I'm not sure if others have noticed too, but in the last few years, camp stools have changed design. The human body didn't get redesigned, but seats did. Now, it can be difficult to find a camp chair where the seat is at normal sitting height. As I wander around the house here, seats are about 17"-18" high. I think that's because, when seated, the back of our knees are about that high?
There are characteristics of seats that height. First, the human body is positioned in a comfortable configuration. Knees and thighs - assuming they're still attached to each other - are in their proper places. Hips are too. IE: your lap is horizontal. Second, when sitting down, there's a place for your butt to land, you can see it, it's at a predictable height, and it's close enough to your standing height that your body doesn't have enough distance to travel that it can build up much speed.
The procedure for sitting down in most all of the chairs we encounter is pretty much the same, both at home or away. We approach a chair, turn around, touch our legs to it for confirmation, and sit down. Happily, when our butts get there, the chair seat reassuringly meets them. Mission accomplished.
Not so with many camp stools or chairs nowdays. Some - many? - of them are little, canvas baskets with their bottoms about 4"-6" above ground level. They are lower than those little, wooden chairs we had in kindergarten! Parents, did you ever go to your child's school for a "teacher conferences", and sit in those little things? Either because it was the only chair offered, or intentionally? CAN'T DO IT!! But, someone in the business of making camp stools thinks you can.
These little stools seep out ridiculousness from all angles. Not only are they very close to just sitting on the ground, the legs and framework are made of little, aluminum straws. Flimsy is the first thought that comes to mind. And, some of them are narrow. So narrow that, when a friend lends you a hand to stand up, the chair sticks to you and comes up too! What idiot designed this?
By the way, when trying to arise from a seated position of only 4"-6" above the ground, having a helping hand to get you up is only one of the options. Other options include gantry cranes and trapezes. In reality, most adults have to roll forward onto their hands and knees, in the dirt, and either try to stand up, or crawl to a nearby tree to pull themselves up! Seriously. Some of the best entertainment in camp.
And, that's the easy part. The act of sitting down into one of these is like sitting down when some prankster has pulled the chair out from under you. CRASH!!! A human body can build up only about, say, 5-10mph velocity in that distance. But the fall only terrorizes you. It's the sudden stop that does the damage.
A company named Helinox makes the most ridiculous of these contraptions. Where some sell for $45-$90, theirs go for $130 on up. Take a look at camp seats in the catalogues. If you haven't looked in a few years, it will get your geezer hearts started.
There are characteristics of seats that height. First, the human body is positioned in a comfortable configuration. Knees and thighs - assuming they're still attached to each other - are in their proper places. Hips are too. IE: your lap is horizontal. Second, when sitting down, there's a place for your butt to land, you can see it, it's at a predictable height, and it's close enough to your standing height that your body doesn't have enough distance to travel that it can build up much speed.
The procedure for sitting down in most all of the chairs we encounter is pretty much the same, both at home or away. We approach a chair, turn around, touch our legs to it for confirmation, and sit down. Happily, when our butts get there, the chair seat reassuringly meets them. Mission accomplished.
Not so with many camp stools or chairs nowdays. Some - many? - of them are little, canvas baskets with their bottoms about 4"-6" above ground level. They are lower than those little, wooden chairs we had in kindergarten! Parents, did you ever go to your child's school for a "teacher conferences", and sit in those little things? Either because it was the only chair offered, or intentionally? CAN'T DO IT!! But, someone in the business of making camp stools thinks you can.
These little stools seep out ridiculousness from all angles. Not only are they very close to just sitting on the ground, the legs and framework are made of little, aluminum straws. Flimsy is the first thought that comes to mind. And, some of them are narrow. So narrow that, when a friend lends you a hand to stand up, the chair sticks to you and comes up too! What idiot designed this?
By the way, when trying to arise from a seated position of only 4"-6" above the ground, having a helping hand to get you up is only one of the options. Other options include gantry cranes and trapezes. In reality, most adults have to roll forward onto their hands and knees, in the dirt, and either try to stand up, or crawl to a nearby tree to pull themselves up! Seriously. Some of the best entertainment in camp.
And, that's the easy part. The act of sitting down into one of these is like sitting down when some prankster has pulled the chair out from under you. CRASH!!! A human body can build up only about, say, 5-10mph velocity in that distance. But the fall only terrorizes you. It's the sudden stop that does the damage.
A company named Helinox makes the most ridiculous of these contraptions. Where some sell for $45-$90, theirs go for $130 on up. Take a look at camp seats in the catalogues. If you haven't looked in a few years, it will get your geezer hearts started.