For its comfort and durability, as well as its ability to seat a couple of friends, we think this chair is worth considering. With extra features come several extra pounds, making the King Kong one of the heaviest single-person models we tested. It also lacks a headrest, so it’s not the ideal chair for an afternoon snooze. On the other hand, we think this model will stand up to all of your needs for camping, tailgating, fishing, or anything else.
Outdoor furniture is not one size fits all, so think carefully about your unique needs before committing to a style. Shorties (like yours truly) may be uncomfortable in seats that are too high to rest their feet on the ground while their backs are flush against the chair. A few of the lightweights we tested were cozy enough to sleep in for some campers, while others found them to be too narrow to comfortably fit their shoulders. 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.
In real-world conditions, you’re often packing up fast to try to get ahead of crowds or traffic. So you can easily misplace a carry sack on a dark night in a crowded field, especially if you’re in a large group or have a lot of stuff. At a fireworks show and at the beach, we appreciated a chair that was ready to go without even 30 seconds of hassle. The Everywhere Chair closes like a book—simply lift the padded strap and go. 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.
We think the REI Camp X is the better deal for shorter individuals, and the GCI Comfort Pro has more appeal for taller folks. Though it costs more, it’s an investment that pays off in its serious comfort and exceptional durability. Finally, the Kelty Low Loveseat is worth a mention; despite a higher price point, it provides not one but two seats, upping its value by decreasing the price-per-seat cost. The GCI Outdoor Comfort Pro is a simple chair that offers solid performance for less than you might expect. It has a fairly tall seat and back to match widely-splayed arms, offering plenty of space to sit high above the ground.
Factors we considered when evaluating comfort were armrests, lumbar support, a headrest, back ventilation, and the chair’s overall design. Maggie is a seasoned multi-sport athlete and appreciates gear that makes for high-quality downtime when it’s time to kick back and relax. She has taught workshops and guided extensively worldwide on topics as diverse as snow camping and expedition kayaking. Over the years, Maggie has spent extended amounts of time living out of backpacks and her teardrop trailer, arrangements where packable comfort items go a long way. Trish spent years living out of a popup camper and can appreciate durable gear that saves space without sacrificing optimal performance. After many years spent adventuring and rock climbing, Trish is happy to trade her former crashpad seat for the comfort of the right camping chair.
ozark trail hammock chairAnd to ensure you stay safely seated, this chair features articulating feet to provide stability on all terrains. If so, rock and sway your way to relaxation with the Ozark Trail Structured Hammock Chair. The Kelty’s polyester seat cover manages to meld a cloud-like cushion with a supportive feel that’s kind to your back after a long day of roughing it. Adjustable armrests are equipped with insulated cup holders that can be expanded to fit massive water bottles and oversized mugs.
Despite these small melted holes, the fabric showed no other signs of strain or wear. If you prefer a less slouchy, flatter, and more supportive seat, the Kijaro Dual Lock locks into place, stopping the seat from sagging. The GCI Comfort Pro has a similar shape and design, but it lacks the locking mechanism of the Kijaro and so is slightly less supportive because of it.
It’s a bit shorter than most traditional chairs, and we always felt that bringing it with us was worth it. Our testers also love the Kijaro Dual Lock, which has a built-in carry strap on the back of the frame that locks into place so you can still toss it over your shoulder if you forget your carry bag. Though some gear seems to display a fairly linear correlation between price and performance, we don’t find this to be the case for all camping chairs. Some of the best-performing models have moderate price tags, while some of the most expensive options didn’t score as well as anticipated. Contenders that exemplify the highest value for the buck in this review are the REI Co-op Camp X and GCI Comfort Pro. Both of these chairs provide above-average comfort for a below-average price.
ozark trail camping chairThese chairs have several poles in an odd configuration that we found complicated. It was always a long process to get everything to fit back into its designated storage bags, and it never quite went how we wanted. These were the chairs we would leave set up and drag around to avoid dealing with disassembly and reassembly. Ease of use encompasses how hard it is to set up and take down each chair and how well the features work to enhance (or not) the overall experience. After all, the odds of you wanting to take a chair with you anywhere are probably lower if it’s challenging to set up or the features are aggravating. Fortunately, most of the chairs we tested were reasonably straightforward — even the more complex packable chairs were a cinch after a small learning curve.