On the face of it, spending 37 years perfecting essentially the same product doesn't seem like a recipe for success. But in an outdoor industry obsessed with seasonal reinvention and the relentless pursuit of the new, Crazy Creek has quietly stuck to its guns, refining and improving what is fundamentally a brilliant but simple idea: a chair that doesn’t need legs but still has your back.
It’s also an approach that feels refreshingly honest in a tech-obsessed world where the smallest tweaks to existing gear are often trumpeted as ‘game-changing innovations’. Crazy Creek’s philosophy is more modest but arguably more meaningful: if you’re going to make something, make it so well that people will still be using it decades later. As current company president Forrest Rogers puts it:
"We invented an entire category of outdoor products – the legless chair! Over the years there were at least a dozen other brands knocking off the Original Crazy Creek, but all but one have faded away. Why? Our brand is strong and the warranty and construction are stronger."
The proof is in the pudding, or rather, in the countless worn and weathered Crazy Creek chairs still doing sterling service across the globe. These aren’t throwaway camping accessories – they’re the sort of kit that becomes part of your adventure DNA, the trusty companion you invariably reach for when planning any outdoor excursion. But this enduring success story began with a simple moment of frustration in the Colorado wilderness.
Picture this: a stormy week in the Colorado backcountry in the mid-1980s. Rob Hart, an experienced Outward Bound instructor, is leading a group of students through challenging terrain when the weather turns properly grim. As the group hunkers down for yet another miserable evening, Hart finds himself perched on a soggy log, rain dripping down his neck, contemplating the eternal outdoor dilemma: why is there never anywhere decent to sit when you actually need it?
It’s the sort of moment that separates the dreamers from the doers. Most of us would have grumbled, shifted to another uncomfortable stump, and forgotten about it by morning. Hart, however, recognised a problem that needed solving. As he later explained: “I was a mountain guide who wanted more comfort in the wilderness, so I bought a sewing machine, and I had an idea, and one thing led to another.” Using memories of his grandfather’s old wooden canoe chair as inspiration, he and his girlfriend Louise ‘Weezie’ Chandler began the long process of creating something better.
What followed was months of prototyping, testing, and refinement in their Red Lodge, Montana base. The couple weren’t just trying to create a camping chair – they were attempting to reinvent the very concept of portable seating. “After a year making prototypes, I decided I had to incorporate and sell the product myself,” Hart recalled. Their breakthrough was realising that legs weren’t essential; what mattered was back support, comfort, and the ability to work on any terrain.
In 1987, Crazy Creek Products officially launched from a basement at the foot of Montana’s Beartooth Mountains. The location wasn’t accidental – Red Lodge sits in some of the most spectacular outdoor country in America, where testing gear in genuine wilderness conditions is part of daily life. Hart’s first product was a simple but revolutionary “seating product... the first Crazy Creek chair, which is now synonymous with outdoor camping comfort.”
The early days were classic startup territory, in the days before Kickstarter campaigns and angel investors. Second-hand industrial sewing machines whirring away, orders being packed by hand, and the founders doing everything from design to dispatch. But word of mouth in the outdoor community is powerful, and before long the Original Crazy Creek Chair began appearing in expedition camps from the Alaskan wilderness to the Australian outback.
The real breakthrough came when serious adventurers started taking these chairs to the world’s most challenging environments. Everest base camps, Antarctic expeditions, Himalayan climbing routes – wherever people needed reliable comfort in impossible places, Crazy Creek chairs were there. As Rogers notes with obvious pride: “We build them to the same specs and design today as we did 35 years ago. We’ve got millions of chairs out there, yet we spend more on plough truck petrol than we do on our lifetime warranty annually.” After all, if a chair could survive the brutal temperature swings and rough treatment of Montana, it could survive anywhere. Red Lodge gets an average annual snowfall of 150 inches of snow per year, which usually covers the ground from mid-December. Those plough trucks move a lot of snow.
Rob Hart’s story took a tragic turn in February 2009 when he died in a skiing accident on Red Lodge Mountain. The 51-year-old founder was a prolific climber and mountaineer who had taken his adventures to every continent, including leading expeditions to Antarctica and major ascents in the Himalayas. His death was a crushing blow to both the outdoor community and the company he’d built.
In a touching tribute, outdoor industry veteran Michael Hodgson wrote: “We’d like to propose that sometime this week, winter be damned, you each grab an old Crazy Creek chair from your gear shed or closet. Call out to your closest friends or your nearby family and ask them to join you outdoors by a fire or on the floor of a cabin in front of a hot stove. And then just sit. Talk about love and life and living. Talk about adventures experienced and still to come. Talk and laugh about anything at all, but do it with family and friends. And know that somewhere, Rob will be smiling with the knowledge that because of him, you are all together, sharing, taking time to slow down, and that your ass is comfortable too.”
The company continued under new ownership, first with the Elsberry family (themselves Red Lodge locals, who had known Rob personally) and then, in 2020, with current owners Forrest Rogers and his brother-in-law Karson. The transition speaks to something special about brands rooted in genuine passion – they survive their founders because the mission is bigger than any individual.
What strikes you about Crazy Creek’s approach is their resistance to change for change’s sake. Whilst competitors have chased trends with elaborate mechanisms, cup holders, and gadgetry, Crazy Creek has focused on perfecting the fundamentals: durability, comfort, and packability.
The current lineup still centres on the Original Chair that started it all, now joined by refined variants like the Hex 2.0 (lighter and more packable) and specialised models for different activities, such as canoeing. The core design remains unchanged – closed-cell EVA foam for cushioning, durable ripstop nylon construction, and those crucial carbon fibre stays that provide back support without requiring legs.
It’s a philosophy that resonates with anyone who’s ever had a piece of gear become genuinely indispensable. As one embittered but devoted user put it: “I got my first Crazy Creek Original in the late ‘90s. Then I got divorced and all she wanted was my chair.” This is gear that even outlasts some marriages.
What makes Crazy Creek special isn’t just the product – it’s the understanding of how and why people use it. This isn’t furniture; it’s freedom. The ability to be comfortable anywhere, whether you’re belaying at a crag, watching surf breaks, or simply enjoying a brew after a long day in the hills.
Hart’s passion for his products was infectious. He understood that great outdoor gear isn’t just about technical specifications – it’s about enabling experiences. “We try to make things at Crazy Creek comfortable and user friendly,” he once explained in 2005. It was a philosophy that extended beyond the original chair to hammocks, paddle seats, and other comfort solutions for outdoor enthusiasts.
The chair’s proximity to the ground creates a different relationship with your environment. You’re not perched above the landscape in some elevated throne – you’re part of it, close enough to feel the earth’s warmth, to scratch the ears of passing camp dogs, to engage with your surroundings rather than simply observing them.
Rogers and his team understand this connection. Still based in Red Lodge with just five employees, they’re not trying to become the next outdoor megabrand. Instead, they’re focused on what they do best: creating comfort for adventurers wherever adventure takes them. “There are over 6 billion butts in this world, they all gotta sit somewhere!” Rogers laughs.
In an era of disposable consumer goods, Crazy Creek’s approach feels almost radical. They’re not trying to sell you a new chair every season – they’re trying to sell you the last chair you’ll ever need. That lifetime warranty isn’t marketing fluff; it’s a genuine commitment to products that last.
The construction reflects this philosophy. Modern Crazy Creek chairs use the same robust specifications that took the originals to Everest base camps and Antarctic expeditions. The ripstop nylon is water-resistant and easy to clean, the closed-cell foam won’t absorb moisture or lose its cushioning properties, and the carbon fibre stays are engineered to flex without breaking.
It’s the sort of thoughtful, unpretentious engineering that outdoor enthusiasts genuinely appreciate – gear that works brilliantly at its intended purpose without unnecessary complications.
Here at WildBounds, we’re particular fans of US outdoor brands with cult followings. Crazy Creek is the perfect example, and it’s easy to see why they’ve earned such devoted loyalty. In a world of increasingly complex (and expensive) camping gear, there’s something refreshing about a product that solves a fundamental problem with elegant simplicity. Whether you’re planning a multi-day backpacking trip through the Scottish Highlands or just want a seat to watch a Sunday evening sunset on the beach, a Crazy Creek chair delivers exactly what it promises: the perfect way to "just sit there," wherever "there" might be.
That’s a philosophy we can definitely get behind – and one that’s kept this Montana company thriving for nearly four decades. Sometimes the best innovations really are the simplest ones.
