NEMO Moonlite Reclining Camp Chair Review (Bought & Tested!)

I bought this chair with my own money and put it through 12 measured tests.

Setup ~50 sec
Seat size 20.25 x 10.0 in
Seat height 8.5 in
Weight 2.13 lbs

The author testing the NEMO Moonlite Reclining Camp Chair. — *My NEMO Moonlite Reclining Camp Chair.*

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Test scorecard · scored against other lightweight chairs

7.6out of 10

Stability9.5

Quality9

Comfort7.7

Ease of Use6.3

Portability5.4

I love the NEMO Moonlite Reclining Camp Chair’s full mesh construction plus reclining feature, making this a feature-rich chair. But it’s small, there’s no headrest, and too heavy to be carried on your back.

What won me over

Reclining feature
90.3% mesh
Wide feet spread

What let me down

Sits just 8.5in off the ground
Narrow backrest

Check price on Amazon Check price on REI Co-op Check price on Backcountry Check price on Dick’s Check price on NEMO

If you prefer watching to reading, my video review of this chair is coming soon.

See the 12 tests

Set up
Pack away
Unfolded dimensions
Seat size
Seat height
Backrest
Reclining function
Armrests
Breathability
Stability
Materials
Portability
Pros, cons, recommendations
Bonus – MUST read!

Set Up

Here’s what you get in the box:

Carry bag
Chair fabric
Pole structure

The carry bag, chair fabric and pole structure of the NEMO Moonlite Reclining Camp Chair. — *That’s everything in the box.*

Snap the poles together, following the shock-cording.
Line the white marks on the center bar up with the pole hubs.

The white alignment lines on the center bar of the NEMO Moonlite Reclining Camp Chair. — *When the pole is fully seated, the white line will line up with the hub like this.*

Locate the NEMO logo on the chair fabric, this marks the top of the chair.
Then, secure the top poles first, followed by the bottom. The 2nd and 4th poles take real muscle, so use this tip:

The author using body weight to push a pole into the socket of the NEMO Moonlite Reclining Camp Chair. — *On its side, I can use my body weight to push the pole into the socket.*

Setup time ~50 seconds

Pack Away

Fully recline the chair first. Then, use both thumbs to grip the corner, and rotate it directly away from the pole.

The author rotating a seat corner off the pole of the NEMO Moonlite Reclining Camp Chair. — *The ball tip clears the socket once you rotate it enough.*

Take Note Those back poles pop out hard enough to hit you, so keep yourself at a safe distance.

A back pole of the NEMO Moonlite Reclining Camp Chair springing out as it is released. — *The poles jump at least 2 feet away.*

Fold the fabric edges in without letting the pole sockets overlap, then break the poles down towards the 2 fixed back legs.

The folded chair fabric of the NEMO Moonlite Reclining Camp Chair beside its carry bag. — *With the edges in, it isn’t much wider than the bag.*

The author folding the frame of the NEMO Moonlite Reclining Camp Chair towards the first fixed pole. — *Fold everything towards the first fixed pole, then everything toward the second fixed pole.*

Roll the fabric up tight against the poles, and guide the zipper shut with a finger so it doesn’t catch the mesh.

Pack-away time ~1 minute 5 seconds

Unfolded Dimensions

Width 20.25incorner to corner at the bottom of the seat
Depth 19.5inback to front
Height 25.0inground to the top of the chair

Seat Size

Width 20.25incorner to corner
Depth 10.0inback to front of the seat
Seat area 203 in²the width multiplied by the depth

The author measuring the seat width of the NEMO Moonlite Reclining Camp Chair. — *Corner to corner, taken along the bottom of the seat.*

The author sitting on the seat of the NEMO Moonlite Reclining Camp Chair. — *For reference, I’m 5’3 and 117lbs.*

Seat Height

Bottom of the seat 11.0inno one sitting
Bottom of the seat 8.5inwith me in it
How much it sinks 2.5in

8.5in is the number that matters, and it’s one of the lower seats I’ve sat in. Getting back out of it takes a bit of effort.

Backrest

Height 18.0infrom where the seat ends to the top of the chair
Width at the middle 16.25in
Width at the top 18.0in

Reclining Function

There’s a tensioned buckle on each strap, which controls the recline.

The tensioned buckle on the recline strap of the NEMO Moonlite Reclining Camp Chair. — *The buckle is what holds the recline where you set it.*

How to recline Pull the buckle towards you and lean back
How to sit upright Sit up, then push the straps away from you

The author sitting up and pushing the straps away to bring the NEMO Moonlite Reclining Camp Chair upright. — *Sitting up first takes your weight off the straps.*

Take Note I’m not strong, and these straps aren’t the easiest to push away. Doing one side at a time helps.

The author pulling the straps to recline the NEMO Moonlite Reclining Camp Chair. — *Reclining is much easier than getting back upright.*

Leg angle 21°
Backrest angle 30° upright, 41° reclined
Total seat angle 99° upright, 110° reclined

Armrests

NEMO counts the adjustable straps as armrests, and they do work, up to a point.

Armrests The recline straps themselves
Padding None
Comfortable for ~30 minutes at a time

The author resting an arm on the recline strap of the NEMO Moonlite Reclining Camp Chair. — *The straps held my arms fine, and my arms aren’t heavy. But even so, it wasn’t the most comfortable.*

Breathability

Mesh Polyester
Mesh coverage 90.3%of the seat and backrest together
Fabric corners 44.0 x 3.0in each, where the pole sockets are

The seamless mesh seat and backrest of the NEMO Moonlite Reclining Camp Chair. — *The only fabric is at the 4 pole-socket corners.*

Everything between those corners is one seamless piece of mesh. Most lightweight chairs come in at 20 to 30% mesh and a few have none at all, so this one’s in a different bracket for summer.

Stability

Front spread 18.1in
Side spread 12.0in

The author measuring the front feet spread of the NEMO Moonlite Reclining Camp Chair. — *The front two feet, measured on level grass.*

The measured front and side feet spread of the NEMO Moonlite Reclining Camp Chair. — *The side spread is the narrower of the two.*

Feet spread area 217 in²front spread multiplied by side spread
Foot diameter 1.50in1.58in at the back, 1.42in at the front

A foot of the NEMO Moonlite Reclining Camp Chair on grass. — *Each foot is about 1.50in across.*

It’s quite a wide spread, especially at the front, and this chair doesn’t feel tippy. The flex is surprisingly minimal for a relatively lightweight chair.

Materials

Mesh Polyester
Poles 7001 aircraft-grade aluminum
Hubs 6061 aircraft-grade aluminumNEMO-branded

The stitched edge seam on the mesh of the NEMO Moonlite Reclining Camp Chair. — *The mesh is one seamless piece, and only the edges are stitched.*

You don’t often see aluminum hubs at this weight. Most lightweight chairs use resin for the joints, including Helinox’s Chair Zero, so a full aircraft-grade frame is a real step up.

An aluminum pole hub of the NEMO Moonlite Reclining Camp Chair. — *NEMO stamps its own branding into the hub.*

Center bar 0.83inoval, at its widest
Leg and front seat poles 0.67in
Back seat poles 0.51in

A reinforced fabric corner of the NEMO Moonlite Reclining Camp Chair. — *As for stitching, the corners were well reinforced, and I didn’t find any loose threads on the chair at all.*

Made in Philippines
Weight capacity 300lbs
Warranty Lifetime

Portability

Total weight 2lbs 2.11oz
- Fabric 10.41oz
- Poles 20.81oz
- Carry bag 2.89oz
Trail weight 1lb 15.22ozif you leave the carry bag behind

The packed NEMO Moonlite Reclining Camp Chair beside a 1-liter Nalgene bottle. — *A 1-liter Nalgene, for scale.*

Packed size 14.5 x 5.5 x 4.25in
Packed volume 339 in³
Carry handle 1at one end of the bag

Pros, Cons, Recommendations

Now, what are the pros and cons, and would I recommend the NEMO Moonlite Reclining Camp Chair?

Reclining

Backrest angle, upright: 30°
Backrest angle, reclined: 41°

That’s 11° more recline, and it runs off a pulley built into the adjustable straps.

Loads of mesh

NEMO Moonlite: 90.3%
Most lightweight chairs: 20 to 30%

It never ran hot on me, even in summer.

Great quality

Aircraft-grade aluminum poles
Aircraft-grade aluminum hubs, where most chairs use resin
One seamless piece of mesh
A thick 0.83in center bar
A lifetime warranty

Stable base

Front spread: 18.1in
Feet spread area: 217 in²

There was very little flex when I did my sit test.

For the cons, here’s how it compares to the average of the 11 lightweight chairs.

Test	NEMO Moonlite	Average chair
Seat height	✗ 8.5in	9.5in
Seat size	✗ 20.25 x 10.0in	21.25 x 10.5in
Backrest	✗ 18.0 x 18.0in	19.0 x 21.0in
Setup	✗ 50 seconds	40 seconds
Pack away	✗ 65 seconds	50 seconds

Low seat height

The Moonlite has 1in less seat height than your average chair.

Not as comfy for bigger folks

Its seat is 1in narrower and 0.5in shallower, and its backrest 1in shorter and 3in narrower.

Setup not the most intuitive

It takes 10 seconds longer to set up and 15 seconds longer to pack away.

Overall recommendation

The NEMO Moonlite Reclining Camp Chair is the one to get if you want a lightweight camp chair that actually reclines and stays cool in hot weather. However, if you’re much broader than I am, or you find low seats hard to get out of, go for something else.

Bonus – MUST Read!

I put all 11 lightweight chairs through the same tests, and my Best Backpacking Chairs article ranks them against each other.

Or, check out the NEMO Moonlite Reclining Camp Chair: