BackpackGearTest.org Review - /reviews/Camp Chairs and Seating/Chairs/Pacific Outdoor Equipment Kids Chair/Greg Mehojah/Field Report

Field Testing Locations:
Day Hikes We have taken the POE kids chair on multiple dayhikes in our local hiking area. Primarily we have been taking it along on our hikes to the Sandia Mountains where the unusually wet season has turned dry stream beds into rushing water courses. We hiked about 3 miles (4.8 km) to the water, where my son built dams with river stones, made little stick boats and explored up and down the streams. Afterwards we would dry off on granite slabs while we snacked and silently enjoyed the sound of running water....something not many children of the desert frequently get to experience. My son carried the POE chair during each of these hikes, sometimes by the carrying handles and sometimes strapped to his CamelBak. We took the chair on various hikes in the Sandias chasing the source of these running waters with temperatures ranging from 80 F to 95 F (26-32 C), with mostly sunny skies, involving distances from about 3-6 miles (5-10 km) round trip, and elevation ranges from 7,000 ft to 9,000 ft (2,133 m to 2,743 m) above sea level.
Latir Peaks Wilderness For Labor Day Weekend, my son and I went on a three day backpacking trip to the Latir Peaks Wilderness, in Northern New Mexico. On this hike, I carried the kids chair in the outside of my Osprey Aether 75 pack (lashed to the pack by the three outer compression straps) because I was concerned that the weight may have been too much for my son. This hike involved a 4.5 mile (7.2 km) climb ascending 2,300 feet (701 m) of elevation to Heart Lake, where we made initial camp at 11,500 ft. (3,505 m) above sea level. The temperatures during this trip ranged from 20 F (-6 C) at night to 50 F (10 C) during the day, and involved rain, sleet, snow, and frost. After helping me pitch the tent and take care of routine camp chores, without prodding, my son went right after the kids chair, clipping it together, and setting it next to the fire ring for a relaxing break. The next day, we hiked to Latir Peak, which resides at an elevation of 12,708 ft. (3,873 m). We spent a lot of time around the campfire to keep warm, and my son spent some time in his chair eating breakfast, dinner, and roasting marshmallows to make smores. We left the chair outside on the first night and in the morning it was frozen solid, but the nylon clips still worked effortlessly and my son was able to operate them while wearing his gloves. The chair got a bit dirty on this trip, and we have yet to try to wash it, but plan on doing that during the Long Term phase of this test. Weeks after this trip, it still smells like campfire, so hopefully we can get rid of that when we attempt to wash it up.

General Thoughts:

My son has spent a lot of time sitting in his POE kids chair while at the house, but when he gets into the wilderness, he was more interested in running around camp, chasing after firewood, bugs, exploring behind and under trees, and playing in the water. This is truly just a factor of kids being kids, and does not reflect on the product at all. The chair does get quite a bit of use when my son plays video games at home, or watches television, and he sits in it for a much longer time when using it for these purposes. When my son did sit in the chair in camp, he really enjoyed it, stating that he felt it was really comfortable, and was "cool". He liked the colors and, though he is getting older, thought that the screen printed images were not too "babyish". He never found that his legs or bottom fell asleep while sitting in the chair, though the longest I saw him sitting in it while outside was about 30 minutes while eating dinner and poking at the fire with a stick. After one of the dayhikes he said he wished it was possible to make it lighter and smaller so that he could carry it easier in his pack. After inspecting the chair from our trip to the Latir Peaks, we noticed that embers from our campfire had melted small holes in the nylon fabric, and into the padding underneath. There is also some dirt and ash marks on the yellow surface from normal camp use. We are going to try and scrub it up for the Long Term test phase to see how it fares.

Further Testing Plan:

Reviews > Camp Chairs and Seating > Chairs > Pacific Outdoor Equipment Kids Chair > Greg Mehojah > Field Report

Reviews > Camp Chairs and Seating > Chairs > Pacific Outdoor Equipment Kids Chair > Greg Mehojah > Field Report