YETI Trailhead® "Field Chair" Camping Chair 1 piece

A seat next to the car that fits in the boot

What is the YETI Trailhead Field Chair? YETI's lightest folding chair, a flat 94-centimetre bundle when folded, set up in two moves next to the open tailgate. It isn't a lounge chair for the paddock: it has no armrests and no cup holder.

The YETI Trailhead Field Chair is YETI's camping chair for anyone who wants to sit down at a meet without giving up half the boot for it. Half six, mist over the car park, the first three cars already there. You pull a bundle out from the side of the boot, flick it open, and while everyone else is still perched on the kerb, you're sitting down.

• Four kilos and a 94-centimetre bundle. Folded, it's 17.8 centimetres wide and 9.1 deep, about as thick as a forearm. That goes upright into the side of the boot next to the jack without costing you the load floor. The Camp Chair needs 109 centimetres and half the load space for the same.
• Seat height 44.5 centimetres, two more than its big brother. That's the difference between getting up and hauling yourself up. With no armrests to push off, every centimetre counts, and at 44.5 you get out of the chair without shoving off the wing. A DIY-store chair at 32 centimetres doesn't manage that.
• It stands as steady on gravel as on tarmac. The GroundGrip feet are extra wide and don't sink into grass or gravel. The fabric holds up to 158 kilos, and the aluminium frame folds four ways instead of twisting when you lean sideways to reach the cool bag.

Detailing1's tip from the shop: The mistake happens when you pack it away, not when you set it up. In the morning on the grass, the fabric is wet with dew. Pull the chair into the bag like that, leave the bag in the boot until next weekend, and you'll pull out something musty. Two minutes open in the sun, or unfolded in the garage at home. And YETI deliberately uses no flame retardants in its chairs. A spark from the barbecue burns a hole. Keep three metres away and nothing happens.

Two moves at the tailgate and you're sitting

The YETI Trailhead Field Chair comes out of the bag folded, opens with one pull on the frame and stands. No armrests to click in, no backrest to re-tension.

In Germany, Cars & Coffee means early weekend mornings, all makes welcome, no programme. You arrive, park up, grab a coffee and then stand for three hours. People who sit talk for longer. People who sit on the kerb are back on their feet after twenty minutes.

The bag has one strap, not two. Over the shoulder from the boot to your spot, that's twenty metres and no fuss. With the Camp Chair you're strapping on a rucksack, which is better across a whole show car park and overkill for the length of a car.

In the paddock, the chair is the only spot that's yours. Between two sessions you get forty minutes, and thirty of those go on tyre pressures, fuel and helmet. You spend the last ten sitting instead of leaning on the trailer, and you get up with less of a sore back than you sat down with.

On a road trip in the weekend car, it turns a lay-by into a proper break. Gravel car park by the lake, motorway services, the forecourt of a stranger's body shop. Tailgate up, chair open, twenty minutes of peace. YETI itself names the early-morning tailgate as what it's for, not us.

With two of you, it becomes a ritual. A chair on each side, and between them the water-repellent outdoor blanket on the ground for bag, cup and camera. On wet grass that's the difference between half an hour and five minutes.

At a classic car meet on a field, the second advantage kicks in. The wide feet stand on soft ground without digging in, and you sit in front of your own car instead of on the beer benches by the marquee. Anyone who's spent three hours on someone else's bench set while their car stood alone fifty metres away buys a chair afterwards.

And it stays in the car. At 94 centimetres folded, it goes crossways behind the rear seat back or flat against the side of the boot, where it's in nobody's way. A chair that lives in the cellar gets used twice a year. One that lives in the estate gets used every time.

No armrests and no cup holder

The camping chair has neither armrests nor a holder for your drink. That's the price of four kilos instead of six, and YETI doesn't hide it.

In practice that means your cup sits on the ground, on the boot sill or in the cup holder YETI sells separately, which clips under the armrest or onto the frame. On gravel a cup tips over faster than you can stand it back up. If you don't want to keep a hand on your coffee, factor in the holder.

The second limit is headroom on the load rating. 158 kilos is more than any discounter folding chair can take, but well below the 227 of the Camp Chair. And the fabric isn't puncture-proof. A tear isn't a cosmetic flaw, it affects stability.

The third point you notice after the first hot day: Twilite is a closed weave, not a mesh. In the sun more heat stays on your back than with the big model's mesh, but no gravel falls through the seat and after rain you wipe it dry instead of waiting.

That makes the choice clear. If the chair rides along and the boot is already full, this is the one. If you sit for three hours straight and want somewhere to rest your arms, go for the camping chair with armrests and cup holder. You can't have both at once.

That leaves colour, and you pick it to match the car, not your taste. Black disappears next to any vehicle and shows dust and pollen straight away. Tan stays cooler in the sun and hides dry dirt from the grass, but paddock oil splashes show on it forever.

Five years of warranty and a chair that fades

YETI gives the Trailhead Field Chair a five-year warranty and says in the same breath that the fabric fades very slightly over the years. The two go together.

If you look after a car, you know that searching look after two summers. Edges first, then the seam, then the spot where your hand always rests. That's exactly where the chair ages too: the aluminium frame stays as it was, the joints don't work loose, and the colour gets a touch more muted. That's patina, not wear.

What doesn't age is the seating position. After a few weekends the fabric gives to the way you sit and then hangs exactly the way you sit. A DIY-store folding chair does that too, except after one season it ends in a sag and the seam chafes through on the frame tube.

Care is a two-minute job, not a ritual. YETI itself says hosing it off is enough. Whatever a summer on the grass leaves behind comes off with mild soap and a soft brush, frame and fabric alike. Then let it dry open, then into the bag. That's all the chair needs in five years.

Who it isn't for: anyone with a fixed spot in the garage who leaves the chair there. There's more comfortable and cheaper furniture for that. And anyone heavy, or who likes to park a toolbox on the seat, because 158 kilos is a number with less headroom than before.

It's for anyone who spends every other weekend somewhere without a bench. Twenty, thirty outings a year, always the same two moves. Someone like that doesn't buy the cheapest thing, they buy what will still be in the same boot in five years. The same thinking runs through the range of kit for the road and the meet.

One last move no manufacturer puts on the label: take the chair out of the bag once and leave the bag at home. Folded and held against the side of the boot with a ratchet strap, it's out in four seconds instead of twenty, and those sixteen seconds decide whether you set it up on a chilly morning or end up standing again.

How heavy is the Trailhead Field Chair?

4.2 kilos (YETI states 9 lb 5 oz, the Australian product page 4.5 kg). That's around 30 per cent less than the Trailhead Camp Chair at 6.03 kilos. The difference comes from the smaller aluminium frame and the missing armrests.

How big is it folded?

94 centimetres long, 17.8 wide and 9.1 deep. That's a flat bundle about as thick as a forearm, which goes upright into the side of the boot or crossways behind the rear seat back. The Camp Chair needs 109 centimetres folded and a lot more volume.

Does it have a cup holder?

No, and no armrests either. That's the price of the four kilos. YETI sells the Chair Cup Holder separately, it clips under the armrest or onto the frame and takes Rambler tumblers, Colsters and standard cans.

How much weight does it hold?

158 kilos according to the maker. That's more than any basic folding chair can take, but less than the 227 kilos of the Trailhead Camp Chair. If you need the headroom or regularly use the chair as a shelf, go for the bigger model.

How high do you sit?

The seat is 44.5 centimetres off the ground, two centimetres higher than the Camp Chair. With no armrests to push off, that's exactly what matters: from this height you stand up without pulling yourself up on anything.

Field Chair or Camp Chair?

If the chair is going to ride along permanently and the boot is tight, the Field Chair. If you sit for hours at a stretch and want armrests and a built-in cup holder, the Camp Chair. You can't have both at once.

How do I look after it?

Hosing it off is enough for dust and dry dirt, stubborn spots come off with mild soap and a soft brush. Always pack it away dry. The fabric is UV-resistant, but according to YETI it fades very slightly over the years. In Germany the Trailhead chairs come with a five-year warranty.

Setting up: pull the chair out of the bag and pull the frame apart until the Quad-Fold frame is fully open. No armrests to click in, no backrest to re-tension. On soft ground, press it down briefly so the wide GroundGrip feet sit flat.

In use: load rating 158 kg, don't use it as a stand for toolboxes. The fabric isn't puncture-proof and deliberately contains no flame retardants — keep at least three metres from the barbecue, fire pit and flying sparks.

Cleaning: for dust and dry dirt, hosing it off with water is enough. Anything stubborn comes off with mild soap and a soft brush, frame and fabric alike. No solvents, no pressure washer.

Storage: always pack it away dry. After a morning on wet grass, leave it open for two minutes or dry it unfolded at home, otherwise the fabric goes musty in the closed bag. For longer periods, keep it in the carry bag, which also slows the gradual fading of the UV-resistant fabric.