When they were, we could feel even more heat radiating straight out from them. In testing, the body drew air in at the base to feed the fire both at the bottom and along the top lip, functioning as intended to reduce smoke. Aside from when we were initially lighting the fire, we noted nearly no smoke at all. It’s small, so it won’t warm a big backyard hangout in the winter but customers report it’s great for spring and summer. The brand suggests using a piece of wood or a mat to stabilize this pit if kids or dogs are running around the yard since the bottom bit is smaller than the top. Please provide your date of birthand zip code so we can determine ifyou’re eligible for this rebate.
Based on its listed interior dimensions, we calculated the storage to be about 3½ cubic feet. It has a solid frame, which remained durable throughout a battery of tests, including rolling the wagon down a hill while it was filled with equipment. I spent six hours researching folding wagons (sometimes called utility wagons), first identifying popular models and looking at the technology involved. To find out which features people value most in wagons, I surveyed half a dozen individuals who regularly pull or push loads of stuff—from groceries to gardening supplies to toddlers.
I’m also the mom of two small guys whose stuff I have been hauling around in wagons since I began working on this guide three years ago (they’ve occasionally hopped in for a ride, too). I live in coastal California, where wagons are often the default way to move kids, beach gear, and even school equipment around the neighborhood. If you intend to use your wagon primarily at the beach, we recommend the Mac Sports Heavy Duty Collapsible Folding All Terrain Utility Cart.
No other chair in our testing pool—except perhaps the extremely pricey Yeti Trailhead—came close to matching the King Kong’s build quality. Our testers consistently said the King Kong chair was the most heavy-duty-feeling model of all the chairs we tested. The sturdy yet simple Mac Sports Collapsible Folding Outdoor Utility Wagon is what most people are probably looking for in a folding wagon—a versatile, easy-to-use, lighter wagon at a reasonable price. The Mac Sports Wagon weighs 22½ pounds and can hold up to 150 pounds of gear.
The Ozark Trail Oversized Mesh Chair from Walmart, although similar to our pick in size, was far less comfortable, with rough-feeling material that was obviously of lower quality. We later found, after six months of frequent use, that the stitching along one arm had come unravelled and that the small straps holding up the back of the armrests had both ripped in half. Walk around any campground or tailgate party, and you’ll notice the popularity of this variety of accordion-style seat. You can pick one up at just about any big-box store (sometimes for as little as $10), order one with your favorite sports team’s logo, or pay a premium for a similar model from Cabela’s or REI.
Senior editor Kalee Thompson, who wrote a previous version of this guide, has been regularly using the Coleman chair she originally tested in 2016. Aside from the color fading and the cooler pouch deteriorating, her chair has held up to years of backyard hangs and camping trips. In summer 2023, she bought a newer Coleman Cooler Quad Chair to compare to her 2016 model, and she found them to be more or less the same. Testers preferred the Coleman chair’s thoughtfully placed mesh storage pouch over those of its competitors. Of the chairs we tested, the Coleman chair was the only one that came with a built-in cooler bag, which can hold four standard-size beer or soda cans.
Once we had the fire going, there was nothing but an occasional wisp of smoke. Breeo’s Y-Series are made by hand in Lancaster Pennsylvania, from thicker, more durable materials than other options from Breeo, and come with a lifetime warranty. We found the firebox to be a little shallow at eight inches, but we were able to get two layers of logs loaded in. This meant re-loading a little more frequently, but that had no bearing on its smoke-free performance. We tested the X Series 24, but it’s also available in both a larger and a smaller size to suit your needs or space. We also found that, even when fully open, the wagon bed doesn’t lie flat.
Clean-up required scooping ash out, as the unit is too heavy to dump out easily—Breeo sells a shovel designed to ease this process. The brand also offers several accessories for cooking over the fire, which make the X Series as much as grill as it is a fire pit. We found the interior to be relatively cavernous, which means more wood fit inside, and with that you get bigger fires and more heat. Other than the first couple of minutes when we lit the kindling, the X Series was virtually smokeless, as promised. Wagons can be helpful for all kinds of jaunts, including trips to the beach and the farmers market. This wagon has wider wheels that can traverse sandy terrain with ease.
This wagon easily folds and unfolds, and we found that it was simple (at 24.5 pounds) to lift into the car after a long day in the sun. We have a few issues with this wagon—the telescoping handle can feel flimsy, and it costs around $50 more than the standard Mac Sports wagon. At 30 pounds, the L.L.Bean Collapsible Wagon was the largest and heaviest of the folding wagons we tested.
Tiki’s patio fire pit features a slightly tapered, cylindrical design that sets it apart from others while still allowing it to blend in with almost any décor. One of the first things we noted when unpacking was the openings around the rim ozark trail chairs that act as hand-holds for lifting and moving the fire pit—something few models account for. The REI Co-op chair’s polyester seat material feels both more forgiving and more durable than the thinner material on many other kids’ chairs.