Product image supplied by the brand
In this guide
Helinox sells the Chair One to the UK from its European store at £99.95, in stock on 2026-10-16 in Black and Coyote Tan, with a MultiCam version at £119.95 listed as unavailable. This is the chair the brand bills as the original: 965 g packed in a 35.5 x 11 x 11 cm zip case, a 52.5 cm by 51 cm seat, a 145 kg load rating, and a DAC TH72M aluminium frame under a bluesign-certified recycled 600D polyester seat with mesh panels. The warranty runs five years against manufacturing defects, and Helinox lists spare parts for the model.
The purchase is decided by how the chair travels, not by how it sits. The cheap alternatives on GO Outdoors are a £15 Eurohike Peak folding armchair at 2.2 kg and a £40 Hi-Gear Kentucky Classic at 3.5 kg. Against them the Chair One gives up armrests and, on the evidence of its own FAQ, seat height, and wins 1.2 kg on the first and 2.5 kg on the second. That trade pays when the grams ride on a person. When the chair goes boot to pitch, £99.95 buys little the £15 chair does not already do, and the Chair One (re) at £115.95 redraws the line for sitters who want easier access.
Our verdict
Buy the £99.95 Chair One when it rides on your back or in panniers: 965 g and a 35.5 cm case are the product. When the car carries it, a £15 to £40 folding chair will do.
- A good fit for
- A backpacker, motorcyclist or fly-in camper whose load is counted in grams and whose luggage has a side pocket to spare, and anyone who has left a chair behind because it would not fit.
- We would skip it if
- Car-to-pitch trips; knees that struggle out of a 22.5 cm seat; a body over the 145 kg rating; or a sitter who wants armrests and a reclined position.
Reasons to consider it
- Packs to 35.5 x 11 x 11 cm and 965 g in the included zip case, a shape that lives in a rucksack side pocket or beside a carry-on, where a folded armchair does not
- Rated to 145 kg on a DAC TH72M aluminium frame, against 90 kg and 100 kg on the two GO Outdoors folding chairs it undercuts on weight
- A repair path cheap folding chairs do not offer: a replacement seat at £31.95 and a set of four feet at £12.95 are in stock, all under a five-year manufacturing-defect warranty
The compromises
- The seat sits 22.5 cm off the ground, and the geometry that shrinks the case is the same geometry that costs stiff knees on the way up; the sides are tensioned fabric, not armrests
- £99.95 buys portability only: the £15 Eurohike Peak has armrests and a drinks holder, and the weight you save over it is 1.2 kg
- Delivery is quoted in euros: free from €199, otherwise €17 to the United Kingdom, so one chair carries a postage line the price does not show
What we have not verified: Helinox's own page disagrees on seat height: the quick-facts row prints Seat Height 65 cm, the same figure as the overall height, while the FAQ puts the seat 22.5 cm up and the page never reconciles the two; the FAQ figure is used here. The copy calls the frame green anodised and the Black colourway's photo shows a cyan frame. The product page title promises free shipping while the shipping page quotes a €199 threshold. How the resin hubs and silicone shock cord age is documented nowhere, and the GO Outdoors pages give no seat height or packed size for the folding chairs, so the comparison runs on weight, rating and price.
The things in this guide
A closer look at the products, who they may suit, and what to check before buying.
Chair One
£99.95 from Helinox buys a 965 g packed weight and a 35.5 x 11 x 11 cm zip case with a daisy chain and webbing handle, a 145 kg rating on a DAC TH72M aluminium frame, a recycled 600D polyester seat with mesh ventilation, and a five-year defect warranty with a standing parts menu.
Before you buy: The seat sits 22.5 cm up at 52.5 cm wide; the 145 kg rating caps who fits; the seat spot-cleans only; and the saving over a £15 folding armchair is 1.2 kg, so none of the price buys comfort a cheap chair lacks at a campsite.
Price checked 16 October 2026. Retailer prices can change.965 g, and a case shaped like a tent pole
Helinox's own table does the selling. The packed weight is 965 g, and the assembled chair at 893 g is a little lighter. Seat width is 52.5 cm and depth 51 cm. The whole thing collapses into a 35.5 x 11 x 11 cm zip case, with a daisy chain and a webbing handle. The architecture is tent hardware shrunk to furniture scale: DAC TH72M aluminium alloy legs joined by silicone shock cord and resin hubs, unfolded and clicked into place with no tools.
The packed shape is this chair's reason to exist: a 35 cm baton slides where folded armchairs cannot go, such as a rucksack side pocket, a pannier lid or the gap beside a carry-on. The shape does not weaken the structure; the page prints a 145 kg rating in the same specification table as the packed figures. The fit guidance is just as plain, since the chair is optimised for adults up to 185 cm.
A 52 cm seat, 22.5 cm off the ground
The seat is bluesign-certified recycled 600D polyester with recycled mesh panels across the back and sides. The FAQ fixes the seat at 22.5 cm up, against 17.5 cm for the lighter Chair Zero. The quick-facts row prints 65 cm, which is the overall height repeated, so the page contradicts itself and the FAQ figure is the one to trust.
Twenty-two and a half centimetres is the number to think about before buying. With knees above hips the sitter powers up from the thighs, and the sides are fabric corners, not armrests to push off. Helinox's own range concedes the point: the Chair One (re) at £115.95 has a 71 cm frame and a 57 cm seat, and the FAQ says it makes sitting down and standing up much easier. Wind is the other documented limit, and the FAQ's answer is another purchase, a separate Chair Anchor.
£99.95 against £15 and £40: where the gap is weight
GO Outdoors gives two honest benchmarks. The Eurohike Peak is £15, weighs 2.2 kg, takes 90 kg and has armrests and a drinks holder. The Hi-Gear Kentucky Classic is £40, weighs 3.5 kg, takes 100 kg, and adds a steel frame and a quilted seat. Against the Peak the Chair One saves 1.2 kg and gains 55 kg of rating; against the Kentucky it saves 2.5 kg and gains 45 kg. Neither page publishes a seat height or a packed size, so those two comparisons stay unmade.
When the chair rides on a person, the grams are the purchase. Backpackers, motorcyclists and anyone whose boot is already full turn a bulky armchair into a 35 cm baton, and the £85 premium over the Peak buys that conversion and little else. When the chair goes boot to pitch the maths runs backward, because the cheaper chairs have armrests, and the Peak costs about a seventh as much. What they do not offer is a parts list and a five-year term.
A five-year defect warranty, and a £31.95 spare seat
Helinox covers manufacturing defects in materials and workmanship for five years from the original owner's purchase date and repairs or replaces defective product free of charge, at its discretion. The exclusions set the working limits: wear and tear, accidents, improper care or cleaning, non-standard usage and negligence sit outside cover, and the chair must come from an authorised dealer. The warranty page says moving parts wear out and fabrics deteriorate over time, which leaves shock cord, hubs and seat fabric to the owner once they age.
The parts list softens that with numbers, with one caveat on the day of checking. A replacement seat is £31.95 and a set of four rubber feet £12.95, both in stock; a replacement case at £8.95 and a replacement frame at £49.95 are listed but unavailable. The seat is not machine washable, and the FAQ directs owners to spot-clean with warm water and dry the chair fully before packing it away.
Buying direct also carries two quirks. Delivery is quoted in euros: free from €199, otherwise €17 to the UK, so a single chair carries postage the £99.95 headline does not. Returns run 30 days for an unused chair, with the buyer paying the original and return shipping unless the claim is a warranty one.
Where Chair One ends: the (re), the XL, and the Zero
Three siblings redraw the boundaries. The Chair One (re), £115.95, is the accessibility pick: a frame 71 cm tall overall against 65 cm for the original, a seat 57 cm wide against 52.5, and a packed weight of 1115 g. The Chair One XL, £154.95, is the size upgrade, described as 40% bigger and comfier. The Chair Zero, from the FAQ, is the gram-counter's version at 494 g, a 17.5 cm seat and a 120 kg rating.
How we put this together
Built from the product pages and listings below, without test scores or results we have not measured. Specifications and prices change, so check the original page for the exact model, current price, delivery, and returns.
- Helinox Europe (UK store): Chair One product page (opens in a new tab)
- Helinox Europe: Warranty Policy (opens in a new tab)
- Helinox Europe (UK store): Replacement Parts collection (opens in a new tab)
- Helinox Europe: Shipping and Returns (opens in a new tab)
- Helinox Europe: Refund policy (opens in a new tab)
- Helinox Europe (UK store): Chair One (re) product page (opens in a new tab)
- Helinox Europe (UK store): Chair One XL product page (opens in a new tab)
- GO Outdoors: Eurohike Peak Folding Chair (opens in a new tab)
- GO Outdoors: Hi-Gear Kentucky Classic Chair (opens in a new tab)
