Solus wrote on Jun 15^th, 2013 at 12:45pm:


I don't want to be too obnoxious about this, but sitting on your PFD will crush the flotation, which will make it less useful if you ever need it for its intended purpose.

"Is it my imagination or do most folks on this board prefer to walk through the woods hands free? That would seem absolutely foreign to me"

I always carry a paddle in one hand and use it as a walking stick when needed - like taking a big step up or down on one of those slimy big rocks in the portage trail; and constantly in use when walking the corduroy to keep from slipping off the muddy logs.  Very handy for balance when I have to high step over a log in the trial also.  Two paddles, so I can carry one for each of the two loads - if the trail is particularly difficult or has a lot of corduroy to walk, I'll find a stick and use that on the return trip for the boat.


as to the original question - in Quetico, I travel everyday and may do 40 to 50 portages a trip, so I try to go as light as I possibly can - but I don't like sitting on bare rocks or logs - I bring along a gardeners kneeling pad - I have several different ones - the lightest weighs 1.6 oz, others go up to 3.6 oz.  I can often sit on the ground with my back against one of the sitting logs if I want back support.  Going ultralight, I only bring a 3/4 length Thermarest (the lightest 1" version) - I put the kneeling pad under my heels for cushion when sleeping.  If I can't sit while filtering water, I can kneel on that pad.  lots of utility for minimal weight. 

I took one on a quick backpack trip this weekend - aside from its other uses, it works well to pad the back from any rounded items that might poke me in the back.   

and just by the way, I took the same Thermarest I used in Quetico on this little backpack - worked fine for 6 nights in Q, but I got a leak somehow this weekend, and it would deflate after a couple of hours - lots of wild rosebushes around, might be i picked up a thorn somehow - haven't checked it for leaks yet - gald it held up in Q.

I do bring a chair on local river trips, where there isn't any portaging - being of a modest size, I can fit in a kid's size fold up chair - labels say they are good to 150lbs - and it folds up to no longer than 20", so it fits inside a drybag.  Not as comfortable as a full size chair (which everyone else brings), but the low height above ground is an advantage, as I can conveniently use my stove and cook from the chair.

A few years ago, probably fifteen now, when my back started bothering me a bit and my knees got cranky about squatting by the fire for a long time, I looked for a very lightweight, sturdy stool.  We found the one that did the job and it has gone on every trip since.  I really like it, especially for cooking.  But I use it for other sitting times, too.  That isn't to say that I don't sit on a rock or a log, but at age 67 I rarely sit on the ground anymore.

Then two years ago Neil went on a fishing trip with Ramsey Dowgiallo of "Wilderness Journey", and he discovered that Ramsey actually takes a CHAIR along!  Neil thought I would like a chair with a back, so we bought the chair (in the photo) at Pamida in Ely and took it on our 2011 canoe trip for the first time.  It is quite lightweight, and fairly comfortable, although a bit cumbersome to get out of.  I think he sits in it about as much as I do.   

If anyone had told me 40 years ago that we would take a chair up there I would have laughed myself silly.  But now we pretty much consider it part of the equipment, and the chair has replaced our second stool, which was sort of like my first one.

Quote:


I have a folding Coleman directors type chair that I bought at a garage sale just because.
It's extremely light compared to the newer steel tubing versions, I'd guess under #5 as it sits in case.
I plan on doing some work on it this winter, going to skeletonize the tubing as much as possible and cut the legs a bit shorter too.
I figure without case and reworked it should come in at #4 or less.
For the comfort it provides, I'll cut that weight somewhere else.
Some of those uber expensive lightweight chairs look a little flimsy to me and many have the type of legs that sink into the dirt.
The Coleman has durable plastic pads that make it sturdy on any terrain. up
Why they discontinued chairs like that is hard to understand.

Yes, one thing I like about ours (aside from being VERY lightweight) is that it doesn't sink into wet ground like one with four legs would.  Also, is very stable.  Nice for when you are at the fireside cooking and you lean over. . .