Helinox Chairs, Cots and Camp Tables

What Helinox makes for camp

On this site, Helinox covers three product types: camp chairs, cots and camp tables. One beach chair and one ground strap round out the grid.

Everything in it is built the same way. Aluminum poles, held together with shock cord and nylon hubs, snap into a frame. A fabric seat, sleeping deck or tabletop goes on top. It all packs into a sack.

Helinox's own site also sells shade, bags, trekking poles, games and chair accessories such as rocking feet and ball feet. This site doesn't list those, so they aren't in the grid.

The grid shows what's on Amazon right now, filtered by type. It changes as listings come and go, so I'll write about the lines and what separates them. Most specs in the grid come from Amazon listings, and the grid marks those values. Product weights on this page come from the maker.

How the Helinox chair lineup is organized

Here's the thing about the Helinox chair names: they sort by what you give up. Helinox groups its chairs as ultralight, lightweight and high-back, plus stools. Read the group, and you know the trade before you read the specs.

• Chair Zero family: the lightest, lowest seats, rated for 265 lb
• Chair One family: a little heavier, a little higher, rated for 320 lb
• High-back chairs: Sunset, Savanna and the Chair One Highback, taller and heavier
• Table-height chairs: the Café Chair
• The Speed Stool: no back at all

My one opinion on this page: for camp use, choose a Helinox chair by its rating and seat height, not its packed ounces. The walk from the truck to the fire ring is short, and the evening is long. The maker's own ratings show why the rating comes first: 265 lb on the Chair Zero line, 320 lb on most of the rest. If you're near the lower number, buy the higher one.

Lineup notes: Helinox chairs

Chair Zero, Chair Zero LT and Chair Zero High-Back

The Chair Zero is the maker's original ultralight chair, built for backpackers. Per Helinox, it weighs 1 lb 2 oz, sits 6.5 inches off the ground and holds 265 lb. It packs down to about the size of a water bottle.

The Chair Zero LT is lighter again. Helinox calls it its lightest chair at 1 lb 1.5 oz, rated for 265 lb. The maker says it suits backpackers, youth and adults under 5 feet 9 inches. It also lists scouting and fishing among its uses, and says an X-Strap stabilizer keeps the legs from sinking in sand.

The Chair Zero High-Back adds shoulder and upper back support to the same ultralight build. It's rated for 265 lb too.

A 6.5-inch seat is low. Getting out of it is a two-stage process past a certain age. I'm past it.

Chair One, Chair One (re) and Chair Two

The Chair One is the chair the brand started with. Helinox says it introduced the original Chair One in 2012. Per the maker, it weighs 1 lb 15.5 oz, sits 9 inches high and holds 320 lb, on a frame of what Helinox calls DAC TH72M aluminum alloy.

The grid shows the original Chair One and the newer Chair One (re), which the maker describes as the original "reimagined" and more comfortable. It also shows the Chair One Highback (re) and the Chair Two, whose specs come from their listings. Check which version a listing is before you order. The names differ by two letters and a parenthesis.

Sunset, Savanna and the high-back chairs

The high-back chairs sit taller and support your neck and shoulders. Per the maker:

• Sunset Chair: longer leg poles for easier in and out, a high back, 3 lb 7 oz packed, 320 lb
• Savanna Chair: armrests, cup holders on both sides, a tall back, 320 lb
• Sunset Chair (re): the newer version, with specs from its listing

These are the ones I'd point a camp-chair buyer to if the chair is going around a fire, not up a mountain. Seat height matters more than ounces when the walk is from the truck to the fire ring. More on high, sturdy seats is on the heavy duty camping chair page.

Café Chair, Incline Festival Chair and Speed Stool

The Café Chair sits at standard table height and is rated for 320 lb, per the maker. Helinox pairs it with the Café Table for cooking and meals. The Incline Festival Chair is in the grid with its specs from the listing.

The Speed Stool is the smallest seat in the lineup. Helinox says it needs no assembly, weighs 15.5 oz packed, sits 10.5 inches off the ground and holds 220 lb. The maker lists hiking, cycling and fishing as its uses. A stool with no back is the right seat for someone who'll be standing up every ten minutes anyway.

Danny's take: "If it packs smaller than my thermos, I will lose it in the truck." He has lost smaller things in that truck, including a thermos.

More on packable chairs across brands is on the ultralight camping chair page and the camping chair page.

The Beach Chair (re)

The Beach Chair (re) is low to the ground with splayed legs and flat feet. Helinox says those feet won't sink into soft sand, mud or turf. Per the maker, it weighs 3.75 lb and holds 320 lb. Beach chairs across brands are on the beach chair page, and best beach chair has a ranked list.

Lineup notes: Helinox cots

Cot One: the middle of the lineup

The Cot One is the maker's flagship cot. Per Helinox, it uses a lever-lock system to pull the sleeping surface taut so it doesn't sag. The Convertible weighs 4 lb 14.5 oz, holds 320 lb and sits 6.5 inches off the ground. It packs into a 21 by 6 by 5.5-inch cylinder.

The maker sells leg extensions separately that raise it to 15 inches. The grid shows Regular and Long versions, plus an Insulated version that Helinox describes with a built-in R5 pad for four-season use.

Lite Cot and Cot Max: the two ends

The Lite Cot is the light end. Helinox calls it its lightest cot, for backpackers who count ounces: 2 lb 12 oz packed, 265 lb, 5 inches high. The maker notes you can use three leg braces instead of four to save weight.

The Cot Max is the big end. Helinox calls it its roomiest cot, 82.5 inches long and rated for 320 lb.

Air underneath is cold

Helinox says plainly that air circulating under a cot can feel cool, and that many people add a sleeping pad on top. In November in the mountains, that's not optional. A cot keeps you off the cold ground. It doesn't keep you warm.

The cots at our cabin never travel farther than the bunk room, which tells you the job they were bought for. A packable cot is a different job. Pick the cot for the walk it has to make. More on cot types across brands is on the camping cot page.

Lineup notes: Helinox camp tables

The tables use the same pole-and-hub frame as the chairs. Per the maker:

• Table One Hard Top: an inner polycarbonate sheet for a flat top, 2 lb packed, holds 110 lb
• Table One: the fabric-top original
• Café Table: dining height at 27 inches, a laminate top the maker says handles temperatures up to 356°F, 6 lb 13.5 oz packed, holds 110 lb
• Table Four: a larger polycarbonate top at dining height for a group

The grid also shows a Table One Hard Top Large and a Café Table Wide. Rule of thumb: match the table height to the chairs. A 15-inch table next to a dining-height chair means eating your chili off your knees. More on table types is on the camping table page.

How to choose within the Helinox lineup

Seat height first

This is the spec people skip and regret. The Chair Zero line sits around 6.5 to 7 inches high, the Chair One around 9, the Sunset and Savanna higher still, the Café Chair at table height. If your knees complain, start high.

Weight rating second

Most of the lineup is rated for 320 lb. The Chair Zero family and the Lite Cot are rated for 265 lb, and the Speed Stool for 220 lb. Treat each number as the limit, with room to spare.

Packed weight last

Packed weight matters when the chair rides in a pack. It matters much less when it rides in the truck bed. If you hunt from the ground and carry a seat in, the Zero line and the Speed Stool earn their ounces. If you're at a drive-up deer camp, pick the comfortable seat and stop counting. Hunting seats built for blinds are on the hunting chair page.

Soft ground

Thin chair feet can sink in sand, mud or soft turf. Helinox sells a Ground Strap, in the grid, that the maker says adds surface area and stops tipping on uneven ground, and fits every Helinox chair and table. The Beach Chair (re) and the Chair Zero LT handle it with wider feet and a strap.

Care, setup and warranty basics

Helinox says its seats are not machine washable. Spot-clean with warm water and let them dry fully before packing. After sand or salt water, brush off loose sand and rinse the frame with fresh water to protect the finish. For the hard-top tables, wipe the top with warm water and the frame with mild detergent, and dry before storing.

The maker says the Chair One is supported with self-repair parts: poles, hubs, shock cord, end caps and feet, plus replacement seats. That's the kind of thing a shop teacher notices.

The warranty is five years from the original owner's purchase date, for products bought from an authorized Helinox dealer, covering manufacturing defects in materials and workmanship. Normal wear, accidents, improper care and non-standard use aren't covered. Claims start with a form on the Helinox site.

Who's behind Helinox

Helinox describes itself as a design-first company "since 2009," and says it introduced the original Chair One in 2012. Its product pages say the frames use DAC's proprietary aluminum alloy, and that Helinox is the only furniture brand to use DAC poles exclusively. I couldn't verify where Helinox is based or where the products are made, so those are left out.

Pick the seat height, respect the weight rating, and rinse the sand off. The chair will do the rest, which is more than I can say for most chairs at camp.