View Full Version : Furniture on the trail
The older I get, the more I appreciate things like tables and chairs, especially when camping. With the evolution of gear towards lighter weights have come tables, chairs, cots, etc. that really are light enough to consider bringing along on a long hike, as a non essential comfort item. Has anyone started a thru with any of these items? How long were they kept before being discarded or sent home? Any thoughts or recommendations?:-?
HikerMom58
01-28-2014, 07:46
My daughter carries an inflatable seat cushion thing as her luxury item. It's nice!! Sometimes when you're out there for long periods of time (months) it's the little things that can make a big difference! :)
I have noticed some to these items left in shelters. No serious long distance hikers would waste the weight. I have seen a sling chair that hangs from a limb or rafter, but it's differs little from a hammock.
daddytwosticks
01-28-2014, 08:10
I sometimes carry a lightweight hammock for relaxing (not overnight sleeping) while hiking or in camp. It's about 16 ounces. Notice I said sometimes. This usually happens when I'm out for just a fun time in the woods. :)
Hill Ape
01-28-2014, 08:21
plenty of serious weekenders might, isn't this a forum for trail enthusiasts of all types? or just thru hikers? this "community" has a real issue with elitism. thru hikers are not the only user group of the trail, not even close.
The OP asked about thru-hikers. A bit sensitive?
Speaking specifically about long distance hikes and thru-hikes, I'm yet to notice anyone engaged in such endeavors to carry a chair or table the entire distance. I don't even witness hikers who may have some medical condition and enjoy sitting down carry a foldable chair or table on a long distance or thru-hike. On the AT and a few other trails you have lean tos where you can sit and sometimes even have a more formal table(picnic table style). I've become accustomed to enjoying a log, cliff, rock, stump, bear canister, etc to sit on as a chair and use as tables. And, of course there's always good ole terra firma. It's nice to get in touch more with the earth(Earth). We sometimes have lost that in the U.S. We tend to insulate ourselves from the earth(Earth) in so many ways.
Starchild
01-28-2014, 10:16
I thru hiked with a small section of a ridge -rest, That small foam pad did make a great deal of difference in comfort and I also used it with my tent as a entry way. It allows me a cushy and dry seat on logs, rocks, shelters even on the ground. It was also easy to use and access, so I used it more then I would assume how I would need to pack a chair. Personally I would rather have that foam then a chair.
kayak karl
01-28-2014, 10:37
most say they just sit on a rock. i tried carrying a rock, but it was exhausting.
HikerMom58
01-28-2014, 10:41
most say they just sit on a rock. i tried carrying a rock, but it was exhausting.
Did someone sneak that rock into your pack? :p
A sit pad for my keister, and one of the millions of trees to lean back on, good to go, all the furniture I need right there.
Tipi Walter
01-28-2014, 11:42
Some people swear by those backpacking, foldable chairs. Others need upright tripod chairs or stools (NOT to be confused with your own "stools"---ie turtleheads:). DO NOT SIT ON YOUR OWN STOOLS!
http://tipiwalter.smugmug.com/Backpacking2010/Six-Days-with-Little-Mitten-on/i-h4NtQm3/0/L/TRIP%20108%20049-L.jpg
Here is Little Mitten bringing her folding chair into camp . . . or is she a Professor of Advanced Studies in Backpackaging??? Or worse---a Forest Lawyer serving a summons??
http://tipiwalter.smugmug.com/Backpacking2013-1/Tipi-Walter-Slickrock/i-HFjcqGc/0/L/Trip%20146%20085-L.jpg
Other ideas with backpacking furniture---Wall Tent Dave and Randy Cadenza.
Damn Yankee
01-28-2014, 11:47
I use one of these. The Amazing Wilderness Camp/Hammock Wilderness Chair. It uses a make shift tripod but if you can't find the wood and you have an imagination, there are many ways to set it up. I normally lash the top to a tree, run a stick through the bottom and make a X stand which will lash to the cross stick. Check out EconoChallenge on youtube. There are also reviews on the hammock forum
most say they just sit on a rock. i tried carrying a rock, but it was exhausting.
That's the eventual conclusion all reach(the many I've seen) on long hikes/thru-hikes that initially carried chairs and tables - they weren't worth the wt carried on a long hike/thru-hike.
HikerMom58
01-28-2014, 13:37
25727
Natural lounge chair anyone? It works! :)
Tipi, what's with the miserable looking friends? We're you dishing their religion or politics? They look tired - prolly from hauling those chairs. :D
Slo-go'en
01-28-2014, 13:45
I met a woman last spring starting out with a folding chair, she said she'd never part with it. Guess what? A couple of weeks later it was gone...
One nice thing about the AT is there are pleanty of big rocks and downed trees to sit on. Since these are often wet and/or cold, a small insulating pad for under your bumm is all you need to carry.
One of the things I didn't like about hiking in Glacier last summer was the total lack of things to sit on along the trail. The 100 degree temps and no shade was the other, but the views were nice.
Damn Yankee
01-28-2014, 13:52
Another thing you can use is reflectix found at home stores.
Tipi Walter
01-28-2014, 14:01
Tipi, what's with the miserable looking friends? We're you dishing their religion or politics? They look tired - prolly from hauling those chairs. :D
They're good guys though it could be my camera alarmed them:)
I hope so Tipi. Little Mitten looks guilty as hell, like you just caught her trying to sneak up on ya to steal your Gummy Bears. :D
I actually met her. She's a nice person.
SevenPines
01-28-2014, 17:37
i'm a hammocker and also carry a cut down Z rest. i can hang the hammock anywhere there are trees and have a chair, or thrown down the Z rest where there are no trees.
i saw an old couch on a road that crossed the trail near Burkes Garden, opted not to use it for sterile issues
Tipi Walter
01-28-2014, 20:13
http://tipiwalter.smugmug.com/Backpacking2010/Five-Miles-of-Living-Hell-on/i-W76Nmtw/0/L/TRIP%20107%20020-L.jpg
I was backpacking Doublecamp road in the Citico wilderness and passed this random chair on my way up to Farr Gap and the trailhead to the Stiffknee trail. Just dump the pack son, and take a break.
Mr. Bumpy
01-28-2014, 20:26
One of these goes with me almost everywhere now.
http://slinglight.com/sl/
One of these goes with me almost everywhere now.
The chair or the model?
http://tipiwalter.smugmug.com/Backpacking2010/Five-Miles-of-Living-Hell-on/i-W76Nmtw/0/L/TRIP%20107%20020-L.jpg
I was backpacking Doublecamp road in the Citico wilderness and passed this random chair on my way up to Farr Gap and the trailhead to the Stiffknee trail. Just dump the pack son, and take a break.
Now that's some kinda providence!
One of these goes with me almost everywhere now.
http://slinglight.com/sl/
I love this part of the ad: "Chair weight 18 oz. which is the same weight as a 16 oz. can of beer." I wish my 18oz quilt weighed the same as a 16oz can of beer!
i do love a car-camping chair but no chairs of any sort are in my backpack - - I carry a tyvek ground sheet for my tent and will occasionally sit on that or perhaps my sleeping pad folder - or my pack but for fast and light, this sort of thing just doesn't make the list. You might talk me into a crazy creek chair for a one night in and out camping trip but for actual "mileage" it's out.
Tipi, what's with the miserable looking friends? We're you dishing their religion or politics? They look tired - prolly from hauling those chairs. :D
This cracked me up! :)
But I still say the Slinglight chair is worth it's weight.
It's my number one favorite piece of gear. No matter how much I trim pack weight in other areas, that chair is going with me.
There is no telling how many hours I've spent SLEEPING in my Slinglight.
Different Socks
01-29-2014, 22:10
On my first AT thru-hike, my sleeping pad was inserted into a compartment type thing that when snapped together formed a chair.Carried it all of the AT, PCT, IAT, CDT and other trails.
....But I still say the Slinglight chair is worth it's weight.
....
Especially if you carry it and I can occasionally sit in it! :)
I always enjoyed that scene in The Eiger Sanction when Clint Eastwood hauls his sweaty butt to the top of a mountain for a workout on a blistering hot day and sits down next to George Kennedy exclaiming, "it sure would be nice to have a cold one right about now but who would be crazy enough to haul cold beer all the way up here has to be crazy." George Kennedy says, "you're right, I sure wouldn't be crazy enough to haul it up here." Then Kennedy reaches into Eastwood's backpack he's wearing and pulls out a cold can of Coors from the six pack Kennedy had snuck into Eastwoods pack pre hike.
DocMahns
01-30-2014, 00:27
25741
I take this little jasper everywhere, it breaks down into a thin pouch and is easily stowable
4eyedbuzzard
01-30-2014, 02:38
Don't know if the weight would be worth it on a thru-hike, but it isn't out of the question given the weights of some of these:
Big Agnes and Cascade Designs make chair kits that turn your sleep pad into a chair with seatback, albeit one on the ground, that weigh as little as 5 1/2 oz.
https://www.bigagnes.com/Products/Detail/Accessory/CycloneSLChairKit
http://www.cascadedesigns.com/therm-a-rest/seating/chair-kits/category
There are also some that turn an inflatable like a neoair into a stool at under 4 oz, although it sure looks like you could do this with a compression sack or strong stuff bag as well.
http://www.cascadedesigns.com/therm-a-rest/seating/chair-kits/jembe-seat/product
You'll find some cool tractor seats to sit on and bounce up and down a few miles south of the Blackrock shelter at the extreme south end of Shenandoah.
Fastest and lightest I've found is to just cut a piece of a closed cell sleeping pad into a sitting pad. I store it folded in half between my pack top and the lid for quick access during stops.
A CCF butt pad goes with me on all trips. Weighs about 1.5 oz, also serves as the back pad for my Gossamer Gear pack. Rolled up it makes a decent pillow.
Stuff that is heavier is unlikely to seem worth the weight after relatively few days on trail.
On a short trip with lots of time in camp, I have been known to take an REI ultralight chair (1.5 pounds - I know, I know).
wornoutboots
02-14-2014, 18:12
I don't carry anything like that but I do look forward to dropping my pack & sitting with my back against something a few times during the day. Many times you'll be able to take advantage of these items being left behind at shelters. I remember Cable Gap had some folding chairs in it & the shelter N of Atkins, "Chatfield", I believe, had a wooden Adirondack type chair set up near the creek, it was nice & took me an hour or so to get out of it one a beautiful Fall day, there wasn't a soul around & the leaves were slowly drifting all around :)
Blissful
02-15-2014, 21:23
I don't go on any backpacking trip without my thermarest seat cushion.25958
RedBeerd
02-15-2014, 22:24
I thought the point of lowering base weight was to afford the luxuries such as a chair.
most say they just sit on a rock. i tried carrying a rock, but it was exhausting.
Seriously that is one of the worst things about the rain, even after it stops the rocks and logs are still wet. :(
4eyedbuzzard
02-16-2014, 03:11
I thought the point of lowering base weight was to afford the luxuries such as a chair.You'd think that, but it seems sometimes to have become a one-upmanship contest of who can lay claim to the lowest base weight.
rocketsocks
02-16-2014, 06:24
I thought the point of lowering base weight was to afford the luxuries such as a chair.I'm with you on this, tryin to work a small beach chair into my kit. They really don't weigh that much, couple a few pounds...no biggie.
bamboo bob
02-16-2014, 07:24
I'm with you on this, tryin to work a small beach chair into my kit. They really don't weigh that much, couple a few pounds...no biggie.
I doubt anyone who expects to actually finish a thruhike would carry a chair. The point of lowering base weight is to make the day to day grind more pleasant. If anthing it allows a hiker to carry more food. If you are section hiking or weekending, then take the kitchen sink. I definitely carry more stuff when I don't carry about how far I go but I still don't wont to feel like I'm loading a truck with cement block.
lonehiker
02-16-2014, 10:34
I have hiked with a friend (now deceased) that carried a full-sized lawn chair. If I'm not mistaken, he also carried it the entire distance on the PCT. Might have been 05 or 06?
RedBeerd
02-16-2014, 10:43
I'm with you on this, tryin to work a small beach chair into my kit. They really don't weigh that much, couple a few pounds...no biggie.
I doubt anyone who expects to actually finish a thruhike would carry a chair. The point of lowering base weight is to make the day to day grind more pleasant. If anthing it allows a hiker to carry more food. If you are section hiking or weekending, then take the kitchen sink. I definitely carry more stuff when I don't carry about how far I go but I still don't wont to feel like I'm loading a truck with cement block.
On a section hike a few years back I spent some time with a group of thru hikers. One was carrying a kid sized swimming pool on his back..like a giant turtle shell. He made it the whole way with this..after that I'll never assume anything about anyones plans!
MDSection12
02-16-2014, 13:12
http://youtu.be/NQc7t2BOx_Y
I thought the point of lowering base weight was to afford the luxuries such as a chair.
Heh! For me the point of lowering base weight is to be able to hike with less pain!
Every time I snuck a piece of CCF in my pack to sit on, it ended up getting pulled out as unnecessary. This last spring, I switched from tent to hammock, and I do enjoy sitting in it!
25964
On a section hike a few years back I spent some time with a group of thru hikers. One was carrying a kid sized swimming pool on his back..like a giant turtle shell. He made it the whole way with this..after that I'll never assume anything about anyones plans!
Good point. We all end up balancing our wants and needs. Some may want to carry a chair, or a big knife, or a guitar, or a fishing pole... Some crave the novelty of carrying a wiffle ball and bat, a teddy bear, or a swimming pool. Some want to get by on the barest of necessities. Others are looking to lighten the load on their knees.
Any thread like this is going to bring out all the personalities. Vive la différence!
4eyedbuzzard
02-16-2014, 14:42
Super Scott the Tuba Man thru-hiked with a 30 lb tuba - but saved weight by not carrying a tent or wearing underwear. It's all about one's sense of priorities.
rocketsocks
02-16-2014, 17:05
I doubt anyone who expects to actually finish a thruhike would carry a chair. The point of lowering base weight is to make the day to day grind more pleasant. If anthing it allows a hiker to carry more food. If you are section hiking or weekending, then take the kitchen sink. I definitely carry more stuff when I don't carry about how far I go but I still don't wont to feel like I'm loading a truck with cement block.yep, no thru hikin for me Bob, just short section weekend type hikes.
On a section hike a few years back I spent some time with a group of thru hikers. One was carrying a kid sized swimming pool on his back..like a giant turtle shell. He made it the whole way with this..after that I'll never assume anything about anyones plans!wow, that's dedication...not even a blow up pool.
rocketsocks
02-16-2014, 17:07
Good point. We all end up balancing our wants and needs. Some may want to carry a chair, or a big knife, or a guitar, or a fishing pole... Some crave the novelty of carrying a wiffle ball and bat, a teddy bear, or a swimming pool. Some want to get by on the barest of necessities. Others are looking to lighten the load on their knees.
Any thread like this is going to bring out all the personalities. Vive la différence!
well said...good to see ya postin again L'Dog
Thanks rocketsocks. Thinking about this summer's hike, and had to check in!
Been editing pics from last summer to post over on Tumblr, and ran across an pic of a woman carrying a pink flamingo...
L Dog
I thought the point of lowering base weight was to afford the luxuries such as a chair.
Loweing base weight is making room to carry steak and beer!
Damn Yankee
02-19-2014, 11:28
http://youtu.be/NQc7t2BOx_Y
Now that's pretty extreme comfort. I loved the guy with the knee high, double striped socks and the 80's head band. Brings back memories.