The Next Level of Sit-Upons

As a Girl Scout we made cute sit-upons for use camping or in a meeting. I don't remember mine much, except that it was stuffed with newspaper. Stuffing them with newspaper seems odd to me, given that when they become wet, they would become a brick. But hey, it was the early 80's, who knew...

Two summers ago, I took my Girl Scout Troop to a Girl Scout Jamboree at the Summit Bechtel Reserve. One of the things they mentioned on the packing list was to bring a sit upon. So I set out to find a good option for my girls to make. We looked at buckets with lids, sewn ones, and ones made by weaving recycled grocery shopping bags. Then I found this sit-upon tutorial. I eventually ended up having the girls use a colorful vinyl tablecloth, duct tape and padded shipping envelopes waterproof and I had them on hand! I figured they were lightweight, easy to make, and they were not ugly.  I'll admit as we sat and waited in the lines at SBR, the sit-upons came in super handy!

I know, many of you Boy Scout adults think using one is silly, however I have found the need for something when camping with the boys too. Especially after sitting on a wet cold picnic table on one of my early camp-outs. Thankfully one of my scouts shared his dense foam padded seat. It added insulation, was a barrier from the damp bench and had a handle. I later got one too.

Last week, as I was walking through WalMart, I saw this inflatable seat.  As fate would have it, my daughter needed a little secret sister gift for another Girl Scout, so I picked up 1 for her and three more for our packs.  I really like how small it is. Admittedly I have not used it yet, but I think it's a great way to carry an option with you when camping. Given that it was $2, I'm not sure how long it will last, but one can hope.

Other pack-able options I have used when camping were a small tri-pod collapsible stool, the REI Co-op Flexlite Low Chair, and the "Old Scoutmasters Chair" (one I got from my grandfather's estate). I have not found the perfect one though. What do you use when camping or hiking?