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Does any one have experience of these?
I'm not convinced that you can properly relax in the trekker.
Sleep systems like zenbivy.com look light and cosy but at a £££.
I had something similar to that thermarest seat, but much the same design. I found it was too flexible and didnt really work when you actually sat in it.
As you tried to lie back to support your back, the seat area flexed up around your legs, so you ended up in a weird position leaning too far back and with the lower section about wrapped around your legs.
I also found theres no real back support, so it tends to want to rock right back so you tend to migrate towards lying on your back with your legs in the air
Mine was a cheaper version, so maybe thats why it flexed so much.
Maybe take a look on you tube to show actual vid of people using them in the real world rather than only the pics that come up about them. I think if they were rigid enough to be comfortable there would be more pics of them inuse
I use a thermarest trekker and find it great
They're brilliant if you're constrained by space or weight when backpacking, bike packing or any camping without a car. If you've got a car with you then take a proper chair of some sort.
If you're falling back you probably need to adjust the straps or change the position of your legs.
I love my thermarest trekker chair. It works well and is a genuine comfort improvement on longer trips. I don't even bother putting the thermarest into it most of the time.
Thumbs up from me for trekker chair. Find taking it even for a single overnighter can be the difference between enjoyable night or not. Great to be able to get a bit of comfort and much kinder to me legs n back than sitting on the ground.
Yes another happy trekker chair user here.
I like to lean against a tree or a rock when having a rest while camping.
I had something that at first glance seemed similar to that thermarest seat, but
much the samewith some critical design difference that made it useless
FTFY
Another happy TRC user here
I like to lean against a tree or a rock when having a rest while camping.
Nice theory, but sometimes there aren't any. And there certainly aren't any inside my tent when I'm sheltering from wind/rain/midges. This time of year you can be in your tent for a long time before it's bedtime and it's nice to be able to sit and read with back support.
I don't have a chair for bike/backpacking. Can't say I've ever seen the need or felt the want for one.
I do have a quilt, a Cumulus 250. It's a simple affair, used with whatever mat you happen to have. It's fine for 6-8 months of the year. A warmer one would no doubt suit me all year but I team it with a 3 season bag over winter. Those zenbivy things look unnecessarily complex.
Thanks guys. @Houns I he trekker is super light, those chairs are ~1kg?
thats heavy - the thermarest ones are what 1/4 of that?
Trekker is about half that - 290g - and dictates (to some extent) what mat you use. It wouldn't work with my Exped.
I think I have an older version of the trekker chair - its sub 200 not that it makes a lot of differnce
What scotroutes said, never felt the need for a chair.
I'm tempted to try a quilt as opposed to a bag, planned on just opening out my bag into a quilt and trialling that, but it was bloody baltic last night, so I shat out of doing it 🤣
Loch Enoch
I've found that taking my Vango chair when canoeing is superb. Old bones and all that. It is not light however, but on a long term trip I would consider something I can sit in with back support.
I'm very keen to try a quilt. They work at home, and back in the day we had a bedroom that was sub zero in the middle of winter without us feeling cold in a duvet
It makes sense to me that a camping quilt would work. My only concern is that my mat has quite a plastic surface to sleep on.
Mines a bit plastic too Matt (exped synmat 7) but tbh I always wear long John's and a baseline, so should be okay.
We have a Thermorest chair and it works fine but more used are a couple we have that are similar format to the trekker chair but with bits of foam mat and fabric permanently in place so you don't need to fold the thermorest into it. Work really well for the beach or lounging in a small tent but slightly heavier.
Link to an Outwell one but I think we have unbranded ones that were about a tenner:
https://www.outwell.com/en-gb/ecommerce/camping-furniture/cardiel-black
We also got some of those super light chairs that are a Helinox copy from Aldi this summer to save car space for family camping as we no longer have a van so space is a premium. They worked well but I wouldn't like to use then in the inner of a lightweight tent or to carry them too far. Probably perfect for a big canoe trip and were affordable at £17 or 18 in Aldi.
I have an Alpkit Cloud Cover quilt for Bikepacking. I hate mummy sleeping bags so the quilt is ideal.
The only problem is my sleeping mat is plasticky. It's fine when it's cool and I'm wearing long johns and a thermal top but not so comfortable and a bit sweaty when the weather is warm. I have just bought a cheap cotton sleeping bag liner and my daughter is going to modify it so I can slip the mat inside it.
I'd be interested to see if anyone can find a good quilt option- I've been looking for ages, and the UK just doesn't have the choice you have in the US- specifically the Enlightened Equipment ones, which still look like by far the best
I have just bought a cheap cotton sleeping bag liner and my daughter is going to modify it so I can slip the mat inside it.
A good option.
But surely just adds a couple of hundred grammes back into what is a light system?
Best thing I've done the last couple of years is buy a wide, double zipped, foot flapped Sierra Designs Zissou bag. Instantly better sleep in the tent.
Same as @shermer75 - I'm keen to know a system that works. In my head a system of mat, sheet and quilt designed to fit together is sensible. Seems only Thermarest do this?
Enlightened equipment, UGQ and Cumulus are popular amongst the ULers, all pretty expensive to get into the UK though.