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Hali Potters is a senior social strategist. She’s created tons of posts for Wirecutter, including one about cats and their favorite cardboard boxes. Outdoor Dining Furniture Sets
I’ve camped only twice in my life. And yet I carry an itty bitty camping chair basically everywhere.
Two years ago, after I spent the summer constantly claiming my boyfriend’s packable camping chair at every outdoor gathering—park hangs, beach trips, you name it—he finally bought me the Helinox Chair Zero as a gift.
Having a tiny chair on me at any given time changed my life—no more sitting on the grass in Prospect Park or schlepping heavy chairs to Brighton Beach. My chair accompanied me to outdoor date nights, movies in the park, my first (and second) camping trip, beach hangs with friends and family, and a trip to Los Angeles.
A few months ago, I upgraded to an even comfier model, the Chair One. (It’s the most packable chair our outdoors team recommends in our guide to the best camping chairs.)
Even though it’s slightly more substantial than the Chair Zero, my new Chair One is still so small that it slides right into my tote bag. I keep it by my front door so I can grab it on my way out—no matter the occasion. A day of exploring a new neighborhood? Toss it in the bag. Meeting a friend for a walk? Who knows where we’ll end up! Quick coffee run? Why not? Even when there’s no guarantee I’ll bust it out, I don’t mind toting it around. It really is that little. I’ll bring a spare picnic blanket for larger group hangs, but the chair is coming with me too—you just can’t beat the back support. And I relish the oohs and aahs when I pop a chair out of my bag like Mary Poppins.
You can stow this featherlight, compressible chair in a backpack or even a work bag. It sits lower to the ground than regular-size chairs, though, so it’s harder to get into and out of.
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.
The Chair One is not for everyone. It’s low to the ground, so tall folks or people with mobility issues may find it difficult to sit in and climb out of. I’m 5 feet tall, so I have no trouble.
Our testers also don’t recommend it for the beach. And senior staff writer Dave Gershgorn, who lives in the Pacific Northwest, told me he doesn’t bring his Chair One on backpacking trips because he usually can’t find ground that’s hard enough to support it—instead, he uses this chair when he is car camping. However, I actually like to let my chair’s back legs sink into the sand to create a reclining situation. (The company does offer a ground sheet, which attaches to the bottom of the chair to keep its legs above ground, but we haven’t officially tested it.)
Another note on sand: I’ve learned that when sand gets in the metal parts, you should make sure you wipe it off before packing up the chair. Otherwise, it will be difficult to snap together the chair the next time.
But regardless, this packable chair has changed beach days for us. Now when my boyfriend and I head out to the shore, with our respective teeny chairs in tow, we can enjoy each other’s company sitting face-to-face, without one partner sacrificing their comfort for the other’s.
This article was edited by Sofia Sokolove and Catherine Kast.
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Hali Potters is a senior strategist on Wirecutter’s social media team. Her work has appeared in Good Housekeeping and Real Simple. When she isn’t posting on Wirecutter’s social accounts (or scrolling through her own feeds), you can find her playing tennis, exploring New York City’s food scene, or hanging out with her cat, Olive.
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