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Cyprinus Stalk-Lite Chair

By Andrew Kennedy 11/12/2011 17:32:00

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The Cyprinus Stalk-Lite chair: well-made, lightweight and up to the task!

Andrew Kennedy reviews a chair designed for stalking and short session angling but finds it up to much more than that.

The lightweight design of this chair belies its strength. I weigh the best part of 15 stone and I must admit that I’ve broken a couple of aluminium stalking chairs in the past. These broke due to insufficient weld on the leg joints, which was presumably a weight-saving measure. The thing is, it’s pointless having a chair which is lightweight if you can’t sit on it because it’s given up on you!

I’m from an engineering background, so I know when something’s been put together well. The welds on the tubular steel frame were the first things I checked on the Stalk-Lite chair and I’m pleased to say they are definitely up to the task.

Comfort is another big positive the Stalk-Lite brings. Unlike stalking chairs I’ve had in the past, the main chair base and back has foam padding stitched into it, rather than a single skin of fabric. This makes it far more pleasant to sit on, especially if your ‘stalking’ ends up keeping you in one swim for an extended length of time.

Adjustible back and legs with an easy-grip knob perfect for cold and wet hands I found it great for sessions where I wasn’t stalking, per-se, but I might end up moving two or three times, such as after-work summer river sessions. It’s light and compact enough to be carried around when you need to pack light without compromising a bit of luxury.

An added bonus I discovered, which I doubt was in either manufacturer’s design brief, is that the Stalk-Lite actually clips into a Korum ruckbag in exactly the same way that their own chairs do, making it my combo of choice when I have to get a large amount of gear to a remote river swim.

This is the improved, mark II design which - unlike most stalking chairs which simply have hinging backs - features a multi-position reclining back-rest controlled by two large, rubberised, comfortable hand-wheels which are easy to operate with wet or cold hands.

Of course, the legs are also adjustable and although they don’t incorporate the heavier ‘infinitely-adjustable’ design, with six notches in the front legs and five in the rear they provide adequate adjustment for all but the lumpiest banks.

Folded the chair measures a compact 640 x 555 x 190 mm The legs also rise high enough for people with long legs such as myself; some stalking chairs are so low that if I sat down in one I would struggle to get back up in time to hit a run!

When folded, the chair measures a compact 640 x 555 x 190 mm and on my scales it weighs exactly 5kg (or 11lb in old money).

This chair looks smart too, with its very high quality, classic dark green fabric which is thick and seems like it should be very hard-wearing. It’s finished off with a bold embroidered logo detail, so you’ll look the part on the bank too.

Whilst there are slightly lighter (inevitably more expensive) chairs on the market, the materials, build quality and features of the Stalk-Lite set it apart. I doubt that you’ll find a better value chair which brings the elements of strength, light weight and comfort to a shade under £30!

RRP £49.99 but available from Tackle Discounts at £29.99

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Comments (24 posted):

Tee-Cee on 12/12/2011 11:16:16

Looks just the job for me and not too heavy at 4kg....and if a 15 stoner is happy then my twelve will be just fine! At 4kg AND with an adjustable back I think I will go for it at £20!!

Lord Paul of Sheffield on 12/12/2011 14:15:05

The next chair I buy will ahve to have legs that "Lock" ibn place my current chair the legs don't and they have slide under may times resulting in me sat on the ground

Keith M on 13/12/2011 10:37:35

The next chair I buy will ahve to have legs that "Lock" ibn place my current chair the legs don't and they have slide under may times resulting in me sat on the ground It's the same for me when I use a chair without legs that lock when they are down. However I usually drill a hole in the leg flange and frame and attach a split pin (attatched to a small cord) which I push through to lock the chair leg in position. I am assuming the same could be done with this chair without weakening it too much? It is a shame that this is not a standard feature on this chair as it would cost very little to have this improvement added surely. Besides the above worry, it looks like an excellent chair and an excellent review.

barbelboi on 13/12/2011 10:47:55

The next chair I buy will ahve to have legs that "Lock" ibn place my current chair the legs don't and they have slide under may times resulting in me sat on the ground The JRC X-Lite has a lock feature on both front and rear legs. I bought one earlier in the year as a lightweight 'rover' chair to replace an old Fox adjusta and am well pleased with it. In fact I tend to use that on most day visits now leaving my Fox recliner in the garage. Jerry

Lord Paul of Sheffield on 13/12/2011 11:28:25

As it has been said the cost of putting a locking device on all chairs would be minimum but the benefits (me not ending up on my ar$e on the bank) would be great

Andrew Kennedy on 13/12/2011 19:29:23

Having read a few of your comments now, I know exactly the thing you mean! I've had it happen a few times in the past, usually ending up with my backside landing in the maggot box or my rod flying up in the air! I found it tended to be caused by repeatedly standing up & sitting back down on fishing chairs. The shift of weight causes the feet to slide inwards a tiny amount each time, until eventually the legs end up perpendicular to the seat base. When they get to this point, one more movement tips them over the edge and angler and chair become one, in a heap on the floor! I agree that a small locking mechanism would be a great design feature, but the solutions I've seen on chairs haven't been up to much and in time, either the spring losing it's tension or the whole thing comes to bits; both of which result in the same above scenario, but with the added annoyance of knowing you bought a chair with a feature that was supposed to prevent such catastrophes! As a home-made workaround, drilling a small hole and attaching a split pin would certainly do the job and I believe it would work on the stalk-lite, but if a manufacturer brought a chair out with little pins dangling on cords and tried to sell it, it would be panned as an amateur design. One thing I would say is that, since I figured out why chairs collapse, I've been a lot more careful sitting down on to them (not so easy to do getting up, because usually it's to play a fish and the last thing on your mind is your chair!) and I make a conscious effort to check the legs (and re-align if necessary) every three or four times I sit down. It becomes a bit of an OCD habit after a while :D and touch-wood, since I've started doing it, I haven't ended up on my ar$e once!

Lord Paul of Sheffield on 13/12/2011 21:45:38

Andrew you have hit the nail on the head

john m h on 13/12/2011 22:13:13

Mud feet would be good. I have a JRC lightweight which has given excellent service for the last 6-7 years, and with me weighing in at a little over 19st that's not bad going

Bluenose on 13/12/2011 22:37:59

I've got a wychwood lightweight rover, no problems with going on my ar$e and like one or 2 others still going strong, there's a review and update somewhere on this site (or the old one). That said, the chair reviewed here looks a steal at 20 quid or so and is something I may well look at when the wychwood dies.

Tee-Cee on 14/12/2011 15:36:48

I have purchased one and will let you have my opinion in due course....Or if its on its way back to the supplier!!

tencherman on 03/01/2012 15:33:01

Thanks for the review Andrew - good timing as I'm looking for a lightweight recliner - only obvious downside for the Cyprinus is the absence of mud feet :confused: One correction: if you weighed it at exactly 4 kg that's 8 lbs 13 oz not 11 lbs ;) Do you have any pics of the seat fully reclined perchance? ---------- Post added at 08:33 ---------- Previous post was at 08:31 ---------- I have purchased one and will let you have my opinion in due course....Or if its on its way back to the supplier!! What are your opinions of it so far Tee-Cee?

Tee-Cee on 03/01/2012 17:32:00

For the money i think it's very good value.....I agree the lack of large mud feet could be a disadvantage if you weigh 19 stone and sit over very soft ground, but I'm only twelve so it's not really an issue. The leg adjustment is okay and only time will tell as far as durability is concerned, but then I also have JRC X-Lite on which a leg failed and it took an absolute age to find a replacement...... For me it's biggest advantage is the adjustable back. I hate sitting on my non-adjustable JRC simply because it allows me to lean too far back and I'm just not comfortable in that position (I seem to be looking at the sky rather than the water)! For some this may be fine but I like to sit in an (almost) upright position more for posture than anything else.... It is on the heavy side, but I don't carry tons of gear so the extra weight (over the JRC) caused by the adjuster mechanism is worth it IMHO To be perfectly honest I have only used the chair a couple of times so it would be wrong to comment on overall durability or reliability , but I will say if you are one of those at 19 stone who tend to drop into a chair from some height and/or sit on very soft mud, or need your chair to resemble the one you have next to the fireplace at home you might want to look for something else ..................... At this time I would offer 8/10

tencherman on 03/01/2012 19:52:31

Thanks Tee-Cee - very useful. Couple more questions if you don't mind: 1. You say it's heavy compared to the JRC X-Lite (which I think is c. 3.5kg?) but the review says it's only 0.5 kg more at 4 kg (I've posted that 4kg isn't 11lbs as Andrew states!) So, is the Cyprinus actually heavier than 4 kg then? 2. Like you I like the idea of an upright position but how far down does it recline - almost flat? Cheers :D P.S. I'm 13.5 stone so it sounds like I'm ok with the lack of mud feet on all but swamps : )

Tee-Cee on 04/01/2012 08:53:49

Yes, the Cyprinus (on my scales!)comes in at 11lbs or 5kg......so somewhat more than the X-Lite BUT we have to compare like with like here and whilst the X-Lite is a great chair it does NOT have an adjustable back! In fact, if I remember correctly, JRC did have an X-Lite chair with adjustment BUT it was (obviously) somewhat heavier than the basic model. I did try to by one sometime last year but Harewood Tackle told me they were not produced anymore...... I don't what happened to the rest of my diotribe!! Anyway, the chair does fold flat and the back rest can be at any angle due to the teeth on the ratchet mechanism so it scores from that point of view, although I cannot see why anyone would want to lay flat on it! I have read back over all the posts and I can understand the points made about the legs locking into position.......In some ways it doesn't instill confidence as anything not 'locked', can, by definition, fold back to it's original position, but I have not used the chair in positions where this might happen so I cannot really comment. It's quite possible I may end up with egg on my face-or mud on my ass!!! The adjusment on the legs is adequate BUT when the legs are fully extended they are a little sloppy, but again I cannot think of anywhere I fish that needs fully extended legs. As with all chairs, they never seem to tick all the boxes and this one joins all the others in this respect. For every plus I can find a minus, but overall it's not too bad. I suggest, 'tencherman' you will need to try one rather than buy on my assessment................. ps If you are a 19 stoner you may need to lower yourself into this one rather than drop from a height!!!

Andrew Kennedy on 09/01/2012 00:51:26

One correction: if you weighed it at exactly 4 kg that's 8 lbs 13 oz not 11 lbs Apologies for this, but it appears the error is down to my own fat-fingeredness! That should say 5kg or 11lb, not 4kg. I'll make sure that's changed as soon as poss. Apologies if I've misled anyone, it was not intentional. I'm more of a pounds and ounces man anyway! TeeCee, 8 out of 10 is not a bad effort for a £30 chair! I'm glad you like it anyway, one person's opinion of a product can vary greatly from another person's, but I'd hate to think anyone had parted with their hard-earned based on a review of mine, then not been happy with the product.

Les Jones 4 on 19/01/2012 21:28:49

Hi, sorry to ask a further question about this product but can someone tell me the seat hight (front and back) with the legs fully extended and with the legs fully retracted? Thanks.

S-Kippy on 19/01/2012 22:48:40

I got totally fed up with non locking back legs on chairs collapsing on me so both the chairs I now use have integral armrests. The weight of your arms on the chair arms stops the back legs collapsing because the force is always "opening the scissors"...if you get my drift. Not to everyone's liking perhaps but I do like an armrest and once folded up the rests makes them very much easier to carry..its like a handle. Nothing worse than an uncomfortable chair,except perhaps a heavy uncomfortable chair and/or the certain knowledge that at some point during the day you would end up flat on your arse with your legs in the air.Never a good look.... for a bloke anyway ! JRC X-Lo and Nash Indulgence Sub-Lo [my favourite] have the honour of supporting me currently. I'm very happy with both though the Nash is quite a bit more than the Cyprinus though not that pricey compared to some [IMO] inferior & less comfortable chairs.

itsfishingnotcatching on 20/01/2012 10:59:17

Contemplating a chair for the coming year, a couple of questions on this particular one (if they seem stupid, please excuse my ignorance, never owned one before). Can bait trays, rod rests, brolly holders be attached to this particular chair? Does it have a bag (for those who havn't got a ruckbag to attach it to)? Or will it fit the Korum chair & net bag? Am I better off just buying the Korum lightweight?

Andrew Kennedy on 20/01/2012 23:53:46

Can bait trays, rod rests, brolly holders be attached to this particular chair? Does it have a bag (for those who havn't got a ruckbag to attach it to)? Or will it fit the Korum chair & net bag? Am I better off just buying the Korum lightweight? Fair questions! The chair doesn't come with a bag, but it will definitely fit inside the Korum chair & net bag. It's slightly smaller than Korum chairs. Another way of carrying chairs which I used before I got a Ruckbag is a Bedchair Carry Strap. These are usually universal fitting and either clip on or have velcro straps which wrap around the chair frame and hold it. They aren't just for carrying bedchairs and are perfect for over-the-shoulder carrying of a fishing chair. You can pick a padded one up for about a fiver. Really the answer to your other question depends on the attachment type which the arms for rests, bait trays, etc. use to attach to the chair. I've had some basic ones in the past which are designed to be "universal fit" and have an open clamp, which fits over and clamps onto any square post, such as the upper legs on this chair. However, the Korum attachments are designed to slide downwards onto the protruding square legs of their chairs and thus, Korum attachments would not fit this chair. Most "stalking" chairs aren't really designed with attachments in mind because they take time to set up, so don't lend themselves to stalking as such. Generally a heavier chair is better for using attachments anyway, otherwise the chair doesn't counterbalance the weight of the attachments and when you stand up, the whole setup topples over! I've found this especially true with quiver arm and brolly attachments. So if you're dead set on using a chair with attachments then you may be best off going for a Korum one. They're really good chairs, I've had one myself (the accessory chair rather than the lightweight). Or maybe even look at one of the "all-in-one" chairs which come with all the attachments and a carry bag, such as the "Whole Hog" chair which Cyprinus also sell. Hi, sorry to ask a further question about this product but can someone tell me the seat hight (front and back) with the legs fully extended and with the legs fully retracted? Thanks. No problem Les, I'll try to answer any questions anyone has about any of my reviews or articles. I don't know the measurements off-hand but I will try to remember to take some measurements next time I go fishing. Is it the seat base height you mean (i.e. the bit you plonk your ar$e on)?

Les Jones 4 on 21/01/2012 06:10:38

Thanks Andrew, yes the bit you park yourself on. I am just over 6' and have an iffy knee so the seat high from the ground can make att the difference between being able to get up quickly or struggling and risking injury and having problems getting back to the car (I've got the T-shirt). I note your previous comments re the legs when the are fully extended. Thank for your help.

itsfishingnotcatching on 23/01/2012 14:14:49

Thanks for the info Andrew, I've just looked at "the whole hog" and it looks pretty good value for money (obviously it's out of stock at the moment :wh) Ian

Andrew Kennedy on 01/02/2012 21:34:22

Okay Les, and anyone else who's interested, when fully extended the seat base is 31 cm from the ground at the rear and 34 cm from the ground at the front. I hope this helps.

paul80 on 02/02/2012 07:26:24