When not in use, it folds up compactly and into a convenient carry bag, so you can easily carry it and stow it away in your closet or car trunk. 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. 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. Yeti's luxury support does come with a price tag to match.
Our not-too-discriminating underage testers liked all the kids’ chairs, though over time we found several reasons to declare the REI Camp Chair the best of the bunch. The REI chair’s polyester seat material feels both more forgiving and more durable than the thinner material on the Ozark Trail Kids’ Folding Camp Chair from Walmart. The box-shaped cupholder is a little roomier than the round cupholders on the Coleman and the L.L.Bean Base Camp chairs—better for stubby water bottles or mugs of hot chocolate around the campfire. We found that the cheaply constructed Walmart chair had a cupholder that was too small for a soda can, or any of the hard-plastic or metal water bottles that the kids we know brought on a camping trip. It will fit a Capri Sun pouch or a narrow, rectangular juice box, but that’s about it.
In terms of comfort, the Co-op Flexlite Air Chair has the perfect amount of give. It's so small and lightweight to bring around, you can even throw it into a backpack or tote bag. Shipping fees and delivery times vary depending on location, size and weight of the item(s) and is only available within the province of the Canadian Tire retail location (“Store”) from which the item(s) was purchased. Bulk items will only be delivered within a 100km radius of the Store.
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. T+L writers are shopping and product experts who score the market for the best of the best travel gear. For this article, lifelong camper Lydia Price joined a group of other editors to put 29 outdoor chairs to the test in our New York City lab. They carefully evaluated the comfort, durability, portability, and value of each chair to put together this list of the best options for camping. She also tested several chairs during camping excursions of her own.
At just 21 ounces, the Alite Monarch was the lightest of the three chairs we tested in this category, as well as the most compact, but its two-legged design required your own legs to serve as the third leg of the stool. REI’s Flexlite Chair has been replaced by an entire flock of Flexlite chairs; the one that is the closest to replacing the original Flexlite in the lineup is the Co-op Flexlite Camp Chair. The design, size, and weight is nearly identical, but the nylon fabric has been replaced with polyester. The Renetto chair usually comes in between 8 and 10 colors and is rated to hold up to 350 pounds. Walk around any campground or tailgate party, and you’ll notice the popularity of this variety of accordion-style seat.
Delivering on its get-up-and-go promise, the Yizi-go is exceptionally easy to carry, set up, and pack away. After regularly using the chair for six months, we found that it's one of the easiest options to set up and break down. In addition to being very compact, its stuff sack has a strap for easy transport and safekeeping under the chair when you're using it. The convenience continues with two side pockets that function as cup holders or storage for other provisions. The chair is comfy enough for all-day sitting, and we appreciated that the back was higher on this chair than the other lightweight options we evaluated.
Compare to $499.99 for a certified open box model direct from the manufacturer. Remember to always price compare so that you know you’re getting the best, most current deal. Shipping is free with orders of $35 or more, or free with a Walmart+ membership.
Right now, Walmart.com has this Ozark Trail Americana Camping Hammock Chair for just $24.97 (reg. $43.31). This foldable camping chair is made with extra-strong nylon fabric and an easy-folding steel frame for simple storage. Keeping in mind that good portability is key for outdoor chairs, we broke down and packed each for transport, testing their carrying cases and any and all straps and handles to judge the placement, size, and design. Testers considered whether the chairs would be too heavy, bulky, or awkward to carry for either a long distance or simply from a house to a car trunk.
Nothing is worse than finding yourself forced to play musical chairs around the campfire. If you're camping with a group, make sure enough chairs have been purchased and packed for everyone. Since different chairs will be best for each individual based on body type, age, and personal preference, it's a good idea to have a collection of chairs that suit a variety of needs.