We've all felt the discomfort of tired legs and nowhere to sit, short of the cold hard ground. The Bip chair from Italy's Di-Lite Equipment is the latest compact chair crafted for this very dilemma, promising an ultra-lightweight package for comfortable carrying and an easy pop-out design when fatigue sets in.
There is no shortage of folding chairs that pack up into compact, easy-to-carry packages, each with their own take on the problem. The Go Chair we looked at in September can support 100 times its own weight and folds down to the size of a water bottle, while the Mock Hammock is another solution that offers hammock-style lounging without any trees.
The Bip more closely resembles the two-legged Lex folding chair we covered recently, except that unlike that particular piece of folding furniture, it is not designed to be worn as well. Rather, you carry it around in a purpose-built pouch that can be slung over a shoulder, strapped to a backpack or even attached to a belt, and then unfurled when your legs are in need of a rest.
The chair consists of a folding aluminum frame supported by polyester straps, with the seat itself made from polyester fabric in the basic version or hemp in the pricer Pioneer version. It rests on only two legs rather than four, which reduces the weight and bulk, and also means that like other two-legged seating solutions, you'd have to engage some muscles to remain stable, just like a big exercise ball.
All in all, the chair can apparently support up to 135 kg (300 lb), while itself tipping the scales at a featherweight 430 g (0.96 lb). That undercuts the 1.4-kg (3-lb) Go Chair by some margin.
Having already passed its crowdfunding goal on Kickstarter, Di-Lite is looking to begin shipping its Bip chair in May 2019 if everything goes to plan. Early bird pledges start at €35 (US$40) for the basic version, while the Pioneer version made with hemp starts at €50 (US$56). You can check out the pitch video below.
Source: Di-Lite
