Outdoor Revolution Van Light chairs. Are you liking them?

lohr500 · May 2, 2025

We are both finding the standard Cali chairs uncomfortable as the backs aren't high enough.

I like the idea that the Outdoor Revolution Van Light chairs will fit into the tailgate storage space, but are they a big improvement on the standard Cali chairs?

The alternative would be a Helinox Sunset foldable or similar, but not sure that they are high enough off the ground. My wife sat in a Helinox Sunset chair and wasn't impressed.

KevH · May 2, 2025

The OR chairs are certainly higher backed and we both prefer them to the VW originals.
However, it is difficult to slouch or sit lazily in them, which is my natural holiday pose, as the back is still not at that perfect height.
We made a cushion to fit over the top of the back which does help, but it still feels like a compromise between a really comfy chair and one that is good enough yet still fits in the rear door. I am 5’10” by the way.

lohr500 · Saturday at 7:43 AM

KevH said:
The OR chairs are certainly higher backed and we both prefer them to the VW originals.
However, it is difficult to slouch or sit lazily in them, which is my natural holiday pose, as the back is still not at that perfect height.
We made a cushion to fit over the top of the back which does help, but it still feels like a compromise between a really comfy chair and one that is good enough yet still fits in the rear door. I am 5’10” by the way.

Thanks. That was my concern.

An improvement, but probably not tall enough (I am 6ft) and with the backs too upright to laze around in.

We could do with finding somewhere locally that stocks them to try them out.

We may need to keep looking for a pair of those ultra compact foldable types but which are high enough off the ground to make it easy to get in and out of them!!

KevH · Saturday at 8:57 AM

lohr500 said:
Thanks. That was my concern.

An improvement, but probably not tall enough (I am 6ft) and with the backs too upright to laze around in.

We could do with finding somewhere locally that stocks them to try them out.

We may need to keep looking for a pair of those ultra compact foldable types but which are high enough off the ground to make it easy to get in and out of them!!

The only I know of is the Chesterfield based club shop. If you are passing Stoke anytime fell free to drop by to look at ours. :thumb

Blue Yonder · Sunday at 11:17 PM

No… we bought them, tried them, then sent them back. A bit more comfy but the fit in the tailgate was too comprised.

nigpdreadingfc · Monday at 9:02 AM

Blue Yonder said:
No… we bought them, tried them, then sent them back. A bit more comfy but the fit in the tailgate was too comprised.

What do you mean by comprised?
I currently put my EHU cable slotted in the space between the chair seat and back, which fits perfectly. I do wonder if the new chairs would allow the same?

KevH · Monday at 9:11 AM

Blue Yonder said:
No… we bought them, tried them, then sent them back. A bit more comfy but the fit in the tailgate was too comprised.

I have no problem slotting the new chairs into the tailgate, including a trusty ‘pitch reserved’ folding sign. Admittedly the OEM hook doesn’t catch the new chairs however I get no rattles, etc.
I have not tried fitting an EHU so can’t comment on that.

nigpdreadingfc · Monday at 10:53 AM

KevH said:
I have no problem slotting the new chairs into the tailgate, including a trusty ‘pitch reserved’ folding sign. Admittedly the OEM hook doesn’t catch the new chairs however I get no rattles, etc.
I have not tried fitting an EHU so can’t comment on that.

Think I'll have to go on a bimble to the shop and try them out with the EHU, before committing to buy

lohr500 · Monday at 6:01 PM

Following up on this, I spotted these today so I've ordered a couple to try.

20% off voucher on the website as well at the moment, plus an extra 7% from Topcashback.
Works out at about £20 a chair.

Free return to store so if they aren't OK, we can take them back.

Trespass Tall Lightweight Camping Chair Roost

Experience ultimate comfort on your camping trips with the Trespass Lightweight Camping Chair Roost. Say goodbye to discomfort and hello to relaxation!

www.trespass.com

If they are OK, I am hoping they will pack into the tailgate with the standard Cali chairs so they don't take up any space inside the van.

I'll provide an update once they arrive.

KevH · Tuesday at 10:43 AM

nigpdreadingfc said:
Think I'll have to go on a bimble to the shop and try them out with the EHU, bef committing to buy

Absolutely. :thumb

Lee.Van.Cleef · Tuesday at 11:13 AM

Happy enought with ours. Certainly an improvement on the originals.
The original Cali seats were starting to fall to bits after less than 3 years and we'd already had to buy one repair kit. We needed an extra chair so bought two van light cahirs and kept the best of the original chairs.
The new chairs do fit in the boot door. The clips don't work and there is sligtly less internal storage for roof toppers, but they do fit and can se secured in place regardless. That's maybe no bad thing as overloading the boot door isn't always a good idea, especially in winter when the gas strutts are more likley to fail.

California Dreamer · Tuesday at 2:40 PM

I saw at the NEC show that the Brunner ‘Sangria’ chairs fitted into the tailgate of 6.1 and new cali - campervantastic had them on their stand. I found them quite comfy so have earmarked them as replacements if and when our vw ones break in future. Available online in 3 colours around £50 each.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

lohr500 · 2025-05-08T15:48:45+0100

The Trespass chairs arrived today and they are a big disappointment.

In contrast to the standard Cali chair's upright seat backs, the Trespass seat back angle is too far reclined. And the back is not long enough to support your neck and head. Leaning back without any neck support is uncomfortable.

Also, although the seats claim to support 120Kg, they feel very flimsy and the legs splay out when in use. I'm not convinced they would cope well over time.

They will be going back to our local Trespass shop in the morning and the search continues.

Outdoor Revolution Van Light chairs. Are you liking them?

lohr500

KevH

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lohr500

KevH

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Blue Yonder

nigpdreadingfc

KevH

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nigpdreadingfc

lohr500

Trespass Tall Lightweight Camping Chair Roost

KevH

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Lee.Van.Cleef

California Dreamer

lohr500

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