Great camping chairs are also treated to resist UV light. This can help prevent the fabric from fading over time. The fabric should also be strong enough to offer a 300-pound weight limit, at minimum. It doesn’t come cheap—it’s the most expensive camp chair we tested—and we wish it came in more than a couple colors, like the brand’s awesome selection of coolers. We spent time carrying the camp chairs through a park, taking note of how heavy they felt and whether they were cumbersome to transport. After setting them up on grass and dirt patches to see how they balanced on uneven terrain, we took a seat, judging each by its relative comfort.
But I brought them on an early-season car camping trip and used them in my yard and at my house. At the campsite, I enjoyed these stools around the fire. While I sat on the XT, my partner used the UC as a footstool from the Kelty Couch.
In fall 2023, we asked a panel of paid testers with a wide range of body types, dexterities, and mobilities to examine our picks and other camping chairs and to share their perspectives. Kalee Thompson is the senior editor heading up Wirecutter’s kid coverage. When she wrote the first version of this guide, Kalee lived in Southern California, where she tested chairs on three group camping trips. While they don’t provide support, they do add a bit of padding, so your arms aren’t digging into the sides of the fabric.
But when I perused the Outdoor Retailer Summer 2023 show and walked past the Grand Trunk booth, the Compass 360 Stools stopped me in my tracks. I popped a squat, found it comfortable, and took a spin. Wirecutter is the product recommendation service from The New York ozark trail backpack Times. Our journalists combine independent research with (occasionally) over-the-top testing so you can make quick and confident buying decisions. Whether it’s finding great products or discovering helpful advice, we’ll help you get it right (the first time).
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. Of the chairs we tested, the Coleman chair was the only one that came with a built-in cooler bag, which can hold four standard-size beer or soda cans. The chair also has the round mesh cupholder found on most chairs of this type.
Regardless of size, many camp chairs come with straps or carrying cases to make travel easier. Camp chairs is a relatively broad category of products, encompassing everything from stool-style chairs to luxurious two-person loveseats. A good camping chair, regardless of design, should at the very least be comfortable enough to sit in for a meal or an evening by the campfire. I’m a fan of Grand Trunk’s latest take on camp seating.
We also took into account online reviews from past buyers and compared them directly to the chairs we tested out ourselves. When gauging a camp chair’s hardiness, you need to look at the frame, the material of the seat and back, and the overall weather-resistance of both. Most of the camp chairs we write about have steel tubing that’s power-coated to resist rust and corrosion. Living in the south, spending time outside is practically second nature. Between barbecues, crawfish boils, and annual family reunions, the great outdoors sort of feels like my second home. After spotting the Ozark Trail Oversized Mesh Cooler Chair on TikTok, I immediately knew I had to get my hands on it.
It’s large enough to accommodate a wide range of body types, and its steel frame supports up to 325 pounds. Small, lightweight camp chairs pack down small for easy transport and work well for backpackers or anyone traveling by foot. Larger chairs can weigh more than 10 pounds, which makes them far more cumbersome to carry and better suited to car camping and backyard lounging. What you get with that added size and weight, though, is the added comfort afforded by a wider seat with more cushioning and a potentially higher weight limit. If you’re planning a car-camping trip, you’ll probably want to bring camping chairs.
She has written feature stories for publications like Outside Magazine, SkyLife Magazine, Playboy, Frommers, INSIDER, and more, and contributes couples travel and honeymoon content for TheKnot.com. Suzie co-authored Lonely Planet Sustainable Travel Guide and is the author of 2021’s “Hiking Lake Tahoe.” She has undergraduate degrees from the University of Maryland and an M.A. In media and political communication from George Washington University. Follow her on Instagram at @HikeUpYourSkirt or find more of her work at suziedundas.com. The camping chair also comes with multiple side pockets and a large mesh pouch to store everything from books and tablets to wallets and phones.
Like others in its category, this chair comes with an over-the-shoulder carry bag, but some testers found it was light and compact enough to carry without the case. Since 2016, our testers (with different body types and physical needs) have subjected camping chairs to multiple camping trips. ozark trail backpack We chose the Coleman Cooler Quad Chair as the model with the right combination of comfort, durability, usability, and price for most campers. We also found that the wooden arm were markedly more comfortable against the skin than the textured plastic armrests on other chairs we tested.