Ultra-Light Camp Chairs: Our new Cascade Mountain Tech Ultra-light camp chairs are new additions to our outdoor living space. They are new, and long-term testing isn’t done—actually, long-term testing hasn’t even started. They are our new back-of-the-car ultra-light camp chairs; we are taking them everywhere and getting lots of use out of them.
Our new ultra-light camp chairs are ideal for traveling; they are small, lightweight, and easy to use (more later). However, establishing some background, camp chairs have always been an unsettled issue for us.
Our most tested chair
Our most tested, longest-life, most comfortable camp chair is from Costco. The real name is Timber Ridge, and the nickname is zero gravity. It seems that the zero-gravity chair was patented in 2015, and now it seems that there are many manufacturers of the same chair. Ours is a little faded after using it nearly every day for over three years, but it still works perfectly. It is a lounge/recliner chair. Falling asleep is a possible result of overuse. It even has a built-in drink table. I have seen other chairs of this style. They are supported by bungee cords along the sides; ours has a cover over the bungee cords. It is heavy and bulky. If the weather is bad, we just fold it up to stow it out of the rain, but other than that, it gets zero care.
Durable?
Every other chair we have used has died a slow death. They also are treated the same way as the Timber Ridge zero-gravity chair. I say “they” because I am now on the second one. I got the first one in the summer of 2017. It lasted about a year and a half. I replaced it with the same chair in a different color. This chair has the same heavy, bulky character as the zero-gravity but fades dramatically in the sun to the point the fabric rips at stress points.
It is comfortable, and both are identical except for color. The best feature is the back support. The problem is that these chairs are not durable. One chair is good for a year and a half. For the last half-year, it has looked pretty ragged. Yes, we fold it up and stow it out of the rain.
The problem with heavy and bulky is that we don’t have room to put them away anytime we are not using them. The problem isn’t how often we sit in them but rather the weather. We try to use them every day. Of course, we don’t get to; sometimes, we are out having fun.
Guest chairs
We also have two other camp chairs that are lighter and reserved for guests, so we don’t get them out unless we have guests. They are smaller and slightly lighter and live in the back of the car. They are also our out-and-about chairs. This has changed now; our ultra-light camp chairs from Cascade Mountain Tech are our out-and-about chairs. Pretty soon, they may be our guest chairs.
The unwritten campsite chair code
One of the campsite codes—I call it the chair code—is that if you are two people camping and you get out two chairs, you are sending out the signal that you are not receiving visitors. Chatting should be short. If you get out four chairs and are only occupying two chairs, then visitors are either expected, or you are at least open for a visit.
Sometimes, we get all the chairs out when we expect visitors (for us, that was four chairs), but we usually only get out two. Sometimes, we get groups of more than two visitors or other visitors, and we have to ask people to bring their chairs (and drinks). That was precisely the way we found our ultra-light camp chairs.
New ultra-light camp chairs from Cascade Mountain
What if camp chairs were lighter weight (much lighter) and smaller when folded, (much smaller) when folded? Our new ultra-light camp chairs were designed for just that. We could fit eight of our new ultra-light camp chairs in the same space as our zero-gravity lounger. Even with eight of these new chairs, the total weight of eight chairs wouldn’t be close to equal to our zero gravity.
Cascade Mountain Tech Chairs
These chairs weren’t designed for RVing, but RVers should take note. Short-distance backpackers may also want to take note. I wouldn’t have taken them up Mount Whitney, but I would have taken them on many short camping trips. They are small enough to almost fit in a fishing tackle box.
These ultra-light camp chairs are cleverly designed with strong, lightweight, shock-corded tubular aluminum legs. They fold easily but always return to their correct shape when ready for the nylon seat. At the bottom of each leg is a large sand foot that keeps the foot above the surface in very soft dirt.
Trick Assembly
The trick to assembly is to assemble the backstays into the nylon fabric pockets before inserting the shock cord ends into the plastic hub. Always finish the back before working on the seat. After putting the backstays into the nylon pockets, insert the shock cord into the plastic hub.
After working on the back, assemble the seat. With the seat “stays” in the plastic hub, insert the free end of these stays into the fabric seat pockets. The loops at each corner make this easier. Before using the chair, ensure all the stays are fully inserted into the nylon seat pockets and plastic joints.
Comfort
They look a little small, and I look a little big, but I assure you they are as comfortable as any camp chair that I have used. A real advantage is that they have a tall back and even a tiny, two-position pillow attached to the back with Velcro. Another good thing for me is that they don’t have arms. The lack of arms makes the chairs ideal for playing the guitar.
As far as drink holders are concerned, nope. I have been talking to the manufacturer about making an ultra-light end table with the ultra-light camp chairs. We will see where that goes in the future.
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Links
At Costco, Remember I mentioned that our heaviest chair came from Costco — well, so did these chairs. Or they are available directly from the manufacturer online at this link. Cascade Mountain Tech
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