Two small mesh pockets at the front can hold drinks or flip-flops, and we found that these pockets were better placed and more useful than similar pockets on other folding wagons. The combination of their light weight and a fold-down frame makes folding wagons especially handy for everyday use, including getting in and out of a car or on and off public transportation. We’ve seen people using these wagons around the neighborhood and at the beach, as well as for gardening, outdoor concerts and movies, and sporting events. I even ran into a PTA parent who was using a wagon to schlep a used printer to school. 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.
The Mac Sports Heavy Duty Collapsible Folding All Terrain Utility Cart has the largest wheels and, at 6.7 cubic feet, the largest volume of any wagon we tested. 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. We evaluated the wagons in several scenarios and conditions.
I also visited a handful of outdoor-gear stores to see what models they recommend. For many owners we’ve talked to, it’s been an essential chair for watching sporting events or any other time you’ll be in the direct sun for hours, like cookouts, picnics, birthday parties, and field ozark trail chair trips. Since 2016, our testers (with different body types and physical needs) have subjected camping chairs to multiple camping trips. We chose the Coleman Cooler Quad Chair as the model with the right combination of comfort, durability, usability, and price for most campers.
At 22½ pounds, it’s one of the lighter models we tested and a cinch to lift into cars. It’s also one of the lowest-priced wagons we considered, but it performed as well as or better than wagons that cost twice as much. The similar Mac Sports XL is bulkier than the regular Mac Sports, but also has a higher weight limit and more space for all your tools—or toys.
It can hold a lot of supplies, and it’s easy to carry and set up. The King Kong chair has two cupholders and intuitively placed storage pouches under each armrest; unlike the Coleman chair, though, this one doesn’t have a cooler pouch. There’s also a mesh pocket behind the backrest, to hold things you don’t need to access quickly. This chair comes with a sturdy carrying case, with an over-the-shoulder strap, and it’s simple to expand and fold up accordion-style. Testers preferred the Coleman chair’s thoughtfully placed mesh storage pouch over those of its competitors. This pouch is big enough to stow gear like a phone, book, or tablet.
There are also chairs that are hybrids between categories, such as the Nemo Stargaze Reclining Camp Chair, which comes highly rated and recommended. The canopy is big enough to block most, if not all, sunlight any time of day, and the chair’s seat has a strip of breathable mesh down the middle for airflow. Senior staff writer Lauren Dragan said the Renetto is her most comfortable camping chair. 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.
Despite the Renetto chair’s weight and bulk, our testers found it simple to set up and adjust. This chair’s big canopy provides ample sun protection at a campsite or sporting event, and it doubles as a backpack-strap-equipped carrying case. If you’re unsure which camping chair to buy, you can’t go wrong with the classic Coleman Cooler Quad Chair. Siloam Springs sits at the top of a plateau in the Ozark region of Benton County on the western end of the Northwest Arkansas Metropolitan Area. The Engel HD30 performed admirably in our intensive hot-room challenge, ozark trail wagon lasting a full 73 hours below 40 degrees.
Folding wagons can be useful tools for families, beachgoers, or really anybody who needs to tote a lot of gear from one place to another. The Kenda tires would’ve been fun to ride on slightly more consistent and hard-packed gravel roads. However, with nearly 300 pounds of total weight on roads populated by jagged rocks, downhill runs meant bottoming ozark trail chair out the tires, which meant pinch flats. The Explorer has the range for bikepacking through the mild hill country and unloaded rides through moderately steep terrain. But the approach to the Ozarks’ White Rock mountain wasn’t moderate. Feeling more sickly, I pushed the Explorer up a few miles of hills I’d ride up with most gravel bikes.