Alite Designs Mayfly Chair

Relaxation in Kid and Adult Size

My daughter spotted this Alite Designs Mayfly chair in the “rainbow” pattern. She talked about it for weeks. It isn’t intended for kids, but she loved it so much, we splurged and got it for her fifth birthday.

Now we fight over it. By we, I mean both of the adults. We will be investing in more of these chairs. It’s just a matter of time.

If you’re also sick of hauling heaving fold up camping chairs to the park or the beach or events all summer, I can’t say enough good things about this one. We never would’ve looked twice at it ourselves, but we can’t get enough of it. The short size appealed to our daughter, who sat in it and almost refused to get out. But the canvas cover provides superior comfort for adults as well. You can recline easily by pushing back, and I also never want to get up. That’s only partially because it’s so low to the ground.

The biggest selling point is its compact size. When packed into its sack, it measures roughly the length of my forearm and twice as big around. Regular folding chairs have the same circumference but stretch as long as an umbrella stroller and weigh twice as much. Even the kid versions weigh more than any kid could reasonably carry very far comfortably. We load up an entire wagon just with chairs.

Until now. My daughter, who weighs about 34 pounds, can carry this one with ease. My three year old can carry this one. I can throw this one under the stroller and not look ridiculous. I could probably fit three under there, and we don’t have the most generous under stroller storage on either our Bugaboo or B.O.B. Motion. It takes up very little room for packing. I would never consider taking a chair on an airplane before, but with this compact design, I wouldn’t even blink before tossing it in.

It sits low enough to be allowed at most concerts and other outdoor venues without blocking the view of anyone behind you. In fact, it sits so low that most smoke from the camp fire goes over it, so no more moving my chair around in circles chasing fresh air.

The instructions come printed on the bag (no text needed), which helps tremendously, if, like me, you consistently put the bottom bar on in the wrong direction despite the foolproof angle of the connectors. The metal bars that form the frame pop into place much like tent poles. The canvas slips over the corners to snugly adhere and doesn’t come off even if two kids wrestle in it.

It comes in at least eight different colors and patterns attractive not just to five year old girls. It can hold up to 250 lbs and weighs less 1.5 pounds thanks to its aluminum frame. It will set you back a bundle, but so far it feels like it will last forever – much longer than the random chairs we’ve gotten for free or bought at the supermarket on a whim.