After a long day on the trail, there's nothing better than sitting down and kicking your feet up by the campfire. But sitting on the hard, dirty ground probably isn't what you have in mind. Folding chairs are available at your local sporting goods store, but they're large, heavy, and a pain to carry on your pack. Small ones are available at camping stores, but those are often close to $100 and still rather unwieldy. Fortunately, there are ways to solve this problem with a little preparation.
Chairs like these are a nice luxury, but finding space for them in your pack can be difficult or impossible.
Lonnie of YouTube channel Far North Bushcraft and Survival came up with a simple and effective way to build an ultralight and compact camp chair. It's only 2 ounces and packs down into a shirt pocket — this is possible because the legs can be cut in the field. All you're building is a triangular fabric top that'll connect the seat legs.
The basic materials you'll need are:
- Large sheet of paper, scissors, yardstick, and a pencil to make a template
- Durable fabric, such as Cordura nylon
- Sewing machine or needle and thread
- Knife, ax, or saw
- Cordage to bind the legs
- A source of wood
In the video below, Lonnie shows how he created this simple camp chair, and discusses potential reinforcement points for the fabric: