Backpacking chairs · Vs review
Big Agnes Skyline VS. Helinox Chair Zero: I Bought & Tested Both
I bought both chairs with my own money and ran them through 8 side-by-side tests.
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Big Agnes Skyline UL ChairLightweight Backpacking Chair
- Setup~52 sec
- Seat size21.3 x 10.5 in
- Seat height10.1 in
- Weight1.89 lbs
Helinox Chair ZeroUltralight Backpacking Chair
- Setup~40 sec
- Seat size19.6 x 11.0 in
- Seat height7.5 in
- Weight1.15 lbs
The short answer
Get the Helinox Chair Zero if the weight on your back comes first. Get the Big Agnes Skyline for everything else.
The Helinox Chair Zero is 11.79oz lighter, takes about 21% less room in a pack, and has the better fabric and poles. The Big Agnes Skyline sits 2.6in higher, has 46% more base area, and holds its shape under me instead of hanging like a hammock. I much prefer Big Agnes for comfort, and Helinox for portability.
Side by side
Where they actually differ
| Measured | Big Agnes Skyline | Helinox Zero |
|---|---|---|
| My score | 8.1 / 10Of 11 backpacking chairs | 8.2 / 10Of the same 11 |
| Set up | 52 seconds | 40 seconds |
| Seat size | 21.3 x 10.5in223.7 in² | 19.6 x 11.0in216 in² |
| Seat height, seated | 10.1inThe tallest chair here under 2 pounds | 7.5in |
| Seat support | YesIt holds its shape under me | SemiMore like a hammock |
| Backrest | 18.0 x 20.0in | 19.1 x 19.9in |
| Total seat angle | 100°Right on my minimum | 107° |
| Mesh coverage | 0%No slits, no mesh panel | 2.9%Two breathing slits |
| Bag doubles as a pocket | Yes16.0 x 5.0in of storage | NoOne carabiner loop |
| Feet spread | 15.8 x 13.8in | 14.1 x 10.6in |
| Feet spread area | 218 in²46% more base area | 149 in² |
| Seat fabric | 70D Robic nylon ripstopWaterproof coating | 100D aramid-polyester ripstop |
| Poles | Aircraft-grade aluminum | DAC aluminum |
| Pole thickness | 0.55in poles, 0.75in center bar | 0.51 to 0.53in poles, 0.67in center bar |
| Joints | Aircraft-grade aluminumGrooved poles into a keyhole | DAC resin hubs |
| Weight capacity | 275lbs | 265lbs |
| Warranty | Lifetime | 5 years |
| Total weight | 1lbs 14.20oz | 1lbs 2.41oz11.79oz lighter |
| Trail weight | 1lbs 12.44ozLeaving the bag behind | 1lbs 1.81oz |
| Packed size | 17.0 x 4.5 x 3.75in287 in³ | 13.75 x 4.3 x 4.0in237 in³ |
| Price | About 20% more expensive | The cheaper of the two |
✓ = the better result, from my own testing of both chairs. They pack away in much the same time, at 54 seconds against 53 seconds, and neither one reclines or has armrests. Every seated figure here was measured with me in the chair, at 5’3 and 117lbs.
Which applies to you?
Get this one if…
Get the Big Agnes Skyline if…
- You want to sit comfortably. The seat is 2.6in higher and it holds its shape rather than hanging under you.
- You don’t want a tippy chair, since its feet cover 218 in² to the Chair Zero’s 149 in².
- You’re a bigger build. It takes 275lbs, and the seat is 1.7in wider.
- Just know what you give up: 11.79oz more on your back, and about 21% more room in your pack.
Get the Helinox Chair Zero if…
- Weight is your number one priority. At 1lbs 2.41oz it’s 11.79oz lighter.
- Space in your pack is tight, since 237 in³ is the smallest any chair I’ve tested packs down to.
- You want the best materials there are, at 100D aramid ripstop on DAC aluminum poles.
- You’re happy sitting low, because the seat sits 7.5in off the ground and hangs like a hammock.
Set Up & Pack Away
| Measured | Big Agnes Skyline | Helinox Zero |
|---|---|---|
| Set up | 52 seconds | 40 seconds |
| Pack away | 54 seconds | 53 seconds |
| Pole system | Grooved poles into a keyholeNo hubs | Shock-corded poles into resin hubs |
| In the box | Carry bag, poles, chair fabric | Carry bag, poles, chair fabric |
The Chair Zero goes up 12 seconds faster, and the whole difference is in how the poles join together.
Each chair has the same three things: a pole structure, the chair fabric and a carry bag.
The Chair Zero’s poles are shock-corded into resin hubs, so the frame falls together on its own. After that you fit the four pole pockets over the ends and it’s up.
The Skyline has no hubs at all. Every pole is grooved and has to line up with a keyhole in the center bar, and that’s the step that costs it the extra seconds.
The last corner of the fabric takes real force on both chairs. I lay each one flat on its back so I can push the pole in instead of pulling it toward me.
There’s only a second in packing away, at 54 seconds to 53 seconds. Both fold in half, then in from the sides, with the poles laid on the fabric before it all rolls up.
Seat & Backrest Size
| Measured | Big Agnes Skyline | Helinox Zero |
|---|---|---|
| Seat width | 21.3inCorner to corner | 19.6inCorner to corner |
| Seat depth | 10.5inBack to front | 11.0in |
| Seat area | 223.7 in² | 216 in² |
| Backrest height | 18.0inEnd of the seat to the top | 19.1in |
| Backrest width | 20.0in | 19.9in |
The Skyline gives you the bigger seat and the Chair Zero the taller backrest, so this one splits.
The Skyline is 1.7in wider corner to corner, at 21.3in against 19.6in, and the Chair Zero takes 0.5in of that back in depth.
That works out to 223.7 in² against 216 in², which is under 4% of difference.
The backrests reverse it. The Chair Zero’s is 1.1in taller, and both of them stop a few inches below my neck.
Seat Height & Seat Support
| Measured | Big Agnes Skyline | Helinox Zero |
|---|---|---|
| Seat height, seated | 10.1in | 7.5in |
| Bottom of the seat, empty | 11.5in | 8.6in |
| Seat sink | 1.4inUnder my weight | 1.1in |
| Seat support | Yes | Semi |
| Leg angle | 19° | 16° |
| Backrest angle | 29° | 33° |
| Total seat angle | 100° | 107° |
This is the biggest gap between the two chairs. I sat in each one and measured from the bottom of my bum down to the ground.
The Skyline sits 10.1in off the grass and the Chair Zero 7.5in. That’s 2.6in, and the Big Agnes Skyline UL Chair has the tallest seat of the five chairs I’ve tested under 2 pounds.
You feel it every time you stand up. I can get out of the Skyline without thinking about it, and the Chair Zero takes a push.
The seats hold you differently too. The Skyline feels like sitting in a chair, and the Chair Zero feels like sitting in a hammock.
The angles are the Chair Zero’s though. It opens to 107° against the Skyline’s 100°, and 100° is right on my minimum, so I was still comfortable in it.
Breathability
| Measured | Big Agnes Skyline | Helinox Zero |
|---|---|---|
| Mesh coverage | 0%Of the seat and backrest | 2.9% |
| Breathing slits | None | 26.25 x 1.75in each |
Neither chair is built for a hot afternoon, and only the Chair Zero vents at all.
Two slits sit low in its seat, one to each side, and each one measures 6.25 x 1.75in. That works out to 2.9% of the seat and backrest area combined.
The Skyline has no slits and no mesh anywhere on it.
Storage & The Carry Bag
| Measured | Big Agnes Skyline | Helinox Zero |
|---|---|---|
| Bag doubles as a pocket | Yes | No |
| How it attaches | 2 side handlesOnto the bottom poles | 1 carabiner loop |
| Storage space | 16.0 x 5.0in | None |
Only the Skyline’s carry bag doubles as storage, which counts for a lot on a chair with no pockets.
There’s a handle on each side of it, and both hook straight onto the bottom poles. That leaves a 16.0 x 5.0in pocket slung under the seat.
The Chair Zero’s loop sits beside the cinch cord, and it’s there for clipping the bag to a pack rather than hanging it on the chair.
Stability
| Measured | Big Agnes Skyline | Helinox Zero |
|---|---|---|
| Front spread | 15.8in | 14.1in |
| Side spread | 13.8in | 10.6in |
| Feet spread area | 218 in²The widest here under 2 pounds | 149 in²Third narrowest of the 11 |
| Foot diameter | 0.93in | 0.87in |
I measured the spread across the front feet and then across the side feet, and multiplied the two for the base area.
The Skyline’s base covers 218 in² and the Chair Zero’s 149 in², so the Skyline has 46% more base area. That’s the widest base of any chair I’ve tested under 2 pounds.
The rear poles are the reason. They come pre-bent outwards, which buys a couple of inches of side spread that the Chair Zero doesn’t have.
The Chair Zero is built the other way round. Its 10.6in side spread is the second narrowest of the 11 chairs I’ve tested.
Leaning out over the side, neither chair lifted a foot off the ground for me. Rock backwards in the Chair Zero though, and the frame does flex.
Materials & Quality
| Measured | Big Agnes Skyline | Helinox Zero |
|---|---|---|
| Seat fabric | 70D Robic nylon ripstopWaterproof coating | 100D aramid-polyester ripstop |
| Poles | Aircraft-grade aluminum | DAC aluminum |
| Pole thickness | 0.55in | 0.51 to 0.53in |
| Center bar | 0.75in | 0.67in |
| Joints | Aircraft-grade aluminumNo hubs at all | DAC resin hubs |
| Weight capacity | 275lbs | 265lbs |
| Warranty | Lifetime | 5 years |
Both of these are built as well as chairs get, and they split this one evenly.
The fabric goes to the Chair Zero. It’s 100D aramid-polyester against the Skyline’s 70D Robic nylon, and aramid is the same family of fiber as Kevlar.
Robic is a very strong ripstop nylon in its own right, with a waterproof coating over it, and no other chair brand here uses it.
The Chair Zero’s poles are DAC, which is the top grade for a chair frame. Big Agnes uses aircraft-grade aluminum, one grade below that.
The Skyline’s poles are the thicker pair though, at 0.55in against 0.51 to 0.53in, with a 0.75in center bar against 0.67in.
The joints go to the Skyline as well. Its grooved poles run into an aluminum keyhole where the Chair Zero uses resin hubs, and metal is stronger than resin.
Big Agnes also takes 275lbs to Helinox’s 265lbs, and covers the chair for life instead of 5 years.
Portability
| Measured | Big Agnes Skyline | Helinox Zero |
|---|---|---|
| Chair fabric | 6.60oz | 4.87oz |
| Poles | 21.84oz | 12.94oz |
| Carry bag | 1.76oz | 0.60oz |
| Total weight | 1lbs 14.20oz | 1lbs 2.41oz |
| Trail weight | 1lbs 12.44ozLeaving the bag behind | 1lbs 1.81oz |
| Packed size | 17.0 x 4.5 x 3.75in | 13.75 x 4.3 x 4.0in |
| Packed volume | 287 in³ | 237 in³The smallest of the 11 |
This is the Chair Zero’s test, and it isn’t close. I put every component of both chairs on the scale separately.
The totals came to 1lbs 2.41oz against 1lbs 14.20oz, so the Chair Zero saves you 11.79oz.
Most of that sits in the poles, at 12.94oz against 21.84oz. The Skyline’s are thicker, and that’s where the extra weight comes from.
Drop both carry bags and the gap is still 10.63oz, at 1lbs 1.81oz against 1lbs 12.44oz.
Packed size goes the same way. The Chair Zero rolls down to 237 in³ against 287 in³, so the Skyline needs about 21% more room in your pack.
My recommendation
Across the tests in my video the Helinox Chair Zero came out ahead in 8 and the Big Agnes Skyline in 7. They’re both excellent chairs, so you can’t really go wrong here.
If weight is your number one priority, nothing beats the Chair Zero. It’s 11.79oz lighter, with quality as high as it gets.
If you’re a bigger build, or you don’t need your chair down at 1lbs 2.41oz, I’d take the Skyline instead. You get a taller seat, proper seat support, and a base wide enough that it never feels tippy.
Bonus: Both of these chairs are on my backpacking chairs roundup, where 11 of them went through the same tests and every number lines up side by side.
Every figure on this page comes from my own measurements of the two chairs I bought.
