6 Best Lightweight Camp Chairs For Small RV Storage That Nomads Swear By

You’ve just pulled into the perfect boondocking spot, the sun is setting, and the desert air is cooling. You grab your camp chair to enjoy the view, but it’s a cheap, bulky quad-fold that snags on three other things in your storage bay. This daily dance with clumsy gear is where the dream of simple living meets the frustrating reality of poor planning.

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Why Compact Chairs are a Non-Negotiable RV Item

In a small rig, you don’t measure storage in square feet; you measure it in cubic inches. Every single item must fight for its place, and a bulky, awkward camp chair is often the first offender. It’s the kind of gear that seems like a minor inconvenience until you’ve tripped over it for the tenth time.

The mistake many new RVers make is grabbing a couple of cheap, comfortable-looking chairs from a big-box store. They feel great in the aisle, but they pack down into a long, clumsy tube that fits nowhere. It either lives in your shower, on your bed, or jammed in a pass-through bay, becoming a constant obstacle.

A great compact chair isn’t just about sitting. It’s about effortlessly extending your living space. When your chair packs down to the size of a water bottle, you’re more likely to pull it out for a quick five-minute coffee break or carry it 100 yards to a scenic overlook. It transforms the outdoors from a destination into an accessible part of your home.

Helinox Chair One: The Ultralight Gold Standard

If you’ve spent any time around serious outdoor enthusiasts, you’ve seen a Helinox. The Chair One set the standard for what an ultralight, packable chair could be, and for good reason. It uses high-end DAC aluminum poles—the same kind found in premium backpacking tents—that snap together with shock-cording.

The magic is in the engineering. It packs down to the size of a large thermos, weighs just over two pounds, yet it holds up to 320 pounds. The setup is intuitive and takes less than a minute once you’ve done it a couple of times. The single-piece fabric seat creates a comfortable, supportive bucket that cradles you.

The obvious tradeoff is the price. A Helinox is an investment, and many people balk at spending that much on a camp chair. But after 15 years of watching gear fail, I can tell you this: you’re not just paying for the name; you’re paying for the durability, the impossibly small packed size, and the confidence that it won’t collapse under you. For the RVer with minimal space and a demand for quality, it’s often worth every penny.

REI Co-op Flexlite Air: Value and Portability

Think of the Flexlite Air as the people’s champion of ultralight chairs. REI took the successful formula pioneered by Helinox and created a version that delivers nearly identical performance at a more accessible price point. It’s the smart choice for those who want top-tier packability without the premium branding.

The design is remarkably similar to the Chair One, featuring a shock-corded aluminum frame and a single-piece sling seat. It’s incredibly light—tipping the scales at just one pound—and packs down into a ridiculously small stuff sack. It’s the kind of chair you can literally forget you have in your storage compartment until you need it.

Where’s the compromise? The materials and tolerances might be a small step down from the Helinox, but for the vast majority of users, the difference is negligible. What isn’t negligible is the value, especially for REI members who can take advantage of sales and dividends. For most small RV owners, the Flexlite Air hits the absolute sweet spot between packed size, weight, and cost.

CLIQ Chair: The Ultimate Space-Saving Solution

The CLIQ Chair approaches the problem from a completely different angle. It’s not trying to be the lightest chair on the market. Instead, its entire design is optimized for one thing: the smallest possible packed volume and the fastest possible deployment.

Forget stuff sacks and separate poles. The CLIQ collapses into a solid, bottle-sized cylinder with the press of a button. You can genuinely store two or three of these in the space a single traditional folding chair would occupy. Setting it up is almost theatrical—you just open the legs and it pops into a stable, three-legged stool with a small backrest.

This design comes with clear tradeoffs. It’s heavier than a Helinox, and the low back doesn’t offer the same lounging comfort for long evenings by the fire. But its strength is in its immediacy. It’s the perfect chair for a roadside lunch stop, a quick chat with a neighbor, or for anyone whose storage is limited to small, rigid cubbies where a soft stuff sack won’t fit. It’s a tool for convenience.

GCI Outdoor Pico: Telescoping Comfort and Support

What if you crave the small packed size of a modern chair but can’t live without the sturdy feel and armrests of a traditional one? The GCI Outdoor Pico is your answer. This chair is a marvel of telescoping engineering, offering a full-featured seating experience that packs down brilliantly.

Instead of a flimsy tube, the Pico collapses into a tidy, rectangular package about the size of a laptop bag. This shape is often far easier to store in an RV than a long, round bag. When unfolded, you get a comfortable, upright chair with a high back, padded armrests, and even a little side table with a cupholder. It feels substantial.

Of course, this substance comes at the cost of weight and complexity. At over nine pounds, it’s a heavyweight compared to the ultralights, and the telescoping mechanism has more moving parts that could potentially fail. But for the RVer who prioritizes fireside comfort over featherlight portability, the Pico offers an unmatched blend of creature comforts and clever storage.

ALPS Mountaineering Rendezvous: Low-Profile Lounger

Not every situation calls for an upright, dining-height chair. Sometimes you just want to recline, stretch your legs toward the fire, and relax. The ALPS Mountaineering Rendezvous is built for exactly that. It’s a low-profile chair that prioritizes a laid-back, lounging posture.

Its simple steel frame folds flat, making it easy to slide into narrow vertical spaces, like behind a water tank or alongside a cabinet. Because you’re sitting low to the ground, it’s incredibly stable on sand, gravel, or uneven terrain where taller, tippier chairs might struggle. It’s the quintessential "concert-in-the-park" or "beach-day" chair.

The packed size is a different kind of compact. It isn’t a tiny bundle; it’s a thin, flat rectangle. This can be a huge advantage in certain storage layouts. This chair is for the RVer whose outdoor time is more about chilling out than sitting up. It’s simple, durable, and exceptionally comfortable for kicking back.

Crazy Creek Hex 2.0: The Minimalist Ground Seat

When space is so tight that even a bottle-sized chair is too much, you need to rethink what a "chair" even is. The Crazy Creek is the legendary solution for the absolute minimalist. It’s less of a chair and more of a personal support system that you can deploy anywhere.

Essentially a padded, foldable mat with adjustable straps, the Hex 2.0 provides insulation from the cold, wet ground and crucial back support. You can use it on the ground, on a log, or to make a hard picnic bench comfortable. It weighs virtually nothing and rolls up tighter than a yoga mat, allowing you to stuff it in any nook or cranny.

This is not a chair for lounging. It’s a utilitarian piece of gear for people who refuse to be uncomfortable but have zero space to spare. It’s the ultimate proof that you don’t need four legs and armrests to create a comfortable outdoor living space. For van lifers, truck campers, or anyone playing the cubic-inch game at an expert level, the Crazy Creek is an indispensable tool.

Choosing Your Chair: Balancing Comfort & Packed Size

There is no single "best" chair. The right choice is a direct reflection of your RV’s storage constraints and your personal lifestyle. Don’t just look at a chair’s weight; look at its packed shape. A long, thin bag might fit in one rig, while a short, stout cylinder is perfect for another.

Before you buy, ask yourself these critical questions:

• Primary Use: Am I sitting for hours by a fire (comfort is key) or making quick stops (deployment speed matters)?
• Storage Reality: Do I have a deep bay that can fit a long object, or am I limited to small, boxy cabinets? Measure your space first.
• Body Type & Comfort Needs: Do I need good back support? Are armrests non-negotiable? Can I comfortably get up from a low-to-the-ground seat?
• Weight vs. Features: Am I willing to carry a heavier chair for more features, or is every ounce a prisoner?

Many nomads I know actually carry two different types of chairs. They might have an ultralight model like the Flexlite for portability and a more robust, comfortable chair like the Pico for long-term camp stays. This "two-chair system" provides versatility without the bulk of two traditional clunkers.

Ultimately, the goal is to find the chair that you will actually use. The lightest, most expensive chair in the world is useless if it stays packed away because it’s uncomfortable. The best chair is the one that removes friction between you and the outdoors, making it effortless to step outside and live.

Your gear should serve your lifestyle, not dictate it. Choosing the right chair is a small decision that has a massive impact on your daily comfort and your ability to enjoy the freedom you sought in the first place. Invest in a solution that fits your space, and you’ll spend less time wrestling with gear and more time watching the sunset.