Portable folding chairs are great. But how portable can something really be if it can’t fit in your pocket? I guess that’s the question the Chairless, a “seating device for the modern nomad,” solves, being a kind of a chair that can make room along with the loose change and keys in your jeans pocket.
Created by German furniture firm Vitra, it just might be the strangest proposition for a single-person seat. Instead of giving you a comfy place to rest your posterior on, it creates a small area for you to sit inside of. It’s supposed to be very comfortable too, having been based on an ancient sitting apparatus used by the Ayoreo Indians.
The Chairless is a closed piece of nylon strap that looks more like a belt to hold your pants up than a fixture to help you rest your legs. Intended to make sitting on the ground comfortable, it goes around your knees and back, giving you better balance. While wearing it, you can literally lean back like you’ve got a comfy backrest without tipping over.
Design is made by Alejandro Aravena, who saw it on a picture of an Ayoreo member sitting on the ground. Sure, you’ll dirty up your pants and probably freeze your balls (note the guy in the picture below) using it, but if it makes sitting on the floor as comfortable as they claim, it just might be worth packing in.
It’s available directly from the Vitra website, but it’s currently sold out. Next batch is due for June 2010, with parts of the proceeds for all sales going in support of the Foundation for Paraguayan Indian Communities.
[Chairless via Fast Company]