Portable outdoor chairs are also helpful for anyone who doesn’t have the room or budget for permanent backyard furniture. And they can save your back, make it easier to juggle a picnic plate and a cold beverage, and generally help you to relax comfortably outdoors. Walk around any campground or tailgate party, and you’ll notice the popularity of this variety of accordion-style seat. You can pick one up at just about any big-box store (sometimes for as little as $10), order one with your favorite sports team’s logo, or pay a premium for a similar model from Cabela’s or REI. We got some admiring nods en route to the celebration—and we had one of the more comfy seats at the show. Today’s specialty backpacking chairs are impressively small and light. They’re also far more expensive and significantly less comfortable than typical full-size camp chairs. You can stow this featherlight, compressible chair in a backpack or even a work bag. Perfect for cold-weather campers or parents sitting on the sidelines for early-spring and late-fall games. It lays back normally farther than a normal chair but it is perfect for me. A folding hammock chair is undoubtedly worth it if you value comfort and relaxation above all else. Also, its included roll tote is much easier to pack than a carrying case. ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. ?Pricing, selection, and availability of store clearance items are determined by each store. Items may be display models or not exactly as shown and may not be available in all stores. If you answered yes to both of those questions, then you’ve undoubtedly run into a problem that’s all too common where bigger folk are concerned. Wirecutter is the product recommendation service from The New York 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). 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. Since the breathable mesh is also quick-drying, you can feel free to plop down in a wet bathing suit and leave the chair out during afternoon rain showers. And although its thinness may cause you concern, it has proved to be durably and sturdy after months of use. REI's Co-op Flexlite Air Chair is perfect for the minimalist traveler. The 1-pound seat comes with a miniscule stuff sack that can easily be slipped into a backpack or suitcase. We also loved that setting up and breaking down the aluminum frame and seat cover is conveniently intuitive. You may doubt a chair this light and compact could also be sturdy, but it held up beautifully to all the plopping, dropping, and throwing they could put it through. We tested 29 of the best camping chairs on the market to find the perfect option for everyone. 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. Like many ultralight chairs structured with a pole base, it will sink into soft ground like snow or sand, but Helinox makes a ground sheet you can buy to make the chair more versatile. Like most chairs of this type, the Coleman Oversized Quad comes with an over-the-shoulder carry bag. The Coleman camping chair is big and durable, and of all the upright chairs that our panel of campers tested, it was the most comfortable.