Wanted to circle back to this after a quick overnighter where I brought my usual tarp/bivy setup, plus the chair kit since that's what got me thinking about all of this. I'll start by saying it was nice to have the back support and a clean, dry spot to sit.

I rolled it up and stuffed it into the outside water bottle pocket and lashed it with the compression straps, which made it quick to grab at stops. I used it without the pad as a chair, but also as a clean place to put my pack down and sort gear.

It was nice to sit comfortably on the ground while I cooked and ate. I was also able to just fit under my Gatewood when it rained that evening. I fully reclined it and put the whole thing into my bivy to sleep. It even worked to unzip the bivy and sit up to read. The top fabric was slightly nicer to sleep against than the bare pad and the frame on the bottom seems to have acted like cleats and prevented sliding.

There are a couple of drawbacks, of course. First is the added weight and bulk of a luxury item. The second is that I could sometimes feel the bottom framework through the pad when I turned on my side. The metal bars are easily removable, but not as easily reinstalled. I also worry that the frame will tear the floor of my bivy, so I'm not going to use it inside that bivy or the net-tent again.

However, I have realized that since this kit is essentially a large bag, it can be multi-use. I can crawl inside and use it as an emergency bivy (I checked). It protects my inflatable pad, top and bottom. And if my pad does pop, I could stuff the chair with clothes, leaves, etc. to get through the night. Since my pack doesn't have a front pocket, I can lash the chair to the outside and use the zippered section as external storage. These other uses are now making me lean toward incorporating this a part of the usual setup.