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Camping Chairs
Big Agnes Skyline UL Chair Review: Is 27 Ounces of Comfort Worth Carrying?
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A 27 oz backpacking chair that reviewers rate for comfort and stability, with a 275 lb capacity, a fiddly setup and a weight that gram-counters will resent. I read nine sources and did the sums.
Two numbers sat side by side in my notes and I couldn't stop looking at them: 27 oz for the Big Agnes Skyline UL, and 2 oz for a foam sit pad. A chair that weighs more than thirteen sit pads. So here's my call, once. Buy it if camp comfort matters more to you than ounces, and you want a back to lean on after a long day. Skip it if you count grams, are on a tight budget, or are walking a long thru-hike where every ounce counts: carry a sit pad or stool instead. I give it 8.4.
By Brooke6 min read
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What do the numbers say, and whose are they?
Start with the weight, because it's the number that decides this review and it has two versions. Big Agnes lists 1 lb 11 oz (27 oz) trail weight and 1 lb 12 oz (28 oz) packed. OutdoorGearLab measured 29 oz, or 1 lb 13 oz. That's a gap of 2 oz between the maker and a lab, which is small, but I'd rather you know whose figure you're reading. I went with the maker's 27 oz for the sums below and kept the lab's figure beside it.
The rest of the sheet, from the maker and reviewers: a 15 in (38 cm) seat height, a 275 lb weight capacity, and a packed size of 17 x 3.5 x 3.5 in per the Amazon listing. The fabric is high-tenacity Robic nylon ripstop with a waterproof UTS coating, over an aircraft-grade aluminum frame. One size only.
What do reviewers say about the sit itself? CleverHiker and OutdoorGearLab describe a deep, wide seat with good back support, and a backrest that lands just under the shoulder blades of a 5'8" tester. A taller tester found the seat a bit shallow, and some noted a slight curve in the lower back that may annoy certain sitters. I'm quoting them, and the feel is theirs.
Stability is where the sources get specific. They describe the widest base in the field, a 16 in spread, pre-bent legs that broaden the footprint, and a hubless aluminum frame with a self-equalizing center pole that helps on uneven ground. The feet are curved aluminum legs without plastic feet, and the sources say it sinks less than competitors in soft ground.
Is a chair worth its ounces? The sum.
Here's the sum I kept coming back to. The sources name a Therm-a-Rest Z-Seat at 2 oz. The Skyline UL is 27 oz by the maker. 27 divided by 2 is 13.5, so the chair weighs a little over thirteen sit pads. On OutdoorGearLab's measured 29 oz, it's 14.5.
Now against the chair rivals. The brief puts the Helinox Chair Zero at 1 lb 2 oz, or 18 oz, and the REI Flexlite Air at 1 lb, or 16 oz. Against the Skyline's 27 oz that's 9 oz and 11 oz extra, which matches the 9 to 11 oz the sources give. Those 9 to 11 oz buy you what the reviewers keep praising: stability and back support.
What does that look like in a pack? Say your base weight is 15 lb, which is 240 oz. A 27 oz chair is a little over a ninth of that load, since 240 divided by 27 is about 8.9. At a 25 lb base, 400 oz, it's a fifteenth, since 400 divided by 27 is about 14.8. The same chair is a bigger decision for a lighter kit. That's the whole argument, in two ratios.
My honest read: if you spend an hour or more sitting in camp each evening, the sources suggest the extra ounces are doing something. If you eat, brush your teeth and zip into the tent, I'd carry the 2 oz pad and keep the 25 oz.
What do owners and the crowd say?
I checked the aggregate ratings on 2026-10-18. The Amazon listing for the Skyline UL shows 4.4 out of 5 from 247 ratings, which works out to 8.8 out of 10.
Two things about that figure. First, it's high, higher than my 8.4, and the sample is a retailer's listing, which I'd read as steadier than a maker's own review page. Second, Bergfreunde's 12 reviews is a small sample, so I wouldn't lean on it. The brief also lists a maker's-site rating in its answer on ratings, and I'd weight the Amazon 4.4, rather than that friendlier page, as the more sober number.
The themes in the brief are consistent: comfort, stability and compact size on one side, weight and assembly difficulty on the other. One reviewer on Bergfreunde called the structure very weak. The brief treats that as an outlier, and it's the only comment of its kind in the nine sources I read, so I'm reporting it and leaving it there.
What's the fine print on durability and the warranty?
This is where I went hunting and came up thin, which bugs me. The sources describe the all-aluminum hubless frame as durable and expected to hold up to heavy use. But I couldn't find a documented long-term failure point in any of the nine sources. No broken pole hub story, no ripped sling pattern. That's either good news or a gap, and I can't tell you which.
What I can quote is the warranty: Big Agnes offers a 100% guarantee against manufacturing or material defect. That's the maker's promise and it covers defects, and wear is a separate matter.
Two other gaps. The sources don't compare it to lookalike knockoffs, so I can't tell you whether the original's premium buys real durability. They point to the patented hubless aircraft-aluminum frame, as against plastic hubs on cheaper chairs, as the difference, and that's my inference from the frame material claims. And I couldn't confirm what changed from the prior version. OutdoorGearLab calls this Big Agnes's latest version and says it offers the same features, function and quality as previous models, which is the only change note in the sources, and it isn't much.
Who should buy it, and who should carry a pad?
I'd pick it for a weekender or a comfort-first backpacker who sits for a long time in camp, with the catch that you'll carry 9 to 11 oz more than the lightest chairs and put up with a fiddlier setup. The sources say it fits larger folks well because of the curved sides, and the 275 lb capacity gives headroom. The 15 in seat height is easier to climb out of than a low-profile chair, which the sources flag as a plus.
Who should skip it? Gram-counting ultralighters, people on a tight budget, and long-haul thru-hikers where every ounce counts. The Helinox Chair Zero LT, at 1 lb 1.5 oz, is lighter and less stable, which suits ultralight backpackers. The REI Flexlite Air, at 1 lb, is lighter, cheaper and less stable, and it's the budget option. The NEMO Moonlite Elite, at 1 lb 2 oz, has an all-aluminum frame and a reclining feature if you want adjustability. For a light, low-cost way to get off the ground, a 2 oz Z-Seat does the job.
Price, since you'll ask. The Amazon price was in the $175-200 band on 2026-10-18, with the listing showing it in stock that day and also at REI and Backcountry. CleverHiker lists it lower, though I can't say where that price came from or whether it still holds.
One thing I can't give you: the model year. The sources say latest version, and none of them pins a date.
Pros
- Reviewers at CleverHiker and OutdoorGearLab praise its comfort and back support
- Widest base the sources describe, with pre-bent legs, for stability on soft ground
- 15 in seat height makes it easier to get in and out than low-profile rivals
- Packed size of 17 x 3.5 x 3.5 in fits a side pocket on most packs
- 275 lb capacity, with a maker guarantee against manufacturing or material defects
Cons
- At 27 oz by the maker's figure it is heavier than the lightest rivals in the sources
- Setup is fiddlier because of the hubless pole system
- Some testers noted a slight curve in the lower back, and taller testers found the seat shallow
- Long-term durability data is thin in the sources
Key Specifications
- Capacity
- 275 lb
- Materials
- Robic nylon ripstop with UTS coating, aircraft-grade aluminum frame
- Packed size
- 17 x 3.5 x 3.5 in
- Seat height
- 15 in (38 cm)
- Weight (maker)
- 1 lb 11 oz (27 oz) trail weight, 1 lb 12 oz (28 oz) packed
- Weight (OutdoorGearLab measured)
- 29 oz (1 lb 13 oz)
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