile piece of drugs.
Folded up, its dimensions are 5 x 16 inches, and its legs are much less cumbersome than different chairs I’ve examined, making it a pleasant, small package deal. Its stuff sack provides just a few extra grams of weight however can also be one thing a diehard UL’er might depart behind in the event that they so select.
Though it’s among the many lightest precise chairs obtainable, it doesn’t skimp on dimension, sustaining the identical basic dimensions as different backpacking chairs. It shaves weight in its small aluminum body and minimalist ripstop nylon material whereas nonetheless having a 250-pound weight capability. The Helinox Chair Zero is an in depth competitor right here, however even it’s 2 ounces heavier — although it does sport a barely increased weight capability of 265 kilos.
Ease of Setup
Like most traditional backpacking chairs in the marketplace at this time, the Flexlite Air is a breeze to arrange. The aluminum body consists of joints that fold away for storage and join to one another simply. Simply unfold the legs, that are all already linked by way of an inner twine, and snap them into place.
Whereas the joints on this explicit chair aren’t fairly as easy as another fashions, which just about snap into place themselves, the Flexlite remains to be a no brainer to arrange, taking a complete of 30 seconds and ending with stretching the nylon seat over the legs.
Room for Enhancements
Our largest gripe with this chair most likely lies with the vertical orientation of the middle pole within the body as a substitute of the extra frequent horizontal one — comparable to seen on the NEMO Moonlite Camp Chair. This simply offers an already mild and prone-to-wobble chair an added feeling of insecurity, which might simply be solved by a slight design adjustment.
I’d like to see a model of this chair that sits even decrease to the bottom, shaving off much more ounces and changing into extra steady within the course of.
REI Co-op Flexlite Air Chair: Conclusion
If you happen to’re on the lookout for a top quality backpacking chair that’s among the many lightest of the sunshine, snug, and simple to pack, then the Flexlite Air Chair from REI Co-op is a improbable selection, in our e-book. Beating out different ultralight manufacturers in weight and value, this versatile choose will slip into your backpack practically imperceptibly.
I do know some die-hard backpackers who normally go for sitting within the dust over carrying something additional, however even they couldn’t deny that this chair was a wonderful selection throughout.
The body design is a novel one, and also you’ll want to present it a whirl a couple of times to make sure that it’s best for you. Fortunately, REI has this stuff popping out of its ears in storefronts nationwide, and take a look at ought to solely take a second or two. For many backpackers, nonetheless, I’d say it’s a non-issue, and definitely so whenever you take one other have a look at the load.
Carried on the surface of a backpacking pack, this chair is correct at dwelling and goes a great distance towards making your camp really feel that approach as soon as you set down stakes. Luxurious gadgets like backpacking chairs needs to be thought-about rigorously, however with regards to whether or not the Flexlite Air is value it or not, the reply is a convincing sure.
