Out of all the chairs we tested, this chair’s capacity—800 pounds—is the highest (the next-highest weight limit is 500 pounds). With its spacious seat width, this chair also offers more room than any other model we tested. And its backrest extends higher up than those of other chairs; this is nice for taller folks or people who like a good slouch with some head support.
Senior editor Kalee Thompson, who wrote a previous version of this guide, has been regularly using the Coleman chair she originally tested in 2016. Aside from the color fading and the cooler pouch deteriorating, ozark trail backpack her chair has held up to years of backyard hangs and camping trips. In summer 2023, she bought a newer Coleman Cooler Quad Chair to compare to her 2016 model, and she found them to be more or less the same.
We were able to fix the problem, but a year of use has also led to scratches on the wheels and the plastic looking pretty shorn. One staffer who also owns the Mac Sports Heavy Duty Collapsible Folding All Terrain Utility Cart has also noticed scratches on the wheels. But the Seina offers just half the internal space, and its 4-inch wheels were more prone to tipping when packed with the same beach gear. Many testers found other chairs more comfortable and easier to put together than the Nemo Moonlite Reclining Camp Chair. This is also the most expensive lightweight chair we tested, and we think the Chair One is a better value. Despite the Renetto chair’s weight and bulk, our testers found it simple to set up and adjust.
Plus, you can adjust the grill’s height to control the heat and easily add wood to the fire when needed. The design continued to impress us with the inclusion of a base plate to place under the fire pit to prevent ash and embers from hitting the ground whether you’re on your patio or in the woods. The fire pit is incredibly intuitive to set up and it’s simple to flatten it into the compact carrying case. The only negative is that the fire pit weighs 30 pounds, making it one of our list’s heavier portable fire pits.
But if you want to kick back and stay comfy, the right camping chair can make all the difference. The Oniva Collapsible Adventure Wagon’s major downside was its folding mechanism, similar to that of an umbrella, rather than an accordion, like on the others. It was extremely hard to squeeze inward and still jutted outward if not squeezed into its cover—an impossible ordeal when wrangling two kids in a parking lot. The sand-removal feature, which seemed promising, worked only partially, and many reviewers noted that the wagon’s handle was short.
The Renetto Original Canopy Chair is the best chair with a built-in canopy. Cara has a Bachelor’s Degree from Northwestern State University, with a background in writing about food, culture, and beauty. We recommend these products based on an intensive research process that’s designed to cut through the noise and find the top products in this space. Guided by experts, we spend hours looking into the factors that matter, to bring you these selections. Perfect for cold-weather campers or parents sitting on the sidelines for early-spring and late-fall games.
This chair’s big canopy provides ample sun protection at a campsite or sporting event, and it doubles as a backpack-strap-equipped carrying case. In fall 2023, we asked a panel of paid testers with a wide ozark trail backpack 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.