For as long as humans could stand upright, they have yearned to sit. Yes, there’s nothing quite like taking a load off after a hard day of recreating in the outdoors. Toting a comfortable seat along for your outdoor adventures presents a few challenges: some are bulky and awkward requiring a separate trip to the back of the truck. Others are space hogs (do I really want to sit, or would I like to bring a second cooler?). And the ultimate problem: some are so tiny and easy to manage that they provide almost zero comfort. Well, fellow adventurer, fret no more! Therm-a-Rest has released a chair that attempts to bridge the gap between peaceful and portable. They call it the Treo Chair.
Whenever car camping was the order of the day, the Treo Chair came with me. It provided a comfortable place to park my rump around many a campfire this summer. Concerts, parks, and just chilling in the backyard were some of the other spots that this chair was tailor made for. Okay, basically anywhere you would use a chair (this isn’t rocket science). The Dyneema Nylon sling is comfortable, and holds its shape very well thanks to the tautness of the pole setup. It has been a very durable setup as well. It’s been battered and beaten in windy campsites, stuffed into the back of my truck with firewood, and handled errant embers from nearby fires.
I dig the Treo Chair, but it does have one glaring issue: the tripod setup. There is a reason ATVs made the leap from three-wheeler to four-wheeler rather quick…three is just not as stable as four. The Treo Chair is definitely stable enough for relaxing in, but once you start wriggling around, it’s “look out below!”. It seemed that my beer intake also had a direct correlation to the amount of times I ended up on the ground. Go figure. Needless to say, you’ll want to scout out a level piece of ground to set the Treo Chair up on.
Despite the occasional bailouts, I am a fan of the Treo Chair. While it’s not perfect, it does strike a great balance between packability and camp comfort. In fact, I doubt I’ll go back to my bulky old camp chairs now that I have the Treo in my gear arsenal. Our troglodyte brethren would truly be envious of such an efficient way of kicking the dogs up!
The Good: Lightweight, small size, easy setup and comfortable.
The Bad: The Treo Chair is not for the drinking man. Or the unbalanced one, either.
The Verdict: If it’s time to step your camp chair game up, the Treo is worth a look. Go small without sacrificing on your camp zen.