Pretty much anyone with any form of Dysautonomia can talk to you about the importance of being able to sit when needed. While there are many different forms of Dysautonomia, as far as I know, pretty much all of them have issues with standing for too long.
Thankfully, much of the “regular” world also likes to sit. More often than not, if you are inside you can often find somewhere to sit. This can be a bit more complicated when outside.
If push comes to shove, you can always pull up some floor/ground. However, this is often not a particularly nice or hygienic option. So, as much as I enjoy sharing some space with ants and the like, I have learned to bring a seat along with me when I anticipate a situation with limited seating.
Like everybody else in the world whose kids have ever played an outdoor sport, I have bag chairs. However, the size and weight of lugging those over long distances can get old very fast, especially when you have dysautonomia. Thus I began my search for a seat the was small and portable.
I finally decided to try the Travelchair Slacker Chair. It was small, lightweight, and could hold up to 275 lbs–so anyone in my family could use it. They only had plain black when I bought mine, but now several more “fun” colors are available.
The seating area is not particularly large and is triangular-shaped. This pretty much requires that you keep one of the “points” of the chair at the front between your legs with the “back” of the triangle for your derriere. This is not as comfortable as a more traditional stool–not really even close, honestly. But it results in the stool needing very little space to work, and in turn helps it close up very compactly.
When folded it is quite a bit smaller than other chairs I have owned, but I would not say it was the size of a newspaper like it boasts in the description. I would guess about 2 feet or slightly under in length when folded. The circumference is pretty compact when folded as well–a reviewer on Amazon put it as 7 inches and that sounds about right. It has a velcro strap for keeping it folded and an adjustable strap for carrying (or slinging on to my Rest-n-Roll cart).
As stated, the seat is definitely not the most comfortable ever. However, it is better than standing. I doubt I have spent more than an hour in it at one time, and while certain parts of your posterior may need a little rubbing to get all the feeling back (especially if you have a larger one like me), it was manageable. And while I would not want to spend a whole day in it, the times I have used it when starting to feel unwell, it was enough of a seat to give me a chance to calm my body down.
In a surprising turn, the places I most often use it are indoors. The most common use is visits to my kids preschool where all the chairs are just so tiny and low to the ground. The other often used place has been at home. It is so easy to fold and lightweight, I sometimes find myself just taking it with me from room to room when I need to sit while doing/in between housework. It is small enough I can fit it back by the washer/dryer when moving clothes, in front of the pull out freezer when I need to dig to find stuff, or in the toy room when sorting though/cleaning toys. I had really anticipated more outdoor use, but that has not been the case.
The stool sits pretty low to the ground. Not enough to give you that “OMG I am falling” feeling when you sit in it, but enough that it could affect a bad knee if you had one. You would probably feel a bit low if you tried to sit at a normal table to eat, but not low enough that eating at said table would be impossible.
All in all, it is not a bad little seat–just not for long sitting-marathons. It is small, lightweight, and reasonably easy to pack and take with you when needed. More often than not, I am glad I brought it along.
Slacker Chair by Travelchair $18.40 from Amazon and other retailers.
Dysautonomia Dorothy 