Crazy Creek&#8217;s Hex 2.0 Original Chair
Crazy Creek's Hex 2.0 Original Chair (Provided by Crazy Creek)

Camp chairs come and go in our lives. We tend to be hard on them even when we aren't doing things like river and backcountry trips that have special requirements, such as their need to be lighter and tolerant of being soggy for days at a time.

For years we carried super-lightweight folding chairs that came with their own carry bags with shoulder straps. But you can't backpack with those, and I don't care how "heavy-duty" or "durable" or whatever other word a company uses, eventually they all snap somewhere or a pole rubs through the arm fabric. Several times I've seen folks around a campfire just go down. It's only funny when it's not you, of course.

I've tried the Alite Designs Monarch Butterfly Chair (about $60), and some folks swear by it, but they're clearly better balanced than I, because I just can't get comfortable in the thing. It has two legs, and you provide the third to keep it upright. It's light (about 18 oz.) and a little over a foot long when folded up, but it feels like a lot of work to me.

My new favorite until I get tired of sitting on the ground is the very comfortable Crazy Creek Hex 2.0 ($51), a 20-oz. pad clipped together on the sides; it also opens up flat to use as a sleeping pad. The downside: If the ground is wet, while the pad itself has a nylon bottom that keeps your butt dry, your legs are still going to be exposed. They do offer a longer version, but that means more weight (30 oz., $68) and the whole thing is longer, (23 inches as opposed to 16), so if your intention is to have an ideal dual-purpose item for backpacking, you'd want to weigh the trade-offs.


Both are available at and REI.

There's a map for that

Plan your run/ride with this online tool. Ever drive the route you bike or hike to see exactly how long it is? Ever wish you could just download a cool ride that's already been mapped or send it to your phone? We have an online tool that offers both of those things, and also allows you to plug in your favorite routes to analyze or create new ones.

Visit and plot your next run or bike excursion. It helps to go through the tutorial once if you want to take advantage of all of the cool features, such as reminders of where your favorite snack or coffee stops are and places that have public restrooms.

The site also has a spot for local events to upload information so we can search for an upcoming race, and the feature connects to MapMyFitness for more elaborate planning and the ability to send your workouts to your phone.

It came from the blog

A tale of teenhood and cross-country biking. Anyone with a teenager can identify at some point with author Matt Biers-Ariel in his book "The Bar Mitzvah and The Beast." Biers-Ariel decided that the best way to connect with his son Yonah — who spends much of his time with earbuds firmly connected to his iPod — is through a cross-country bike trip from California to Washington, D.C. The trip is an incredibly demanding physical feat that forces all the family members to just deal with each other.

Find out what they thought of biking through Colorado in Free Range at

Kyle Wagner: 303-954-1599 or or kylewagnerworld