Lightweight Hiking Chairs

Lightweight hiking chairs that equip you to venture further

At Alton, we believe that a good camping chair is a strategic investment in your performance. Seriously – a camping chair can help you hike further, recover faster, and feel your best in the wild. So we’ve created a lightweight hiking chair that’s compact, comfortable and capable of going further. Utilising high-quality ripstop fabric with breathable mesh panels, anodised aluminium alloy legs, and high-strength resin joins, this foldable camping chair delivers the support and comfort you need to venture further.

Pack small with Alton’s compact camping chairs

If you’re looking for the best lightweight camping chair for hiking, then you are in the right place. Weighing just 908g, our Ultralight Camp Chair folds down small and takes up minimal space in your backpack, making it easy to store and carry with you on any adventure. Combining a space-efficient design with premium lightweight materials, this folding camping chair is compact enough to carry with you everywhere, while still being extremely durable, stable and supportive.

A lightweight hiking chair that earns its place in your pack

Like all Alton’s best-selling hiking gear, our Ultralight Camp Chair is engineered to earn its place in your pack. We’ve selected high-quality materials and used leading construction techniques to build a folding camping chair that provides exceptional comfort at the lowest possible weight and size. And with a wide variety of camping chair accessories to choose from, including a camping chair seat warmer, groundsheet, spare parts, and more, now you can fully customise your setup – and your comfort.

Camping Chair FAQs

  • Whether or not you ‘need’ a camping chair is a personal decision, but there are a lot of reasons why you might decide to bring one on your next adventure. 

    Camping chairs give you a comfortable, portable and practical seating option for any outdoor setting. Around camp, having a comfortable camping chair can make mealtime, gear prep, or simply enjoying the view a far more enjoyable experience. 

    A good camping chair gives your body more support than sitting on a log or the ground, which helps your muscles to relax and recover so you feel better and perform stronger the next day. For a relatively small weight addition to your pack, the comfort and recovery benefits of a camping chair are huge – especially if you struggle with any issues such as joint stiffness or knee pain. 

    At Alton, we’ve developed our best-selling folding camping chairs to be lightweight, compact and easy to carry, while still being highly durable and reliable in harsh conditions. Weighing under 1kg, the Ultralight Camp Chair is a high-reward, low-weight addition to your pack that can help you hike better, recover smarter, and stay out longer.

  • If you’re choosing between a hiking sitting mat and a camp chair, the best option is going to come down to your needs and priorities. 

    A hiking sitting mat, also sometimes called a hiking sit pad, is usually a small foam pad made from closed cell foam that you can place on the ground to offer a bit of protection, cushioning and insulation. They’re ultralight, pack down small, and are effortless to set up. However, a hiking sit pad doesn’t have any built in back support or elevation, which can make it uncomfortable, especially if you struggle with joint issues, such as knee or back pain. 

    A lightweight camping chair for hiking, on the other hand, can offer a big upgrade in comfort. Camping chairs provide back support and elevate you off the ground, which can help reduce strain on the knees and hips. Many compact hiking chairs today are made with lightweight yet durable materials, but they will weigh more and require a little more effort to set up compared to a hiking sit pad. That said, we personally find that the extra comfort a camping chair gives us is definitely worth the added weight. 

    In short, we recommend using a hiking sitting pad if you want an ultralight, minimal solution for quick rest stops. In situations where weight isn’t a concern, or if comfort, support and recovery are important to you, then a lightweight camping chair is the way to go. 

    But, choosing between a hiking sit mat and a camping chair doesn’t have to be an ‘either-or’ situation. Many outdoor enthusiasts own both a hiking sit pad and camping chair, and choose to bring the option that makes the most sense for any given scenario.

  • When it comes to how much weight you should carry when hiking, the general advice is no more than 20-25% of your bodyweight. 

    For example, if you weigh 75kgs, then you should aim to keep the total weight of your gear (including your backpack itself) under 19kg – and ideally down around 12-14kgs, if possible.

    For a day hike, it’s fairly easy to get by with under 10kgs of gear. But, on a multiday hike where you need to carry enough food and sometimes water for several days, your pack weight can quickly add up.

    How to pack light for hiking is a skill in its own right that takes time and practise to perfect. Our advice is to stick to the basics and focus on core items that really matter for shelter, sleep, hydration, food, and safety. 

    Carrying less weight can help reduce fatigue, lower the chance of injury, and make the hike a whole lot more enjoyable – but it’s about learning how to pack smarter, not just lighter. That means understanding what value each item provides to you, and assessing whether it’s actually worth the extra weight.

  • Yes. When you invest in Alton hiking gear, you’re investing in outdoor equipment that is made for life. That’s why all our camping chairs are covered by our All Good Guarantee, a Lifetime Warranty* covers your Alton gear for as long as you own it.  

    Shop our best-selling hiking gear today and see why we’re among the top-rated outdoor stores Australia has on offer, with free shipping for all orders over $100 AUD in Australia and $150 USD in the USA. 

    For further information on shipping/handling, including international delivery, please visit our shipping information page.