REASONS TO BUY
Supportive for a ground seat
Easy to set up and pack away
REASONS TO AVOID
Bulky
Heavy
Off-balance
Helinox Incline Festival Chair Review
Too heavy for backpacking but if you want a compact chair for outdoor concerts, this model is easy to set up, pack away, and sling over your shoulder
Credit: Helinox
RELATED: Best Backpacking Chair of 2024
Our Verdict
It's all in the name with the Helinox Incline Festival Chair; festivals are the perfect place for this seat. The low to ground design will allow you to use it at shows with height limits, and the adjustable feet will help you relax on slightly inclined terrain. We found it to be a bit off-balance when leaning forward to get out of the chair compared to others we tested. Almost all backpackers would agree that it is too heavy and bulky to carry into the backcountry, but we think this chair is a nice compact option for front country use when a low to ground profile is desired.
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 This Product
Helinox Incline Festival Chair | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards |  Best Choice for Minimalists | Best Backpacking Stool |  Best Bang for the Buck | ||
| Price | $100 List $59.95 at Amazon | Check Price at REI Compare at 3 sellers | Check Price at Backcountry | $69.73 at REI Compare at 3 sellers | $35 List $31.98 at Amazon |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Bottom Line | This chair weighs too much for backpacking but is a great option for outdoor festivals | No excuse not to pack this ultralight, durable, and versatile foam seat | This ultralight twist on a classic egg crate sit pad is made from recycled bits of other camping products | Far more comfortable, packable, and lightweight than expected, this stool impressed our testers | This inexpensive chair has a deep bucket seat and side pockets to keep outdoor accessories within reach |
| Rating Categories | Helinox Incline Fes... | Therm-a-Rest Z Seat | NEMO Chipper | Big Agnes Skyline U... | Moon Lence Backpack... |
| Comfort (35%) | |||||
| Size and Weight (30%) | |||||
| Stability (20%) | |||||
| Ease of Use (15%) | |||||
| Specs | Helinox Incline Fes... | Therm-a-Rest Z Seat | NEMO Chipper | Big Agnes Skyline U... | Moon Lence Backpack... |
| Main Material | 300-denier woven polyester | Cross-linked polyethylene | Reclaimed, remolded polyethylene foam | 70-denier Robic nylon, ripstop nylon 66 | 900D Oxford |
| Measured Weight | 46 oz | 2 oz | 3.3 oz | 20 oz | 36 oz |
| Legs? | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Packed Size | 19 x 6.5 x 5.5 in | 13 x 2.5 x 2.5 in | 12.5 x 4 x 2.5 in | 3.25 x 3.25 x 12 in | 14 x 6 x 5 in |
| Seat Height (butt to ground) | 1 in | 0.5 in | 0 in | 9.5 in | 8 in |
| Seat Width (at edge) | 19 in | 16 in | 17 in | 19 in | 21 in |
| Base Size (width x depth) | 18.5 x 6-13 in | 16 x 13 | 12.8 x 16.5 in | 14.5 x 12 in | 15 x 15 in |
| Features | Adjustable lean | Clip loop | 100% reclaimed foam remnants, ultralight, egg carton mould | 4 legged stool, color-coded frame, hub-less pole design | Storage pocket, carry bag |
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Our Analysis and Test Results
The Incline Festival Chair is unique in that it sits low on the ground like taco-style chairs but offers the supportive back of a tent-style chair. It sets up and breaks down quickly and even goes back into its spacious bag easily, but some of its design features create a narrow audience for its ideal users.
Performance Comparison
A great picnic chair when others are sitting on the ground but you want a little extra comfort
Credit: Elizabeth Paashaus
Comfort
The Incline Festival ranks moderately high in comfort. It has a mix of pros and cons. While it is a ground seat like taco-style chairs, it offers added comfort with a more supportive back that doesn't close around you, thanks to the rigid pole design. The back is tall enough that it won't dig in on anyone but the tallest folks, and the seat is wide at the legs and doesn't restrict or dig in. However, the seat isn't very deep, providing no support to the legs — it mostly just contains your rear, and after sitting a while, you may find that it starts to feel as if you are slowly scooching forward. Our larger testers feel that while the edge of the seat is wide, it narrows a bit too much toward the back and can squeeze the hips and bum.
The little legs can slide forward and back, allowing you to adjust the angle of recline. This comes in handy for personal preference but also on slightly sloped terrain.
The back rest is high and wide so it won't dig in or squeeze your shoulders.
Credit: Elizabeth Paashaus
Size and Weight
The Festival Chair is small enough to happily carry around a festival or park all day, but it's not something to backpack with. It weighs 46 ounces (almost 3 pounds), making it one of the very heaviest models in our review and an unlikely contender for backpacking. Its packed size is also large at 5.5" x 6.5" x 19", which means it's not suited for strapping to the outside of a backpack. However, that weight and the shoulder sling make it easier to tote around a festival or park than most standard camping chairs.
While it isn't compact enough for backpacking, our testers found the size and weight perfectly comfortable for strolling downtown festivals.
Credit: Elizabeth Paashaus
Stability
Our testers rated the Festival Chair relatively low in the stability metric based on its observed desire to tip forward. The short little legs that allow you to adjust your angle, when placed toward the back, create a pivot point that allows the chair to tip forward more easily — unless you have your weight placed fully against the back. When the legs are slid forward, however, stability is not as much of an issue.
When adjusted to recline the chair a bit, the front legs and rear hubs are closer together than most in our test and tipping forward is something to watch out for.
Credit: Elizabeth Paashaus
Ease of Use
The first time we set up this chair, we weren't sure which way the little legs went. Many Helinox chairs include instructions printed somewhere on the product, but we didn't see any on this model. The pole pockets are color-coded, but the colors don't correspond to anything on the poles themselves. However, it was easy to determine which side was up based on the logo.
One of this chair's greatest features, in our opinion, is the easy bag. The long side opens fully with just a single snap and optional clips on either end. This makes it perfect for its ideal end-use: festivals. You can quickly pack away your chair, stuff a few additional items in with it, and set it back up at your next spot.
The bag is spacious enough that you can stuff a few extra items inside.
Credit: Elizabeth Paashaus
Value
If you are someone who goes to a lot of outdoor concerts and festivals and just can't stand the discomfort of taco-style chairs, but you need a low chair to meet the concert venue rules, YOU are who Helinox designed this chair for. However, because of the narrow user demographic of the Festival, our team does not feel that the price is justified for most people. A higher chair can bring you just as much comfort for a lower price, and you can find many lighter-weight options for a lower price as well.
Conclusion
Overall, we think the Helinox Incline Festival Chair does its one job very well: having all the right features for a festival. It offers much more comfort than taco-style chairs for those needing a low-to-ground seat. We like the ability to adjust the incline and love how easy it is to pack into its spacious bag. But the weight can't be justified on pretty much any backpacking trip when many lighter options are available.
Some outdoor music venues restrict chair height to the bare minimum leaving taco-style chairs one of the only options, but the Helinox Festival Incline is one model that is low and supportive.
Credit: Elizabeth Paashaus
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Elizabeth Paashaus
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