Our camping-chair testers found that of the nearly two-dozen chairs in the running for our guide, the Helinox One was the lightest, most portable chair that’s still comfy to sit in. Weighing in at around 2 pounds, it’s compact and highly portable. Though I don’t need an ultra-light chair for the same reasons a backpacker might, this one is easy to throw in my bag, and (sue me) I like to sit.
It sets up in under a minute (my record is 37 seconds), and it breaks down even faster. All you have to do to set up is slot each aluminum leg in place and stretch the seat onto the frame. And it comes in a zip-close bag with a handle, so it’s easy to carry. Additionally, despite its small frame and lightweight materials, the Helinox Chair One has a weight capacity of 320 pounds.
With this chair (as with most lightweight chairs), in order to pare down you are sacrificing some of the comfort provided by larger camping chairs, so you should consider your priorities. Living in a big city, for example, I don’t have the luxury of driving everywhere, so I like to keep what I’m lugging around to a minimum. If comfort is higher on your priority list than portability, you may consider the Kijaro Dual Lock Chair.
