If you’re planning to use the camp chair often, it’s worth investing in one of the mid-to-higher end camping chairs, which are designed with more durable materials. This helps keep the chair protected, organized, and makes it easier to carry. Look for chairs that include a bag or sack for convenient storage coleman canopy and transportation. The Stargaze also has luxurious features like a padded headrest, a deep no-spill cup holder, and a phone/stash pocket big enough to hold an iPad. However, we would’ve preferred the two-cup holder design found in other camp chairs (after all, a cupholder can usually fit a phone).
If the chair lasts for several years, the initial cost is well worth it in comparison to a cheaper camp chair that might tear or break after just a couple of seasons. If you’re conscious about the environmental impact of your gear, you may want to consider chairs made from eco-friendly or sustainable materials. Look for chairs that use recycled materials or are designed with minimal environmental footprint.
It’s smaller than what you may want for car camping but is low enough to bring to an outdoor concert venue without blocking your neighbors behind you. We took this chair to Crystal Cove State Park in Orange County, California and Sunset Cliffs State Beach in San Diego, California. Both beaches require parking in lots or on the street a quarter to half mile away from the actual beach. The comfortable backpack straps on the GCI Outdoor Everywhere Chair made it ideal for this trek—especially at a lightweight 5.4 lbs. We also appreciated how the Everywhere Chair lies mostly flat in the trunk of a car, making it easy to fit everything else needed for beach day.
In stark contrast to Helinox’s minimalist Chair Zero above, their Sunset Chair puts a premium on comfort and support with a high back and wide, cradle-like seat. At 3 pounds 4.8 ounces, it’s too heavy and bulky to bring on overnight backpacking trips, but this Sunset is well made, easy to unpack and stow away, and offers great upper back and neck support for those that want it. If you’re looking for a straightforward folding chair but want something that sits higher off the ground than our best overall pick, the Kijaro Dual Lock Folding Chair is a great option. Its height makes it appropriate for tall users, as well as for campers who’d like to use the chair at a picnic or other table. It comes in a wide variety of colors and is super durable and our testers found it comfortable to sit in for long periods. The chair has the added features of two cup holders and a zippered mesh pocket perfect for storing your phone.
The chair is very stable, even on uneven ground, and testers said it was difficult to knock over, making it great for wiggly children or energetic dogs. If you need extra back support or are very concerned about durability, we recommend this chair. There’s nothing like spending an afternoon sitting outside and basking in the sun on a warm day, whether it’s on a beach, at a sports game, or even just in the backyard. Before we tried the Renetto Original Canopy Chair, we had never considered buying a shade-equipped camp chair. The shaded Renetto chairs were consistently the first seats snagged at a beautiful but harshly exposed Indian Grove group campsite. Like most chairs of this type, the Coleman Oversized Quad comes with an over-the-shoulder carry bag.
We also liked the low height, which made it feel more stable on sand and it was easier to reach down to grab the beach towel or the sandwiches on the picnic blanket. The Helinox folding camping chair folds down to 4”x 4″x 14″ in its stuff sack — about the size of a Nalgene water bottle. The point of a great camping chair is to offer a light, portable place to sit when you need it. Whether you’re hanging out at the campfire or on the sidelines of your kid’s soccer game, standing around gets old really quick.