The 15 Best Camping Chairs of 2023, Tested by Travel + Leisure

If your chair has pole legs, just make sure that you bring along a ground sheet if you may be encountering soft surfaces like sand. A rocking chair can take your campsite serenity to a new level. 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.

Because people use outdoor chairs for an array of purposes and have different preferences when it comes to comfort, it was almost impossible to choose just one best chair. We did select our favorite upright chair for car camping and tailgating, and then additional low-to-the-ground, ultra-lightweight, ozark trail camping chair and canopy picks, as well as a great chair for kids. This convenient foldable camping chair collapses for easy storage and transportation and has one cup holder. This folding chair is made from durable polyester fabric wrapped around a steel frame for long-lasting comfort and convenience.

We considered both the relative weight of each chair compared to models of the same design (foam or tent style), as well as how it stacked up against every product we tested. Twisting chairs are also less comfortable, primarily because they tend to have a smaller sitting surface and no backrest, as is true of the REI Co-op Trail Stool. Tent-style chairs like the Big Agnes Skyline UL, Big Agnes Big Six, and Nemo Moonlite excel in the comfort metric since their raised seats are easier to get in and out of. Because they keep their form, it is much easier to plop down and feel supported. The Helinox Ground Chair is a unique tent chair that sits even lower to the ground than its closest competitors, making it more of a recliner meant to extend legs forward. We are also intrigued by the Therm-a-Rest Trekker Chair Kit.

The sturdy steel frame supports padded armrests, a back with a breathable mesh panel, and a cup holder for added comfort. The 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).

It’s available in 11 colors, many of which are unique in the outdoor product space. The chair comes with a carrying bag but also has a shoulder strap attached directly to its frame in case you want to ditch the sack. All this at a good price, making it an incredible value for ozark trail canopy a comfy camp chair that’s built to last through countless seasons. While paying premium prices for a camping chair when you only make it to the wilderness a couple times of year may not seem practical, good portable seating can be an invaluable addition to your home life too.