A hybrid of the popular Monarch and Mantis chairs the Mayfly is a low-slung camping chair designed to be lightweight and ultra-packable.
The Mayfly has a 3-legged design although not in the same vein as the Thermarest Treo. The 3 legs give you full support front and back and side to side so the Mayfly is very stable to sit on. The seating position is as low-slung as you can get, in fact so much so that your bum can touch the ground if you choose the wrong spot, this is a particular problem when it's cold. That fact aside the Mayfly is very stable on uneven ground. The low-slung position is perfect for camping (unless you've come fully laden with full size tables and camp kitchens). It's ideal for cooking and for tending to a camp fire without having to move off the spot.
The Mayfly also manages to be incredibly comfortable, the aluminium frame and 210D ripstop nylon fabric are lightweight but provide enough form to the chair. This means that the sides don't collapse in on you when you sit in it. You can't feel the frame when sitting in the chair and the overall support and seating position are very good.
The Mayfly can be used in a configuration similar to the popular Monarch using just the back two legs. It's surprisingly stable and balanced in this configuration and you don't have to use too much ab power to stay upright. This also raises the seat base a little, so you don't have to worry so much about getting a cold bum.
The two legs at the rear have rounded ends, these do a great job of stopping the legs from sinking in to soft ground. A lot of lightweight chairs have small square blunt ends which have a habit of sinking into soft ground, so this is a major plus point.
The pack size is as small as they get for camp chairs, easily slipping into a backpack side pocket, the weight is low too, at only 725g which is only slightly heavier than the Helinox Ground Chair.
At £80 the Mayfly is competitive with other lightweight chairs on the market, it's also comfortable, durable and light so makes a great option for lightweight backpacking, bushcraft and general camping adventures.
