Alite Mayfly Chair 2 Spreckels Red

I took this with me on a recent cycling tour in France-- the rest of my group all tried it and a few of them have since ordered the same chair! It's light and easily packed- at the end of a long day's cycling it's a godsend!

I expected a lot from this chair based on reviews and price but am thoroughly disappointed. Unless on absolutely level and hard ground I am literally sitting on the floor. On perfectly level and hard ground the clearance from floor is about a centimetre. I weigh 76 kilos so surely not overstretching the material, but this is exactly what it feels like. On it's maiden voyage on a recent kayaking exped I was the laughing stock of the group! We all tried everything to make this work, thinking that perhaps I had read the instructions wrongly. No success! I resorted to putting something under the chair so the fabric would not be destroyed by my weight rubbing it into the ground. Having a back support was better than no chair. With the chair sitting so low by design I cannot see how it does work in the field where absolutely level and hard ground is not guaranteed in all but a few cases. Shame. I like the look of the chair and the quality feel of material and poles but that is neither here nor there if I end up sitting on the floor.

I'm not sure if I just got a lemon but this little chair has been nothing but a headache since day one. The legs of this chair fit together like tent poles - elastic-bound tubes that nest together. The ends of those tubes are necessary to hold the lower corners of the 'seat' part in place and very quickly on my chair the first of the tubes broke when the inner part came loose and slid down into the outer part creating mismatching lengths This meant that the seat couldn't effectively be held in place, rendering the chair useless. I tried to pull the inner part out with pliers but it wouldn't come out. Shortly thereafter the same thing happened to a greater degree in the middle section of one of the chair legs - the inner part of the tube slid into the outer part so the legs wouldn't nest properly. It seems that the metal crimps that keep the tubes in place aren't very strong. Also, the little rubber "feet" drop off this thing when you so much as look at it. Before the chair broke for good I was constantly misplacing them. Really frustrating product as I feel like it had potential. For this price I would have expected better quality and am upset that mine is now garbage.

I backpacked in the Wind River Range last summer with this chair. I ended up taking it out of the bag and just putting it in a pocket to save weight (ounces matter!) and it was perfect. Goes together amazingly fast so you can get it out at stops along the trail for a quick rest off the ground. Great in-camp chair as well. I was lakeside sipping Jameson in this and couldn't have been more relaxed! Great for in-town gatherings as well. I used it at a lawn concert and its low profile allow everyone behind me to enjoy the show too.

The one I received weighs 1 pound 11 ounces.

Just returned from a 10 day backpacking trek with the Mayfly. Selling it. Here is my review. Pros: Lightweight, nice to sit in a chair with a back, comfortable. Cons: Expensive, a bit of a puzzle to set up, so low to the ground it is a serious ab workout to get in and out (or you can opt to tuck and roll). Also on this trip my colleagues carried the Helinox Chair ($70) and REI trail stool ($23). The Helinox is a bit heavier than the Mayfly but you are higher off the ground, a very nice chair for a bit more weight and less money. The REI stool is lighter than the Mayfly, it has no back but you can whip it out and be sitting in moments, inexpensive, light. My recommendation: REI trail stool.

Very comfortable chair. I didn't think I'd like it but I love having the ability to rock back. It doesn't take hardly any noticeable effort to keep you in a comfortable position while leaning back (I've forgotten at times and picked my leg up, only to have the chair fall forward!). I find leaning back more comfortable than not leaning back but I still like being able to sit forward for cooking or playing cards in camp. My ONLY complaint is that my butt sits too low to the ground when I'm not rocking back. Like literally 1/4" off the ground on hard packed dirt. It needs a slight redesign to get it sitting an extra inch or two off the ground. On soft ground, I have to dig out from under the chair to keep my butt off the dirt.