Big Agnes Helinox Ground Chair

It's funny - up until fairly recently I would have considered something like this an unspeakable luxury item for backcountry hiking and camping. I mean, honestly...it's a shade over a full pound, it's a unitasker, and what it's designed for isn't, well, let's just say it isn't key to survival when you're outside of Normal.But then I sat in it, and I started to become converted. Indeed, I sat in a number of chairs, from the Chair One to REI's offering to a couple of Alite chairs and so on. I dabbled a bit with those fold-up-pillow-looking seats from Crazy Creek and the Thermarest Trekker, but those were, well, less than comfortable and they weren't real chairs anyway. I have to say, the Ground Chair here makes a pretty compelling case to be your full time hiking companion, even moreso than the Chair One.First, the weight, or rather the lack thereof. My guiding principle in packing is that ounces equal pounds. I'm not an obsessive gram watcher, but I do believe that there needs to be a lot of attention paid to one's load. The only thing I want to ruck that I'm not sure I'm going to need is a first aid kit. That said, my pack was already fairly light and, honestly, this thing is just over a pound. I put it in my pack and I didn't notice much if any difference. And besides - I kind of sold myself by saying one perq of shaving weight in other areas is to make room for ONE luxury item. As long as I don't continue to pack doo dads, this could be acceptable.Then there's the bulk factor, or again, the lack thereof. This thing folds small. VERY small. About the same diameter as a 32 oz Nalgene but roughly twice as long. It is designed to have two components...the seat and the frame...and if space is indeed an issue you can always pack the two separately. The seat can fold flat instead of being rolled around the frame, so that's an opportunity to save or redistribute some ccs of required space.It is, somewhat atypically of gear that packs down compactly, VERY easy to assemble. The frame is shock corded and practically assembles itself. Putting the seat on the frame is initially a bit of a tight fit, but as the chair gets broken in this will get a little easier over time. And more to the point...it's COMFORTABLE. Really. Maybe it's some weird iteration of Trail Magic, but taking a load off at the end of the day and sitting in this, well, it's just lovely.I also called this a unitasker, and maybe that's not entirely correct, at least in terms of sitting. The other chairs I tried pretty much had you locked in a reclining position. With this chair, I could sit up straight (and therefore tend to cooking my meal) or lean back and stretch my legs out. Indeed, there was no real way I *couldn't* sit. And that's quite marvelous for this chair. I appreciate that the support design means a chair leg isn't going to dig itself into soft soil (and yes, I get the hack that you can put tennis balls on the legs of the Chair One, but that means you have to carry four tennis balls around in your pack....). Yes, this does sit low to the ground like a beach chair (in contrast to the Chair One), but in my case that's ideal. If I can't cook from the chair then there's little point in my having it to begin with....and I can't cook from the Chair One.So to sum all this up - it's light. It's compact. It's easy to assemble. It's comfortable. And yes, it's a bit on the pricey side. In this case though (and I have to say, IMO in contrast to other Big Agnes offerings), I think it's an honest price point. It's buying you really outstanding engineering, design, and materials. So, against all expectations I had when I first sat in this thing as a lark, this chair has wormed its way into becoming part of my core kit. And I couldn't be happier.

I took this hiking this past weekend. I am reviewing this as a hiking/camping chair not a travel chair for concerts or the beach or something of that nature although it would be good for that. It would also make a great kids video game chair if you have way too much money and are fairly irresponsible with it. Also, If you are an ounce counter, this review is not for you. If you try to balance weight and comfort, keep reading.The poles are sturdier than tent poles. They are a little wider and a little thicker and they are all corded together which seems like a mess at first. What I started doing was taking them out and grabbing one pole and shaking it a little bit and most of them just pop into place where they need to be. You can have this chair up in less than 30 seconds. As other reviewers noted, it does sit low to the ground. I thought this was a feature not a detractor. I was able to stretch my legs out and relax which was great. It does make it a little harder to get in and out of but once you are there you don't want to get out of it anyway. If mobility is an issue for you though, this chair might not be the best choice for you but, you probably are also not hiking 15 miles into the backwoods anyway. The chair is also sturdy feeling and I was able to rock in it a little bit. Other chairs like this that I have sat in feel like they are going to fall over even on the hardest of ground. This chair is fine even on soft sand and slight inclines or declines.So why four stars instead of five? Two things:1. I have wide shoulders. The upper poles slide into my armpits when I sit in the chair regularly. It is not overly uncomfortable and easily fixed by slightly adjusting my position but, it is a little annoying. Most people are not going to have this problem. My girlfriend thinks it is great. Even if they made a wider one, I would pick this for the weight savings.2. No head rest. This would make the chair perfect (5 stars). Although, I might die of starvation in the forest if it did have a headrest. A camp pillow and a tree readily fix this non-issue.So in summary, this is the lightest, sturdiest, most terrain versatile, comfortable hiking chair on the market right at the moment. It has a good balance of features and weight. After a long day of hiking, you wont be regretting that you carried this with you.

I have purchased several different models of the lightweight camp chairs in my quest for the perfect backpacking chair. I was able to get the Helinox Ground Chair at a great price on Amazon after the price dropped to 50% of the usual price. It checks a lot of boxes for me but it's still not perfect. Though it's sturdy overall, it does feel pretty wobbly and loose compared to my other chairs (Alite/Helinox). That said, once you're settled in, it feels stable and strong. I like that you can rock back in it similar to the Alite chairs. My biggest complaint is that the chair back ends too low on your upper back. Two more inches in length and it would be rivaling the comfort offered by my Alite Mayfly. As it is though, the uppermost leg supports dig into my back a little. I don't have a scale handy anymore but I'm sure the chair is pretty close to Helinox's claim of 1.3lbs (about 21oz). The Mayfly weighed 25.8oz on my old scale and the ground chair is noticeably lighter.Pros:Very lightPretty comfyAble to rock/balance similar to Alite chairs (great for uneven terrain)Easy to assembleSits about 4 inches higher than the Mayfly (no wet butt)Cons:Digs into my back a littleMore awkward to pack compared to the other chairs I haveBulkier when packed due to the curved ground supportsOverall, I like it. It's earned a spot in my trunk for those unexpected times I need a chair. I'll also be taking it with me on my future trips to give it some further testing.

Just unpackaged my chair and have been eagerly awaiting its arrival,looks great and well made and feels comfortable.My only criticism is that I brought it for its lightweight and I have just weighed mine and its saying 670 grammes with bag and 653 without which is superlight but more than the advert claimed.

Expensive but very comfortable. I am 1.82m and 95kg and chair is strong enough and would have assigned 5 stars but top of chair back can dig in slightly.

Chairs are super quality and we delivered swiftly. I made one after sales enquiry about import taxes and the customer service was extremely prompt and very helpful. Many thanks, would recommend!

Wonderful camp chair. Well worth the money.

Excellent product ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This ground chair is ideal for sitting inside of my tent when the weather out side is rainy.