The right chairs can make or break a camping trip — no one wants to go into a s'mores-induced sugar coma while squirming in a flimsy foldable. And if you're lugging all your gear on a backpacking journey, a portable seat you can properly rest on is even more crucial. Knowing which brands and models to trust is the first step to creating your own outdoor oasis. 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. The lightest camping chair on our list is the REI Co-op Flexlite Air Chair, weighing only one pound.
We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing. This top-rated reusable water bottle was praised by our tester for being “utterly leakproof” with double-wall vacuum insulation keeping drinks cold for up to 28 hours.
Sturdy arm rests and sits a little higher from the ground, making it a great choice for taller people. Finally, camping chairs should be portable since camping can require hiking to your camping spot. Look for a lighter chair weight to easily carry it around to your destination—a carrying case also makes it easier.
We like almost everything about this sturdy little chair, with its best features, in our view, being the width of the seat, the generous amount of supported weight, and its surprisingly modest price. In terms of extras, the Ozark Trail XXL Director camping chair comes with a fold-out side-table attached to one of the chair arms. The table is big enough to hold a small plate, which makes camp-dining convenient, and is big enough to hold a few miscellaneous supplies if and as needed. The Ozark Trail Oversized Mesh Chair from Walmart, although similar to our pick in size, was far less comfortable, with rough-feeling material that was obviously of lower quality. We later found, after six months of frequent use, that the stitching along one arm had come unravelled and that the small straps holding up the back of the armrests had both ripped in half.
REI's Co-op Camp X Chair brings the best of both worlds with a webbed nylon mesh that keeps you cozy and cool. The material is designed to evenly distribute your weight and maximize comfort, and we found the material was tense enough to feel supportive while letting them take advantage of the breeze. Overwhelmingly, the Coleman came out on top, with campers praising its comfort and stability. The Renetto’s big, heavy canopy provides ample sun protection at a campsite or cookout and doubles as a backpack-strap-equipped carrying case. These lightweight, convenient chairs fold easily into a storage bag so you can toss them in the back of the car for any summertime adventure.
The Ozark Trail XXL Director chair is a good, if somewhat basic director’s style camp chair, offered by a company with a solid reputation in the market. While it does have a few shortcomings, these are generally easy to fix and easy to overlook. Owing to its extra-wide seat, the first thing you’ll notice about this oversized director’s chair is that it looks rugged and robust.
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. Are you a car camper or do you plan on socializing in friends’ backyards? We like this durable, well-constructed chair that has a frame that makes you confident to sit. If you struggle to get any shut-eye at festivals, make sure to pack some ear plugs for sleeping. Proving you don’t have to spend a fortune on good buds, these EarHub plugs impressed our tester. Keeping your hair fresh between showers at festivals (or if you’re not planning to shower at all), dry shampoo is a must-have toiletry.