overlander
Expedition Leader
Someone looking for a new chair needs to figure out what they want it for. I have had many round table debaits with other officers about what chair to have, as every military officer has a travel chair due to the nature of our work, travel and the many briefings and meetings we have in the field. The umbrella throw-away chairs are popular and cheap, but they don't last long, and when you are in remote places where there isn't a walmart down the street, endurance counts. I've seen people trying to string together their umbrella chair a little longer with parachute cord and duct tape, but when those cheap rivets blow, there isn't much you can do.
Another thing I really didn't like about the umbrella chair is that while they are comfortable sitting in when you are lounging, they are absolutely horrible if you want to sit at a field desk and work (like a roll-a-table or field desk) and they are just as horrible to eat a meal off of. The PICO actually meets the all those purposes quite well, and is why after I purchased one as a trial, I purchased 3 more as my choice for my families camp furniture set.
I'm not telling anyone what to buy, I'm telling you why I made the decision to buy mine, so you can have feedback to make a decision on. After watching several officers trying to open and get used to their PICO for the first few times repeatedly, I will say that they do take some training and practice to ensure that the legs are fully expanded before trying to fold open the chair. If you dissassemble the leg pivots once, you'll understand why.
I'm assisting a friend with dissassembly of his tomorrow, so I'll take some pics and post for posterity, along with pics of my MOLLE mod.
If I was doing a 6 month tour across Africa, I would want a field serviceable chair, so to each their own.
Another thing I really didn't like about the umbrella chair is that while they are comfortable sitting in when you are lounging, they are absolutely horrible if you want to sit at a field desk and work (like a roll-a-table or field desk) and they are just as horrible to eat a meal off of. The PICO actually meets the all those purposes quite well, and is why after I purchased one as a trial, I purchased 3 more as my choice for my families camp furniture set.
I'm not telling anyone what to buy, I'm telling you why I made the decision to buy mine, so you can have feedback to make a decision on. After watching several officers trying to open and get used to their PICO for the first few times repeatedly, I will say that they do take some training and practice to ensure that the legs are fully expanded before trying to fold open the chair. If you dissassemble the leg pivots once, you'll understand why.
I'm assisting a friend with dissassembly of his tomorrow, so I'll take some pics and post for posterity, along with pics of my MOLLE mod.
If I was doing a 6 month tour across Africa, I would want a field serviceable chair, so to each their own.
