Naturehike Y L01 Ultralight Chair Review: Fast Setup, Fair Price

Introduction

A folding chair is a small luxury that changes the character of a camp. Sitting on a wet log or a damp rock at the end of a long day is a minor discomfort that adds up over a season, and a chair that packs down small enough to disappear into a backpack removes it entirely. The difficulty is that every folding chair compromises somewhere. Lower weight usually means a lower weight limit or a fiddlier frame, and faster setup usually costs money.

The Naturehike Y L01 Ultralight Chair is Naturehike’s attempt to settle those trade-offs in a single package. It uses a new instant-setup frame, a seat cut designed to keep you more upright, a storage bag with room to spare, and a price of around $60. This article covers how it performs, where it falls short, and how it compares with the lighter Naturehike LY08 for trips where pack weight comes first.

Naturehike Y L01 Ultralight Chair: Setup, Materials, and Dimensions

Naturehike built the Y L01 around an entirely new frame design, and the chair is available in gray, black, and green. The materials list is straightforward: a 701 aluminum alloy frame, a 600D Oxford polyester seat, and nylon mesh.

Frame, Fabric, and Packed Dimensions

Setup is the part that stands out. The frame unfolds and locks into position, the seat drops on top, and small cups on the underside of the seat slip over the pole ends. The whole process takes seconds, making it the quickest chair of this type to assemble. Breaking it down is a little slower, since the poles have to be unfolded again before everything returns to the bag, but it is still a quick job.

Packed away, the chair measures 15 in x 5.5 in and weighs 2.8 lb including the storage bag. Set up, it stands 28.9 in high, 21.3 in wide, and 21.1 in deep, and the stated weight capacity is 441 lb, which is a lot for a folding chair. The polyester storage bag matches those packed dimensions and is genuinely roomy inside: the chair slides in without a struggle, and there is space left over for other items. Two grab handles and a single zipper across the top finish it off.

Comfort and Seating Position

The seat uses what Naturehike calls a moonshaped cut. In practice the difference is subtle but real. Many folding chairs let you sink backward into a slouch that becomes awkward the moment you need to do anything with your hands. The Y L01 keeps you sitting more upright, which makes it easier to cook, reach a stove on the ground, or use a table. It is not a transformation, but it is a noticeable improvement, and the chair stays comfortable over long stretches of sitting.

What to Consider Before Buying

Two small details are worth knowing before ordering. The first is the absence of anti-sink feet. Naturehike typically supplies ball-shaped feet that fit over the pole ends, and without them the legs push into soft ground. On soil, and even on a gravel road, the chair sinks, so buyers who camp on anything softer than rock may want to find their own solution.

The second is the pocket on the side of the seat. It is very tight, holds almost nothing useful, and would press against the contents once you sit down. It adds a little weight without adding function, and it is the one design decision here that does not earn its place.

Build Quality and Value

Build quality is a clear strength. The stitching is excellent, with no loose threads, and the chair feels well made for what it costs. At around $60, with a 10% coupon available at the time of writing, it sits well below the price bracket where folding chairs start to become expensive. The weight is good rather than record-breaking. Lighter chairs exist, but they usually ask for a more complicated setup, a lower weight limit, or a much higher price. Staying under 3 lb matters, because that is roughly where the cost of every saved ounce starts to climb sharply.

Naturehike LY08: A Lighter Alternative for Long Trips

The LY08 approaches the same problem from the other direction. At 1.9 lb it is roughly a pound lighter than the Y L01, which is meaningful on long trips where every ounce is counted. The trade-offs are equally clear: the setup and breakdown process is more cumbersome, and the weight limit is lower. For extended backpacking trips, or any outing where pack weight comes first, that exchange is worth making.

Choosing between the two comes down to the shape of the trip. On long-distance hikes, the LY08 or a lightweight stool is the more sensible carry. On shorter outings, or for overland and car-based camping, the Y L01’s instant setup and higher capacity are the better fit.

Buying Advice: Matching the Chair to the Trip

For backpacking, the Y L01 is entirely doable, and its frame is the fastest to set up of any chair in this class. It is on longer trips with a lighter-weight focus that the LY08 becomes the better choice, particularly where every ounce affects how the day feels.

Size is the other factor. The Y L01 suits most people and most backpackers, and its 441 lb capacity covers the vast majority of users. Anyone significantly larger may be more comfortable in a bigger chair of the kind sold for general camping rather than backpacking, accepting the extra weight and bulk that comes with it.

Conclusion

The Naturehike Y L01 Ultralight Chair gets the important things right. The frame sets up faster than the alternatives, the seating position is more upright than most, the storage bag is finally roomy enough to be useful, and the price is fair for the quality on offer. The missing anti-sink feet and the unusable side pocket are small blemishes rather than reasons to walk away. For most trips short of an ounce-counting long-distance hike, it is an easy chair to recommend, and the LY08 is the one to choose when weight comes first.