Whether you’re camping, backpacking or trekking, choosing the best lightweight camping chair can transform your outdoor experience on your next adventure.
Camping chairs come in all different shapes and sizes. Some are heavy-duty, others are designed purely for comfort and then there are those that will fall apart if you just as much as squint at them.
Our favourite camping chairs are lightweight – and for good reason. A lightweight camping chair can be used for everything. From throwing it into your trekking rucksack before a long hike to firing it into the boot of your car before heading down to the beach.
There’s nothing a good lightweight camping chair can’t do – but that doesn’t mean that they’re all created equally. Some of the top chairs on the market (here’s looking at you, Helinox) are able to support as much as 145kg. You won’t find stats like that in Tesco or Aldi.
So how do you separate the strong from the weak and which is the best lightweight camping chair to take on your next UK adventure?
Our overall best lightweight camping chair is the award-winning Helinox Chair One – a folding travel chair weighing less than 1kg.
The Helinox Chair One is the camping chair that changed the way we think about sitting down outdoors. Gone are the days of the supermarket camping chair – those ones that collapse in a stiff breeze. The Chair One used an innovative design that has been copied by many – but never surpassed.
The maximum weight of a camper using the Helinox is a huge 145kg – a step up compared to the competitors in the market. With some clever engineering design and lightweight, strong aluminium construction – the chair looks great whilst holding a lot of weight, too.
There are 8 different colours for campers to choose from with our firm favourite of the Forest Green available online.
The Helinox Chair One is our overall top value best lightweight camping chair. The award-winning folding chair weighs just 950g and can support a huge 145kg. It is the perfect companion for outdoor seating.
The KingCamp Folding Moon Chair is another great choice for a lightweight camping chair for UK adventures.
The camping chair is a little heavier than some of the others listed at 4.7kg, but that doesn’t mean that the chair is too heavy to take out on a camping trip! For loading into the boot of a car or carrying short distances, the Moon Chair gives campers just a little extra stability with a maximum weight capacity of 136kg.
For backpacking or trekking, the KingCamp Moon Chair is unlikely to be of use – but for sitting around the camping fire pit or relaxing in the tent on the campsite, it’s a great choice! There are 7 different colours available for campers to choose from with our favourite as the Blue/Grey combination.
Unlike the other lightweight camping chairs on our list – the Moon Chair comes with a handy side pocket for storing drinks and/or snacks. It may be a little heavier – but you do get a lot more chair for your money.
The KingCamp Folding Moon Chair is a little on the heavier side at 4.7kg, but what it lacks in the diet it more than makes up for in the design. A nicely padded cushion and the ability to support 136kg make for an impressive camping chair.
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If you’re looking for the bee’s knees in personal outdoor seating it doesn’t get much better than the Helinox Chair Zero Highback for the best possible lightweight camping chair.
We’re big fans of Helinox and although we think the Chair One is the best value lightweight camping chair, the Chair Zero Highback takes things up yet another level. With a high back design, this lightweight camping chair is the ultimate in outdoor comfort without compromising on weight.
Speaking of weight – the Helinox Chair Zero Highback barely has any at all, weighing in at just 680 grams. The maximum weight capabilities are a little lower than the Chair One at 120kg, but this is still plenty for the majority of campers searching for a lightweight folding chair.
The chair can fold down to just 40cm, a huge achievement for such a capable lightweight folding camping chair.
The Helinox Chair Zero Highback is our upgrade pick for the best lightweight camping chair. With a weight of just 680g and the ability to support up to 120kg, this folding camping chair is our all-time favourite!
Campers with a budget that can’t quite as stretch as high as the Helinox Chair One are able to opt-in for the next best thing with the Trekology YIZI GO.
This lightweight camping chair may not quite be cut from the same cloth as the Helinox, but for a budget-friendly option, it’s a great choice. The design is similar to our favourite camping chair with a construction that can support up to 135kg in a lightweight design of just 960g.
The camping chair also comes with its very own storage bag that can be used as storage for the seating by attaching it beneath the mainframe. This is not only great for packing up when the adventure comes to an end – but can also be used to store handy close-by items on the campsite.
Although these aren’t the cheapest camping chairs that money can buy, we rate these highly as the best budget options!
If the Helinox Chair One is just a little out of budget, the Trekology YIZI GO is a great alternative for a lightweight camping chair. The design borrows plenty of cues from Helinox and although it’s not quite as good – it’s as close as can be!
Campers looking for a sturdy camping chair, sacrificing a little weight for added strength, will find a good budget pick in the Quechua Comfortable Camping Chair.
The inexpensive option is great for those campers looking for a little extra reinforcement when sitting outside of their tents, caravans or motorhomes.
The high-back design is great for support and the armrests offer a handy solution when climbing in and out of the chair. The chair can be folded for easy transportation and storage, and secured by a fabric tie to avoid awkward carrying.
A comfortable lightweight camping chair may be hard to find, but it’s made much easier by our top choice from Quechua. With a pair of armrests, high back and compact design, it’s a great choice for UK campers.
Stuck between a couple of different chairs? Searching for an all-important answer? Check out our lightweight camping chair FAQ and we’ll (hopefully) have an answer ready for you!
A lightweight camping chair is a fantastic accessory to have not only when camping, but when backpacking, hiking or fishing.
With a chair that weighs less than 1kg and takes up minimal rucksack space, outdoor enthusiasts are able to take a seat wherever they may find themselves. They are not only incredibly versatile but well-engineered, too.
There are a handful of different top-quality lightweight camping chair brands out there, but we don’t think it gets much better than Helinox.
With the Chair One and the Chair Zero, the company has created two of the most impressive lightweight portable chairs on the market. With the ability to hold more than 120kg each whilst weighing less than 1kg, the pair are unrivalled in the lightweight market.
If you’re still struggling with making up your mind or searching for those illusive question answers, don’t hesitate to reach out to the Adventure Pending team. We’re always quick to reply and love helping out where we can!
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