ozark trail hammock chairThe firm-yet-cozy seat is supportive enough to sit in for hours, and we were particularly pleased by how supportive the armrests were compared to other chairs with a similar design. You don’t always find comfortable over-sized chairs, and this chair works for everyone in my family. And after regularly using the chair for six months (and leaving it out in the rain on occasion), it’s still in great condition.
ozark trail hammock chairThe Helinox Chair One weighs about 2 pounds, compresses smaller than a 2-liter bottle of soda, and is the most comfortable and easy to stow of the three top backpacking chairs we tested. Like competing chairs, the Chair One has a nylon and mesh seat and aluminum legs, which are linked with shock cord (the chair legs are made out of the same material as high-end tent poles). For anyone sick of that sports chair slouch, the Kijaro Dual Lock Folding Chair is the model you’ve been waiting for.
The chair is comfy enough for all-day sitting, and we appreciated that the back was higher on this chair than the other lightweight options we evaluated. The chair comes in black, red, blue, and green, and you can save a few dollars per chair by purchasing a pack of two on the Trekology website. WEIGHT/PACKED SIZE – While weight and packability aren’t as important for camping chairs as they are for backpacking chairs, it’s still good to consider these specs for storage and portability. If you’ve got the space in your car and won’t be carrying your camping chair very far, comfort is king. If you’re tight on space or need to be more mobile for festivals and trips to the beach, choose a portable chair that’s easy to shoulder without weighing you down.
Spending a night in the woods is fun any way you look at it, but it’s even better with the right camping gear and one of our favorite tents. Whether you need a top-rated camping stove and camping cookware for your kitchen kit or a cushy camping mattress and travel-sized pillow for a good night’s rest, we’ve got you covered. We’ve also tested the best backpacking chairs if you need to go lighter and smaller than what this review covers.
Overwhelmingly, the Coleman came out on top, with campers praising its comfort and stability. Camping trips, beach days, picnics in the park, outdoor movies and theater performances, a fresh-air get-together with friends—there are countless occasions when you might use a camp chair. The Renetto’s big, heavy canopy provides ample sun protection at a campsite or cookout and doubles as a backpack-strap-equipped carrying case. The Helinox Beach and Sunset, ENO Lounger, REI Flexlite Camp Dreamer, and Nemo Stargaze all have a separate frame and fabric seat that had to be assembled. Most of them aren’t difficult, but it’s more involved than setting up any of the traditional chairs. The ENO Lounger DL and the Nemo Stargaze Recliner Luxury also score well in this metric because of their similar abilities to be broken down into smaller segments and stuffed into a small carrying case.
We discovered that even though most testers had not previously considered a shade-equipped camp chair, once they used one they appreciated the comfort and convenience of built-in sun blocking. Unsurprisingly, the chairs rated to hold 500 pounds or more scored well here. After several months of testing, the steel frames and 600-denier nylon fabric construction of the King Kong (rated to 800 pounds!) and the Kelty Loveseat didn’t show any wear or tear. And while their high denier fabric is not as breathable as the mesh that some of the other chairs have, it is more durable than most. Since both of these chairs were very popular with our testers, they sustained several ember burns from being around so many campfires.
GCI’s Freestyle Rocker is sturdy and supportive but provides a soothing swaying motion. Sitting up higher than most camping furniture, the chair delivers a classic, cozy living-room feel and features outdoor-ready shocks that endured our durability drop test beautifully. The sturdy steel frame supports padded armrests, a back with a breathable mesh panel, and a cup holder for added comfort.
How each one performs in every test then determines its score for that metric. Here we break down their performances by metric to get down to the specifics of each model. HEIGHT – Low chairs are great for music events, movies in the park, and trips to the beach because they’re more portable and they don’t block the view of those behind you. Chairs with higher seats are easier to get in and out of (especially for those with bad knees) and are usually more comfortable for extended use. Nothing is worse than finding yourself forced to play musical chairs around the campfire.