It easily folds up and slips into its shoulder-strap carrying bag and is lightweight enough to carry to a picnic. While the padded seat and armrests are great for campers who like a cushioned feel, some may find the chair lacking in back support. Coleman’s heavy-duty outdoor chair with a side table can transform your camping mealtimes.
If you do need a fits-in-a-knapsack chair, we recommend the Helinox Chair One. We found this model to be slightly more comfortable and easier to pack than other, similar chairs. The Big Agnes Skyline UL is our favorite backpacking chair thanks to its comfort and stability in a small package. The deep-pocket seat means that it’s comfortable to sit with your legs in a variety of positions, and your backside won’t slide forward. It also facilitates better posture and keeps the back in a straighter, less curled position than most models. This chair has a unique bent leg design that creates a wider base and seat while keeping the packed profile slim.
He has spent hundreds of evenings in backcountry and front country campsites, parking himself on all sorts of seating. After 7,000 miles on some of America’s most iconic long trails, he knows what to look for when it comes to ideal seat selection. The Big Agnes Skyline UL Stool incorporates a modern backpacking chair design into stool form. The wide, scooped seat offers plenty of support and space for your rear, unlike some of the small tripod stools that have the unfortunate appearance of being swallowed up.
Same goes for the Nemo Chipper which is even cheaper and made from reclaimed materials. For the most significant cost savings, look to the foam chairs, which are almost always less expensive than tent-style models but can still offer you a padded seat to comfort your derrière. We start each of our reviews with market research, which yielded an initial selection of nearly 50 contenders for our backpacking chairs.
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. 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. Finally, we sent the chairs out to put them to the test on real campgrounds, hikes, and other outdoor events. Testers provide periodic updates to report on the chairs’ performances over the course of six months.
If lumbar support is a must, it could be worth transporting a bit of extra weight to have a super sturdy chair on your site. 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 ozark trail lounge chair 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. Camp chairs, swinging or otherwise, aren’t usually known for being too comfortable, but the Ozark Trail delivers.
Hit the mountain trails on your bike or cruise along the beach boardwalk. The selection of mountain, hybrid and cruiser bikes as well as helmets for safety will get you outside for an active adventure. The cupholders on the L.L.Bean Kids’ Base Camp Chair aren’t as roomy as those on our picks, and they are not as adept at holding stubby water bottles or mugs of hot chocolate.