Camp chairs · Review

ALPS Mountaineering Rendezvous Chair Review (Bought & Tested!)

I bought this chair with my own money and put it through 10 measured tests.

  • Setup ~12 sec
  • Seat size 20.4 x 14.5 in
  • Seat height 4.0 in
  • Weight 7.1 lbs
ALPS Mountaineering Rendezvous Chair Review
My ALPS Mountaineering Rendezvous Chair.

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Test scorecard

6.9out of 10
Setup9
Quality8.1
Weight7
Breathability6.4
Comfort5.9
Features5

The ALPS Mountaineering Rendezvous is a solid low camp chair for stretching your legs out on the ground — but it’s not the best low chair, nor the cheapest.

What won me over
  • Extremely quick setup
  • Compact
What let me down
  • Limited features (armrests are hard, no storage)
Video review thumbnail for the ALPS Mountaineering Rendezvous Chair

If you prefer watching to reading, check out my video here instead.

See the 10 tests
  1. Set Up
  2. Pack Away
  3. Unfolded Dimensions
  4. Seat Size
  5. Seat Height
  6. Backrest
  7. Mesh
  8. Armrests
  9. Materials & Quality
  10. Portability
  11. Pros, cons, recommendations
  12. Bonus – MUST read!

Set Up

The setup is simple – Just grab two opposite corners and pull the chair into place. This takes just 12 seconds.

The author setting up the ALPS Mountaineering Rendezvous Chair.
Note: The poles are not pre-attached to the fabric though.
The author securing the seat to the poles of the ALPS Mountaineering Rendezvous Chair.
So, if a pole pops out while unfolding, simply secure it back into its pocket. This will take a few seconds more.

Pack Away

Pack-away is just the reverse, and takes 20 seconds.

Unfolded Dimensions

  • Width 22.1inarmrest to armrest
  • Depth 23.5inback to front
  • Height 23.5inground to top

Seat Size

  • Seat width 20.4in
  • Seat depth 14.5in
The seat width of the ALPS Mountaineering Rendezvous Chair.
It’s not a super big seat, but it was more than enough space for me (I’m 5’3, 117lbs).

Seat Height

The seat slopes down from front to back:

  • Front seat height 8.4in
  • Bottom seat height 4.0inwhere your bum area is
The seat height of the ALPS Mountaineering Rendezvous Chair.
This is a total seat slouch of about 4.4in.

Backrest

  • Backrest height 21.0in
  • Backrest width 20.0in
  • Recline angle 21 degrees
The author leaning on the backrest of the ALPS Mountaineering Rendezvous Chair.
This covers almost my entire back but gives no neck support at all.

Mesh

This chair is covered in about 36% mesh, the rest is fabric.

The mesh of the ALPS Mountaineering Rendezvous Chair.
I measured the length and width of the mesh portion to be about 26 x 10in.
Water pooling on the seat of the ALPS Mountaineering Rendezvous Chair.
I noticed water still pools on the mesh and doesn’t drain as well as other chairs though.

Armrests

The armrests are non-adjustable and slanted downwards.

The author using the armrests of the ALPS Mountaineering Rendezvous Chair.
They’re padded with a thin, Styrofoam-like foam that’s too thin to lean on comfortably for long.

Materials & Quality

  • Fabric 600D polyester
  • Poles Powder-coated steel
    • Middle poles 0.67in
    • Side poles 0.87in
  • Stitching Solid, no loose threads
  • Stability Good
  • Weight capacity 300lbs
  • Origin Made in China
  • Warranty Lifetime

Portability

  • Total weight 7.1lbs
    • Chair weight 6.8lbs
    • Carry bag 0.34lbs
  • Packed size 29.1 x 7.75 x 6.75in
  • Ease of carry Shoulder strap
The shoulder strap of the ALPS Mountaineering Rendezvous Chair.
There’s a non-padded but adjustable shoulder strap on the bag.
The author carrying the ALPS Mountaineering Rendezvous Chair.
It’s really easy to carry around.
A packed size comparison between the ALPS Mountaineering Rendezvous Chair, a 1-Liter Nalgene bottle and the Coleman Sundome 2-Person Tent.
It is no bigger than a 2-person Coleman Sundome tent.

Pros, Cons, Recommendations

Now, what are the pros and cons, and would I recommend the ALPS Mountaineering Rendezvous Chair?

Compact size

It packs down to 29.1in — no bigger than a 2-person tent, so it’s easy to carry and store.

Easy to set up & pack away

It takes 12 seconds to set up and 20 seconds to pack away — 3 to 5 times faster than other compact chairs:

Camp ChairSetup TimePack-Away Time
ALPS Rendezvous12 seconds20 seconds
Helinox Sunset45 seconds60 seconds
REI Camp Dreamer72 seconds70 seconds
Big Agnes Big Six110 seconds80 seconds

Can stretch your feet out

The low 4.0in seat lets you stretch your feet out on the ground.

The author sitting on the ALPS Mountaineering Rendezvous Chair.
You can stretch out your feet easily with this chair – no cooler or camp stool needed.

Not very feature-rich

Unfortunately, it lacks quite a few features:

  • No cupholders
  • No pockets
  • No neck support
  • Thin, non-adjustable armrests

Overall recommendation

The ALPS Mountaineering Rendezvous is a solid low chair for sitting close to the ground — think outdoor concerts, festivals, or around the campfire. However, if you want to sit up high, or want features like cupholders and pockets, don’t get this.

Bonus – MUST Read!

I know this because I tested the ALPS Mountaineering Rendezvous Chair against 20 other camping chairs. Check out my Top Camping Chairs article to find out.

Or, check out the ALPS Rendezvous:

Every figure above is from my own testing — measured by hand, bought with my own money.

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