View Full Version : LW "chair"
last night in bed I was thinking about Tabasco's comments in some forums about making a light weight chair as a student project. So I decided to make my own.
This morning I had already forgotten but came across another thread on that so I put a quick mock up together.
Took me about 20 min, and that already exceed my attention span.
The idea is of a corded frame with four loops that slip over the top and bottom of your trekking poles.
It is more of a back rest than a chair , to get a leg lift I imagine that another two poles would be needed. 9I might think about this...)
Likely it has been done many times before but it is a bit of fun.
Total "extra " weight for me would be about 2 oz.
Obviously you need to be able to push the tips of your poles into the ground as well as the two stakes.
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e389/Francophoto/odds/Francochair.jpg
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e389/Francophoto/odds/Francochair-2.jpg
Franco
mweinstone
10-09-2010, 19:34
no. what you got there is a tree. a chair has less ground.your butt is a chair and the less chairs you sit it on the stronger it becomes and then you need less chairs and way more ground witch is good.
Wise Old Owl
10-09-2010, 20:19
Franco - nice try, I admire the "sprit" but I would rather flip my hammock upside down (puts the fly netting on the bottom) and sit on it sideways.
There was a time when one could sit on the top of a compressed sleeping back positioned next to a tree...
Pedaling Fool
10-09-2010, 20:46
Chair --- I thought that's what packs are for when they're not on your back. It sits on you and you sit on it.
I see...
First, I don't use a chair , neither I envisage doing so.
Maybe reading my initial comments again it should be obvious that I did that just to see if what Tabasco had in mind could be done or not.
http://www.backpacker.com/cgi-bin/forums/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=832107219;t=9991142512 (http://www.backpacker.com/cgi-bin/forums/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=832107219;t=9991142512)
There are many items/ideas that I do not use , however if someone likes them , well I try to keep a positive attitude towards it.
Specifically , since there are several "backpacking" chairs on the market I would assume that people buy them and use them (in fact I know that they do...) so if I like the idea or not is totally irrelevant.
Same for hammocks/wood burnig stoves/tipis, whatever...
BTW, it may not have been spelled out enough but both "chair" and this comment "It is more of a back rest than a chair " should have made it clear what I think of it.
Note also that for example not everyone would want to use their mat against a tree, nor that trees or rocks are conveniently shaped to accomodate your back, nor situated in the spot you would like them to be.
Franco
Wise Old Owl
10-09-2010, 21:35
Now you have it, Just becaue a few of us would not use a chair, there will be someone who will pack the comfort.... I am always astonished when non athletic people (Like my Son) have to have the UnderArmor logo on clothing and he is not athletic.
"I thought that's what packs are for when they're not on your back. It sits on you and you sit on it."
True. But some sit up, others prefer to lean back.
BTW, I never take books with me either, but apparently some do.
Franco
With a mat or a 'sit"..
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e389/Francophoto/odds/Francochair-6.jpg
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e389/Francophoto/odds/Francochair-8.jpg
Franco
Kerosene
10-10-2010, 20:25
Watcha readin', Franco?
I can't figure that out. I think it is some sort of weird code because I cannot make any sense out of it.
Franco
(sorry, I don't take life all that seriously...)
burntoutphilosopher
10-12-2010, 20:44
looks like excel 2003
like the microsoft spreadsheet program.
BTw, LOVE the 'back rest hammock' idea, super lightweight and would work well in the mojave where they don't have trees ; ) or at least nothing you're dare lean against.
Wise Old Owl
10-12-2010, 21:00
He's holding it upside down.
Wise Old Owl
10-12-2010, 21:05
Franco skip the knots and the tent stakes... Carbineer the poles together and lean them up against a tree. then fold the pad like you have in the picture up against the poles.
"lean them up against a tree"
Yes, that would work well against a tree... or a stone . In fact the handles sort of tend to come together so the curve of a tree or some indentations on a rock/boulder will help with that.
However a suitable tree or rock is not necessarily nearby...
Also I would not reccomend mats like the Neo Air or other thin LW types outside a tent.
Franco
I kind of like your idea. It doesn't really add much weight to your pack (I don't normally carry that much line) and it's fun enough that I betcha if you were hiking with someone else and put that together to sit on everybody else would be envious of your style and creativity, not to mention your comfort.
Old Hiker
10-20-2010, 14:05
I don't care - I think it's pretty novel. Nice thinking outside the box or off the trail or whatever.
Me, I just put my foam pad against a tree and collapse! I only carry one pole anyway.
Remember, Franco, there are nay-sayers everywhere.
He's holding it upside down.
That's probably why he doesn't carry books on the trail. He thinks books have to be read upside down.
.....- I think it's pretty novel. Nice thinking outside the box or off the trail or whatever.
.....
Despite my lame joke, I agree.
ChinMusic
10-20-2010, 18:39
Whenever this thread pops up I think Lone Wolf got the chair.
Australian reading a book printed in the North. Everything is reversed there.
Joker4ink
11-09-2010, 15:18
I bet you could even lighten it up more if you used masonry line instead of cord.
Yes. I did not try very hard because I am not all that interested in it my self, it was more one of those "I wonder if it can work? " moments.
As a matter of fact I am using masonry line for my zip pulls. it is bright,light and cheap...
Franco
Nice idea, but it was done to perfection last year by a Hammock Furoms member. Ladies and gentlemen, I give to you a link to the Jerry Chair (http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/showthread.php?t=11672). :D
I cannot access those pages but having joined that forum I have landed on the 5 in 1 version.
Nice if you use a hammock (must come as a shock to some of you guys that not everybody uses one...) but really I don't see how a 1-2 oz $1 piece of string , 20 minute job, can be compared with that...
BTW, I don't mean to imply that my version is better , just different, very different...
Franco
Joker4ink
11-09-2010, 20:07
Yeah, masonry cord really is the way to go. I prefer the bright yellow they have! I use that with a tautline knot (or whatever else people call it) to guyout my shelter or tent. I may have to try that to make a lightweight chair now.
Thats a very clever invention.
Reminiscent of the old "Woodcraft" projects from Boy Scouts.
Whenever this thread pops up I think Lone Wolf got the chair.
Nope. It requires the use of trekking poles.;)
Sierra Echo
11-09-2010, 23:11
i want one of those little egg crate pads. Does anyone know off hand what they are called?
Skidsteer
11-10-2010, 00:07
i want one of those little egg crate pads. Does anyone know off hand what they are called?
Thermarest Z-Lite. (http://www.google.com/products/catalog?rls=com.microsoft:en-us&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1&rlz=&q=thermarest+z-lite&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=10892333422916938716&ei=PRraTLyOLYKglAft0KTWCQ&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCoQ8wIwAA#)
Sierra Echo
11-10-2010, 08:41
Thermarest Z-Lite. (http://www.google.com/products/catalog?rls=com.microsoft:en-us&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1&rlz=&q=thermarest+z-lite&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=10892333422916938716&ei=PRraTLyOLYKglAft0KTWCQ&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCoQ8wIwAA#)
Once again you are my hero! Thank you!
lustreking
11-10-2010, 09:38
I cannot access those pages but having joined that forum I have landed on the 5 in 1 version.
Nice if you use a hammock (must come as a shock to some of you guys that not everybody uses one...) but really I don't see how a 1-2 oz $1 piece of string , 20 minute job, can be compared with that...
BTW, I don't mean to imply that my version is better , just different, very different...
Franco
The original Jerry chair is not that much different from yours, though probably quite a bit easier to put together in the field.
It weighs 2.17 oz made of less than a yard of $1.50 coated ripstop from Walmart. I probably bodged it together in 20-30 minutes.
It's pretty much single use though, while I can imagine that yours can be taken apart to use the cord if necessary.
http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/qq144/lustreking2k/G4%20Pack/IMG_0002.jpg
Buzz_Lightfoot
11-10-2010, 13:51
Whenever this thread pops up I think Lone Wolf got the chair.
lol yeah. I was wondering to myself what a Lone Wolf Chair was so I started reading.