UL backpacking chair help!

[Dogwood]

Ultra-lite hiking chair = oxymoron.

It's in the same category as the UL cast iron skillet.

What's wrong with the UL rock, UL cliff face, UL tree stump, UL downed tree, UL edge of an AT shelter, UL backpack, etc to sit on?

I wish you well with the UL chair concept. Might be a hard sell to the UL community though.

[Tabasco'10]

It's in the same category as the UL cast iron skillet.

What's wrong with the UL rock, UL cliff face, UL tree stump, UL downed tree, UL edge of an AT shelter, UL backpack, etc to sit on?

I wish you well with the UL chair concept. Might be a hard sell to the UL community though.

I hear you there. The main idea of our project was to find multiple uses for the gear an UL backpacker would already be carrying- the chair just seemed like a good outlet where people have tried to make a "backpacking" chair, except it ends up weighing a pound. If your poles and your sleeping back stuff sack (or regular stuff sack) were capable of combining into a chair, why not use it?

In our project, we have to assess the problem and the need of a solution. In our eyes, the problem was finding a way of improving the ratio between camp comfort and a light pack-weight. The chair seemed like the best solution.

Now for the poll- we need input from the users (that means you, hikers!) to see if this is a need that should be addressed or not. So please- If you feel like you would take a chair that would add an ounce or two to your pack weight, please say so. If not, could you give a reason against it (and mweinstone's anti-tech argument is a damn good one- I know a lot of people go in the woods to leave everything behind... but I also know a fair bunch of you are gear-heads)

Thanks a lot!

Oh yeah, the Jerry chair is a great design that we were looking at, but it seems a lot of you are looking to get off the ground. We're hoping to make more of a chair than a pad (like leaftye's vision) and hopefully at a lighter weight.

[Philip]

http://www.zappos.com/therm-a-rest-c...ir-pomegranate

I carry this six ounce chair/frame. It makes double use out of my mattress. I do worry about punching a hole in my mattress on a stick or rock, but so far I've managed to avoid any damage. As a precaution, I usually gather up some leaves/pine needles and make a pad, cover with my poncho, and put chair on that.

I wanna say I paid quite a bit less than the included link's price too by the way. Say $30 if I recall?

[Forever North]

With the prices on some of these chairs (are Nuts) today and plus having to carrie the weight. I just can't see me buying these chairs that are out there on the market.

Now to pay (Let say) $50.00 for a chair that is a part of your backpacking system where you are already carrieing the weight. Thats a great idea and I would like to see some of these chairs.

[Tabasco'10]

Thanks for the support Forever North!

We're wondering how many people live nearby the White Mountains in NH and are interested in testing our design once we get a prototype. If you are, please leave a comment or email me with some contact information at [email protected]. If there's room in the budget, we'll be happy to pay you a bit to go hiking!

Thanks a lot guys! And don't forget about our survey!

[Wags]

you may be able to pull it off if you can create a rain skirt out of the chair sil and using your poles as the frame...

[ocourse]

you may be able to pull it off if you can create a rain skirt out of the chair sil and using your poles as the frame...

That's a very good idea Wags.
I took the survey and I will be interested in the results. I am a 55yo hiker and I find my time on the trail is more limited these days, so hikes are shorter now but there is more time at a campsite for sitting around. That, along with my aging bones might indicate that there is a market for a system that only added a few ounces to the pack weight. I have been working on a system on and off for years but haven't really needed a seat until lately.

[Kerosene]

Building on sbhike's 'use a poncho with trekking poles' idea mentioned in Post #4 above, this would be an interesting feature incorporated into Cedar Tree's Packa, especially if you could rig it to work while you're wearing The Packa! It makes for a long day when everything is soaked and you're eating a cold lunch while standing up.

[Tabasco'10]

ocourse gave us a great idea- we updated the proposal for our product so that the demographic is hikers over 40, especially those with back or knee pain while hiking. Now I know that not every hiker over 40 has problems like these (and that hikers under 40 get sore too), but our prof. told us our demographic should be smaller.

So to sum things up, if you are over 40 could you please give your feedback on this idea? Also, if you hike near the White Mountains in NH (particularly around Hanover) and want to test our invention please email me at [email protected].

If you want, we updated our survey to take into account age. That may be an easier way to give your opinion, but just posting on the forum would work too.

Thanks a lot- you all have been really helpful!

[leaftye]

you may be able to pull it off if you can create a rain skirt out of the chair sil and using your poles as the frame...

Or make it double as a backpack awning to provide shade or even rain protection. There was a guy at the pct kickoff with something like this that he appeared to be developing.

[Tabasco'10]

Hey guys,

Just wanted to update you on our progress. We got a pole design down (As seen in the pics) and we're going to start working with the aluminum hiking poles now. This is just a basic prototype where the three sections of the design are equal (roughly) to the 3 sections of a hiking pole. This is the most stable configuration we were able to find.

We're still working on the pack cover, but we got some ultralight cuben fiber material we're thinking of using. It looks pretty damn cool- if you've never seen it before, it seems unbelievably light. We'll be doing strength testing on the material soon.

We're still looking for more testers- for the prototype when we get it and also just to pick your brain a bit. If you're anywhere near Hanover, NH please give me an email at [email protected]. Thanks for the help!

-Dan

[Tabasco'10]

Pic
This should work, sorry! There are more pics in the album from different angles. We put a piece of cloth over this and sat in it. Pretty damn comfortable for a prototype.

[Mountain Wildman]

Tabasco,
I just sent you an e-mail.
The design in the pictures looks promising but I wonder if there is a potential for damage to the hiking poles, I have the Black Diamond Trail Ergo Cork Poles and though they are very strong when used as intended, Separating the 3 sections
and sitting on them or leaning against them could cause bending or warping, But I guess that really depends on how evenly supported each centimeter of each pole section is to provide even pressure or at least minimal pressure on vulnerable areas.
Looks promising though!!

[Wise Old Owl]

I think this is as UL as you can get.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsyObLoraPw

[Tabasco'10]

I actually own a pair of the BD Trails- its what we're using as a benchmark for hiking poles. We'll make sure it works with those (if not, we'll have to make new poles and we'll have a whole lot more work on our hands).

That is a damn lightweight chair... but I wouldn't exactly want to cut down 3 small trees every time I got into camp to make it. Thats just me though- I haven't gotten into bushcraft all too much.

[Vonzo1974]

I have a bit of a bad lower back due to a minor birth defect with some of my back bones. If I sit too long without back support it becomes agonizing. I happened upon this site while researching chair ideas. The Jerry Chair seems like a plausible solution. A hammock chair might work too so long as it would give good back support and there was a tree near the fire. Last trip I dug a hole for my butt, propped up a big old flat rock with a log, leaned back and somewhat relaxed. Sore butt, but my back felt ok. After a little whiskey my butt didn't hurt so bad.

[Tabasco'10]

Hey everybody,

We finally got a prototype done. You can see the pics here

We got the pack cover/seat to about 4.8 oz and the poles to be around 12 oz (this is about 2.3 oz heavier for the poles compared to stock BD poles)

For part of our project we're trying to assess "cost" of the product. How much would you pay for this product if you were to buy it?

Any other comments/questions would be great.

Thanks for the help!

[burntoutphilosopher]

tabasco i was skeptical that this would grow into anythign special... then i saw those pics and WOW

greta job man, you should do great in the innovation industry

[buz]

The chair itself looks pretty comfy, good job on that. The pole holders are obviously prototypes, so they could likely be made lighter/simpler. I really like chairs that are off the ground, so this is a winner in my book. Drawback for me, is my poles don't really like to come apart, leki 3 piece brand, they will for sure, but doing it is a bit of a chore. And then putting on the bits to make the chair to the poles, then taking it off, daily, if thru hiking, could get the better of me.

Great effort to multi-task with them thou. Just not sure it would be too much of a hassle. Maybe not once you got the process down. Sitting down after a long hiking day is real nice. Nice job so far.

[Black Wolf]

although I'm carrying an external pack...I'm currently working on a design that will allow me to use the packs frame as a part of my chair design...I'll be posting on YouTube when I have it complete...