NEMO  Moonlite Elite Reclining Backpacking Chair

Here me out... understand that I used the first version of this chair that is NOT the ultra light weight chair and I also have the Helinox Chair Zero to compare this with. Take this review for what it is when comparing the chairs. The Nemo Moonlite "Elite" first thoughts compared to the standard Moonlite chair: The Elite verisoin is less comfortable than the standard one. The Elite sits a little lower to the ground. The Elite is a little more flimsy. With the bad out of the way.... its not bad, its totally expected. When you save some weight, its a trade off and at the end of the day, its a fantastic chair. Had I not had the standard moonlight, i would have never noticed the difference. The standard one just had less push back on my legs and back if that makes sense and was a bit smoother fitting around the body when getting up and jumping in one vs the other. If comfort is your ticket and youre not worried about a few extra ounces... go moonlite standard. If smaller pack size and weight is important, go moonlite Elite all day long. The moonlite chair replaced my Helinox chair and the moonlite elite has replaced my moonlite standard now because pack size and weight was important to me over slight comfort changes. It wasn't big enough for me to care because its still a very high quailty chair for a super lite chair. If you didnt notice from the features, one crazy awesome brilliant idea... the chair cover that you put the chair away is also mud foot cover so you dont sink into sand or muddy ground. Even if you get the Helinox chair thats almost the same weight... when you had that part in, the chair goes right back up to 2lbs whereas the Moonlite Elite is still weight champion by FAR now. Even with a couple of cons I mentioned, it does not mean its worth 3 or 4 stars. I can't stand when people do that... this is a 5 star chair. Great quality for how thin and lightweight it is. The true negative here is that price but its made with expensive parts. You pay to shave weight and add performance. I hope this helps anyone!

I was waiting for the release of this chair with high hopes. I have previously been using the original Helinox Chair Zero since its release and it has served me with comfort and without fail on many backpacking trips. I simply wanted a new gadget and Nemo is a good innovator. I purchased the Nemo and brought it home and set it up side by side with the Helinox to compare. After comparing both I’m sticking with the Helinox and returning the Nemo. I like the footprint of the Nemo which keeps the chair from digging into the sand or dirt and was willing to carry the additional 3-1/2 oz for this benefit. However, that is the only improvement it has over the Helinox. The ability to change the reclining position of the Nemo from upright to lounge position sounds awesome, but I really didn’t see a huge change. In my Helinox I simply sit more forward or slouch back; same effect in my opinion. The Helinox is noticeably wider. I’m 5’11” 175 lbs. I’m not that big but the system that Nemo uses to attach the mesh to the poles, although very well made, tends to pinch my lats and underarms when trying to get comfortable. Also, my hips were pinched too, especially when I stretched my legs out straight which made relaxing uncomfortable. I also noticed that the Nemo poles don’t insert into the joints as far a the Helinox does. I’ve never had any issues with my Helinox joints ever seating properly. While setting up the Nemo for the second time I noticed that I was tilting sideways. After looking things over I realized a joint didn’t seat all the way which resulted in a slight kink in the pole. I was able to push it in all the way and it worked fine after that. Make sure the joints are all in before sitting down. I think this is a good, well made chair, but not a break through from what Helinox started. I was swayed by all the hyped up reviews of this chair, but my own assessment sees it falling short. I’m returning the Nemo.