REI Co-op Flexlite Camp Chair Review
For camping purposes, the $90 REI Co-op Flexlite’s biggest strength is its portability. At under two pounds and compact enough to slide into a backpack’s side pocket, it works as both a lightweight car camping chair and a luxury item for short overnight trips. Unfortunately, that’s also where most of our praises end. Comfort is mediocre, the narrow footprint makes it unstable on anything but flat ground, and its lower weight capacity and middling build quality lag behind many competing scoop-style chairs.
Comfort
Stability
Durability
Ease of Use
Portability
Sustainability
Weight
1 lb. 11 oz.
Dimensions (W/D/H)
20 x 20 x 25 in.
Seat Height
11 in.
Weight Capacity
250 lb.
Pros
Cons
REI Co-op Flexlite
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To put it plainly, the REI Co-op Flexlite Camp Chair is not particularly comfortable. In terms of design, the seat naturally puts you in a slightly reclined lounging position like most scoop-style chairs. It also uses small cutouts near where the base meets the backrest to improve airflow and help the fabric conform more naturally to your body.
While the chair itself is decently supportive, I could feel the upper corners and parts of the frame pressing into my shoulders and lats whenever I leaned back. During longer sits, the seams from the seat cutouts also started digging into my glutes, which became increasingly annoying over time. The front edge of the seat created another pressure point beneath my hamstrings when my legs were outstretched, which became even more noticeable when the fabric started to bunch. I ran into a similar seat-edge issue on my REI Co-op Flexlite Camp Boss, but it feels even more pronounced here because of the tighter seat dimensions.
The narrow seat also left very little room for my arms, which usually ended up hanging off the sides or folded across my stomach. Compared to similarly sized scoop-style chairs like my Helinox Chair One (re), the Flexlite doesn’t conform to my body nearly as well. Ultimately, while it’s still better than sitting on a rock or log, it’s not a chair I particularly look forward to lounging in for extended stretches.
While most scoop-style camp chairs have a bit of natural wobble, the Flexlite feels unusually unstable, even with its low 11-inch seat height. The issue largely comes down to its narrow base and front-to-back crossbar layout. Compared to chairs like my Chair One (re) or Nemo Satellite Reclining Camp Chair, both of which use a more stable side-to-side crossbar configuration, the Flexlite feels noticeably more squirrelly. Even the larger Flexlite Camp Boss, which uses a similar frame layout, feels more stable simply because of its wider footprint.
As a result, even small movements—like turning around to talk to someone, reaching for something on the ground, or simply readjusting in the seat—often caused parts of the frame to lift slightly or wobble underneath me. Its instability was especially noticeable while sitting around a campfire at Malibu Creek State Park on slightly uneven terrain, where I constantly had to keep my feet planted while subtly engaging my core to avoid feeling like the chair might dump me out. The small, rounded feet also sink fairly easily into soft ground or sand, which further limits where the chair feels comfortable to use. Honestly, the chair only felt truly stable when I stayed completely still on level ground.
The Flexlite’s durability feels pretty in line with a lot of REI’s more budget-oriented gear: reasonably solid overall, but not especially premium. Its 300-denier ripstop polyester seat fabric is thick enough that I’m not particularly worried about tearing it, and it also beads water reasonably well. The aluminum frame feels decently sturdy, too, and nothing about the chair immediately comes across as flimsy.
Still, the seat fabric is noticeably thinner than burlier options like the Kelty Lowdown, which uses 600-denier fabric. The frame poles are also slimmer than those on my Satellite or Flexlite Camp Boss, and the corner pole pockets use simple fabric sleeves rather than more reinforced attachment systems like the nylon resin hubs on the Chair One (re). Finally, its 250-pound weight capacity is lower than many competitors, which often support 300 pounds or more.
Like most scoop-style models, the Flexlite takes a little more effort to set up than a classic camp chair, but it’s still a very simple process. It comes in two separate pieces, and assembly simply involves pulling everything out of the stuff sack, constructing the frame, and attaching the seat. Altogether, it takes around a minute to build, and I found it easiest to attach the top two corners of the seat first before stretching the bottom corners into place. Overall, the process feels very similar to my Flexlite Camp Boss and Chair One (re).
Packing it away also requires a bit more effort than a classic camp chair, and I found that wrapping the seat around the frame like a burrito made it easier to slide everything back into the stuff sack. The Flexlite also skips convenience features like cupholders, armrests, or storage pockets. But for a scoop-style chair, it doesn’t get much simpler than this.
For all of its faults, portability is one area where the Flexlite genuinely shines. At 1 pound 11 ounces with a packed size of 15 by 4.5 inches (roughly the size of a small campfire log), it’s one of the lightest and most compact camp chairs I’ve used, easily fitting inside a daypack, tote bag, or beach bag without taking up much room. That compact size also makes it genuinely viable for short overnight trips. In fact, I carried it on a two-day, 8-mile backpacking trip in Bears Ears National Monument, where it fit neatly into my backpack’s side pocket. Even my Chair One (re), which is itself fairly portable, still weighs more at 2 pounds 7.4 ounces and packs down slightly larger.
Less impressive is the bare-bones storage bag, which features just a simple cinch closure with no handles or extra organization. And while the Flexlite is undeniably portable, even lighter backpacking-focused chairs like the Nemo Moonlite Elite (1 lb. 2 oz.) and Helinox Chair Zero LT (1 lb. 1.4 oz.) undercut it by a noticeable margin. Still, for a camping chair, the Flexlite ranks among the more portable options available.
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Longevity
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Recycled Materials
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Bluesign Approved
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Responsible Manufacturing
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Recycled and/or Reduced Packaging
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Repair Services
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Resale and/or Recycling Services
Resale and recycling programs help keep outdoor gear in circulation longer and out of landfills, ranging from trade-in resale platforms that offer store credit to take-back initiatives that recycle products at the end of their usable life. A green check mark indicates a brand offers both resale and recycling programs, a yellow check mark indicates it offers one or the two, and a red X indicates it offers neither.
Carbon Footprint Tracking
This criterion evaluates whether a brand measures, reports, and works to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions using established frameworks such as the Higg Index, Greenhouse Gas Protocol, or The Change Climate Project. A green check mark indicates a brand publicly reports greenhouse gas emissions data, sets clearly defined reduction targets, and uses established tracking frameworks such as Higg or The Change Climate Project. A yellow check mark indicates the brand tracks emissions and outlines reduction goals but provides limited data, lacks science-based verification, or does not clearly report progress. A red X indicates the brand does not appear to track greenhouse gas emissions or provides so little information that its efforts cannot be verified.
Annual Impact Report
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Armrests, Cupholders, and Pockets
The Flexlite is about as stripped down as a camp chair gets. There are no armrests, cupholders, storage pockets, or other convenience features built in. I did find myself wishing it had a small side pocket on my Chair One (re), which is handy for stashing a phone or book off the ground. That said, it’s not a huge deal, and that minimalist approach is clearly part of what allowed REI to keep the chair so compact and lightweight.
REI Flexlite Camp Boss ($120): Simply, A Better Camp Chair
It’s easy to assume that the REI Co-op Flexlite Camp Chair is simply a more compact version of its larger sibling—they share essentially the same frame and seat design, after all. But take a closer look, and the Flexlite starts to lag noticeably behind. Its weight capacity is 50 pounds lower than the Flexlite Camp Boss’s, while its smaller base and thinner poles make it less stable and durable. We also experienced more pressure points: in addition to discomfort from the front edge, we could feel the top of the frame pressing into our backs as well. The Flexlite’s only major advantage is its improved packability, but unless you plan to use it primarily for backpacking, the $30 savings don’t feel worth it. For more, see our Flexlite Camp Boss review.
Helinox Chair One (re) ($140): Worth The Splurge
Yes, there’s a decent price jump from the Flexlite to the Chair One (re), but if you’ve got the funds, it’s well worth the splurge. The Chair One (re) hugs your body more comfortably, and thanks to its stable base, you can actually relax in it without worrying about tipping over. It’s also a noticeable step up in build quality, with a 70-pound higher weight capacity and sturdier nylon resin hubs securing the frame. The Flexlite does weigh about three-quarters of a pound less, but the Chair One (re) is still a legitimately lightweight chair that’s easy to carry on most day-long outings. Do yourself a favor and save up for the Chair One (re). For more, read our Chair One (re) review.
The Flexlite is a hybrid backpacking and camping chair, with its greatest strengths being its low weight and packable size. Otherwise, we were let down by its tippy construction and mediocre comfort and support.
Comfort
Stability
Durability
Ease of Use
Portability
Sustainability
The Flexlite Camp Boss’s standout attributes are its generously sized seat and small packed size. Otherwise, we think it’s a fairly mediocre camp chair, with so-so comfort, sturdiness, and features.
Comfort
Stability
Durability
Ease of Use
Portability
Sustainability
The Chair One (re) improves on its predecessor in several ways, particularly in the comfort department. It still lacks nice-to-have features like armrests, but campers who prioritize a lightweight option that fits easily inside a daypack or a tote bag will love its portability.
Comfort
Stability
Durability
Ease of Use
Portability
Sustainability
Is the Flexlite for You?
The REI Flexlite is best suited for a pretty specific type of camper: someone on a tighter budget whose top priority is portability. Its small packed size and low weight make it a viable camping-backpacking crossover option, but getting there requires some major compromises in comfort and stability. And with plenty of more refined scoop-style chairs now on the market—including the larger Flexlite Camp Boss that’s pictured above (left side)—the Flexlite really only makes sense if you plan to fully take advantage of its compact design and don’t want to spend extra on a premium alternative.
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