Gear Review: Blue Max Saddlebag Chair

By: Steven Peltier

With the holiday season almost upon us, it's time to freshen up our gear reviews! Many of you enjoyed my summer write-up of the Kermit camping chair. Sure, the Kermit is well constructed and appropriately sized for touring, but some of you were...well...a bit taken back by the $120+ price tag. "Hardwood is nice, but for that coin I'd expect some carbon fiber or something!" Well for every luxury product there is often a practical compromise. I know the old saying "you get what you pay for," but sometimes paying less for a bit less is just fine. In this case, the Blue Max Saddlebag motorcycle touring chair is well...just fine...for quite a bit less.

When it comes to chairs that will work for moto touring, size is key. The Kermit solved this problem, but in a wooden "old school" sort of fashion. The Blue Max simply improves upon the practicality of the standard quad chair, condensing its collapsed profile into a package that nicely works on the bike. The manufacturer describes the folding chair as "tough, built from tubular steel, and then powder coated. The seat and backrest are doubled with Denier 600 with a unique breathable mesh design. The chair closes like a typical quad chair and then is reduced in size again with the same concept as most camping tent frames. Each chair has a heavy-duty nylon zippered carrying case. Once in the case, they fit in most saddlebags." Well in typical SMR fashion, lets take a closer look:

	As advertised the chair is nicely packaged within its nylon carrying case. When I first pulled this out of the box, I was impressed by the stitching and ruggedness of the case...a nice touch (see the case picture below).
	Here's a reference image to show you the size of the package relative to my Triumph side cases (which are on the small side). The carrying case measures roughly 17.5" x 7.75" x 4.5"
	Unfortunately, the chair was a bit too long to fit in either of my side cases while in its carrying bag. A bummer...since I like the bag. However, as you can see here, the chair fits nicely on its own. As I mentioned above, my Triumph saddlebags are quite small. I imagine there would be no issue with the large boxes found on the BMW R1200GS, Harley Road King, etc.
	Here's a shot of the package as delivered..carrying case, chair and instructions. I encourage you to read the instructions before assembling the chair. Of course I did not, and I managed to work the chair into a nice tangled web of tubes, mesh and frustration.
	You see, the chair has the basic geometry of a standard quad; however, the tubes that make up each leg are split in half with a joint in the middle connected by an elastic cable. Think tent pole here. The trick is to first straighten each leg (WITHOUT UNFOLDING THE CHAIR) and connect each and every joint. Once all of the joints are secure, simply unfold the chair and sit. This is all explained in the nice instruction set that I ignored. One important point: I noticed that the powder coat at the joints is pretty snug at first. Once it wears a bit, the process is much easier. As a test, I went through the assembly process a few times and, as expected, the last iteration was clearly much easier than the first (only took a few seconds with some practice).
	And of course...the assembled product...essentially a quad chair.
	Here's the line-up for comparison...from left to right...standard quad, Blue Max, Kermit.
	One thing I really like about this chair is the mesh incorporated into the seat and back. Great for hot days and perfect for ripping fa...uh nevermind. But you get the idea..ventilation = comfort.
	As promised, another view of the carrying case. If you don't have saddlebags, the handles can be used to help strap this to your seat.
	Overall, it just works...

So what's the verdict? Basically what you are getting here is a quad chair that can be folded in half and stuffed away cleanly. For activities like moto touring that demand efficiency of space, the $25.99 price tag is pretty reasonable. This thing packs down nicely...space problem solved. I know, I know, you can get a regular quad chair for like 5 bucks these days, but you can get alot of things that just won't work on the bike. The Blue Max will do the job and save you room for other critical gear. If you want something that is a bit higher quality and a bit easier to assemble, by all means spring for the Kermit...or you can buy 4 Blue Max chairs...or you can buy two Blue Max chairs and a bottle of single malt...or you can buy...ah screw it...you get the idea. Find out more at: www.bluemaxinc.com

Published: Nov 19, 2007

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