Yet another chair topic!

tomino2112 · Oct 1, 2017

Ok I finally decided what char to buy but now I need to decide if I should get version with arm rests or without. Please help?

Until now I have been using camping chair with arm rests.

Camping chair

Pros

Light
Folds to small package
Cheap
Pocket in arm rest - allways handy

Cons

Poor quality - brakes after several trips
Bars push into thights, gets uncomfortable after whole day
Only usable in good terrain

"Proper" chair (without arm rests)

Pros

Lighter
Takes less space folded
More space for legs/arms
No arm rests in the way

Cons

Nowhere to rest arms (?) doesnt seem big deal to me
No way to attach possible extensions (?) not sure about that
Harder to get up (?) again not huge deal

"Proper" chair (with arm rests)

Pros

Place to rest arms
Extra bars to attach whatever needed
Easier to get up

Cons

Restricted space for arms/legs
extra weight (1kg)
bigger when folded

I have tried all kinds of chairs in my local tackle shop unfortunately I still cannot make my mind up about the arm rests.

This will be my first "proper" fishing chair. I would appreciate any arm-rest-related opinions/experience

puffer_ · Oct 1, 2017

I've owned a few and I've never bothered with arm rests, nor have I missed them.

I think they'd get in the way for me. Guess it depends on your fishing style, too.

Philip · Oct 1, 2017

Whats you intended use for the Chair ? Recommendations may vary depending on the type of fishing your intending to use it for.

My take on arm rests are that they add weight and make storage more difficult, but they also add comfort. So if your intended use is session fishing i/e plonk yourself in one spot and stay there then arm rests are probably good.

if you plan to move around for example roving then portability and weight become more important and arm rests are not so good.

I now have a JRC Stealth Xlite chair is the best chair I ever had, and I have gone through allot.

S-Kippy · Oct 1, 2017

I like arm rests. They make the chair more comfortable in my opinion and despite what you might think they do not get in the way. I have several chairs....all but one have arm rests and the only reason they dont all have rests is because the particular model without rests I bought it because it's very light and they don't do a version with rests.

Lots more pros to a chair with rests than cons in my opinion....not least that as they are an extension of the rear legs with your weight on the arms you are stopping the rear legs collapsing forwards if they don't have a locking peg. Big,big plus point

I don't personally think the added weight is significant.

markcw · Oct 1, 2017

see if your tackle shop has the Middy pole chair in stock, it is very light, attatchments can be added, I find that arms get in the way if I use a chair and can make you feel relaxed and therefor miss bites, when I use a chair which is not often I have a korum one and that is heavy compared to the Middy,

rich66 · Oct 1, 2017

Personally I find arms on a chair just get in the way.

tigger · Oct 1, 2017

Arm rests get in the way, especially when float fishing or quiver tipping and you need to strike.
They arn't so bad when sitting back from your rods if they're on a pod etc.
Personally I wouldn't get a chair with arm rests unless it's an arm chair for in the house !

I have the JRC stealth same as what Phillip has recommended...good chairs, with no daft arms

.

tomino2112 · Oct 1, 2017

Thanks for all the replies ! It seems more people are in for no arm rests.

My intended use: Only when I go fishing to commercial (40% of time) or specifically carp fishing (1% of time) otherwise I like to keep on the move and dont take chair with me. I have had days when I was fishing commercials and didn't sit for hours especially while float fishing. That being said, winter is upon us and I expect to do more sitting huddled up

I do like the prospect of having a "maggot pouch" hanging of the arm rest thought... But I think the biggest deal breaker for me is the fact that arm rest just limit the space you have for legs and arms. I am in no way "over-sized" guy and when I sat in the armchair I already felt squeezed in a bit. In arm-less chair I am free to spread my legs as far as I want to etc. But I do have to cross my arms or rest them on legs or whatever which might be uncomfortable after couple of hours...

Seems impossible decision..

shane99 · Oct 2, 2017

Another one for the JRC. I have the Stealth recliner which for me gives a bit of weather protection & support for the neck with its higher back. My other chair is the korum supa-light which is not so comfy but more compact.

Arm rests are a no no as agree with everyone else - will just get in the way. Unless of course you are just carp fishing with a good book ...

S-Kippy · Oct 2, 2017

Right...its chair wars is it ? How many of the anti armers have actually used a chair with arms i wonder ? I am a terribe fusspot and if arm rests got in the way i couldnt be having with them....but they just dont.

They might be an issue if you were trying to float fish from a big recliner but if you're trying to do that then you've bought the wrong chair. No one chair fits every situation unless you only ever do one sort of fishing.

Arm rests getting in the way is another urban bankside myth.

puffer_ · Oct 2, 2017

S-Kippy said:
Arm rests getting in the way is another urban bankside myth.

Personally I can't remember owning one with arms, but then I'm a big old unit, so my priority tends to be sturdiness

seth49 · Oct 2, 2017

I’ve just got one of the new korum deluxe chairs, which comes with armrests, unlike my other korum chair which hasn’t, I really like these especially when I’m sat behind two carp rods, find them very comfortable, and they don’t get in the way when I’m float or feeder fishing either.

Another thing I like, is they stop my coat catching on my side tray, when I stand up, which has ended up with maggot boxes etc, being knocked over a few times in the past.
So it’s a yes vote from me.

tigger · Oct 2, 2017

I've had fishing seats with arm rests and they got in my way. I found that when standing up to get out of the chair (especially if in a hurry) I often caught them with my leg as I moved to one side or the other and either knocked the chair over or I actually fell over it!
They definitely got in my way when float or quiver tip fishing, and I looked like a gunslinger ready to draw my weapon when waiting to strike at a twitching float or quivering quiver tip because I had to hang my arm over the rest.
The chair i'm thinking of was a pro logic and it was a cracking chair. The arm rests where removable via a couple of screws and my friend who got one at the same time as me removed the rests on his. The back legs on the chair where spot on for fishing on a steep banking as you could fold them under the chair so the back would be resting on the ground nice and solid and level. I think I sold that chair on a boot sale and I really wish I hadn't!

sam vimes · Oct 2, 2017

I own chairs with arms, chairs without arms and even a chair with detachable arms. What I take depends on the type of fishing I'm doing.

On the rare occasions that I fish the pole, I won't take a chair at all. Pole fishing equal seatbox, as far as I'm concerned.

If I'm float fishing a river, I rarely take a chair at all.

When quivertip fishing on a river, or a stillwater and waggler fishing on a stillwater, I don't want chair arms in the way.

More sedentary methods, anything where pods and bite alarms might feature, a chair with arms is absolutely fine by me. I find them far more comfortable and easier to get out of.

thecrow · Oct 2, 2017

I was looking for a chair a few weeks ago it would have been one that had arms, I need a bit of comfort and also the ease of getting up that is facilitated by having arms on the chair, I doubt that an extra kilo is going to make much difference unless the angler is going to be walking for miles and if that's the case why is he taking a chair?

Angling is for me about enjoyment and that means being comfortable while I am fishing, it means I can fish more efficiently and not be aching so much come the end of the day.

Ask yourself what you want from a chair as others will only be able to give you their opinion based upon what they want from a chair, anglers are so lucky these days to have such a choice of dedicated fishing chairs, gone are the days of picnic chairs and sun loungers that collapsed in the middle of the night

when you sit in one at a tackle shop any small niggle there will be magnified after sitting in the chair for hours.

S-Kippy · Oct 2, 2017

sam vimes said:
I own chairs with arms, chairs without arms and even a chair with detachable arms. What I take depends on the type of fishing I'm doing.

On the rare occasions that I fish the pole, I won't take a chair at all. Pole fishing equal seatbox, as far as I'm concerned.

If I'm float fishing a river, I rarely take a chair at all.

When quivertip fishing on a river, or a stillwater and waggler fishing on a stillwater, I don't want chair arms in the way.

More sedentary methods, anything where pods and bite alarms might feature, a chair with arms is absolutely fine by me. I find them far more comfortable and easier to get out of.

I largely agree. If I'm pole fishing its seatbox everytime....and on reflection if I'm waggler fishing on stillwater its seatbox too.

I do take a chair when I'm on the river...either because I'm sitting it out for a lump or simply to have a bit of a rest and a cuppa if I'm trotting,which for me means standing up. Behind alarms then its arms everytime unless I'm in my light chair which I really wish had arms too.

I dont feel restricted by arms in any way. They make it so much easier to lever yourself up out of and,as I said earlier, when the arms are extensions of the back legs it totally avoids any spontaneous,unplanned "stranded beetle" moments.

Of course if you are a clumsy oaf with Binka tendencies then arms are probably not a good idea....but then you would very likely find something else to trip over. Mrs S can trip over her own shadow...and does,often.

mikench · Oct 2, 2017

I have two chairs one with and one without armrests and I can honestly say I have never really noticed any difference in use. I have not experienced any difficulties with arm rests and on balance prefer them. Sitting on a chair for 5 minutes or so on a flat surface in a shop bears little or no comparison to sitting on a chair outside, on a sloping muddy bank in the rain for hours on end!

I can only say the Korum and the Robochair are both fine for me and comfortable. I am 6' and always extend the legs where possible to avoid back ache.

I have only heard good reports about the JRC Stealth which is a lot lighter than either of mine! It also appears Binka proof which is very reassuring!

As a roving chair the Stealth would be better!

shane99 · Oct 3, 2017

lol Skippy, I have a small bivvy table on my left for my bait & tackle bits & my rods are just to my right, reaching through or over doesnt work for me. I used a camping chair, the ones with the beer hole in it when I met my bro law fishing a campsite this year & what a pain that was, everything had to be in front of me, so not for me which is a shame as it would be more comfy

S-Kippy · Oct 3, 2017

shane99 said:
lol Skippy, I have a small bivvy table on my left for my bait & tackle bits & my rods are just to my right, reaching through or over doesnt work for me. I used a camping chair, the ones with the beer hole in it when I met my bro law fishing a campsite this year & what a pain that was, everything had to be in front of me, so not for me which is a shame as it would be more comfy

I still think the majority of anti-armers have never actually sat in a chair with arms. I do not understand why arms are perceived to be such a big trip hazard when people are festooning their gizmo chairs with tables, bowls, rests etc. Now those things really are a pita....you can't even crack a decent one off without everything shaking.

mg:

thecrow · Oct 3, 2017

The only time I have used a chair with arms was when I borrowed a friends for a week in France, I don't recall the make but it was very comfortable, so much so that on a couple of nights I slept in it next to my rods and had the mozzie bites to prove it

I don't understand why anyone would need to reach through to get to stuff that is on a table next to the chair unless the table is lower than the chair in which case I don't see the point of it, getting to rods couldn't be simpler as your arm just needs to slide off the arm onto the rod to be in contact.

Yet another chair topic!

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