We did select our favorite upright chair for car camping and tailgating, and then additional low-to-the-ground, ultra-lightweight, and canopy picks, as well as a great chair for kids. The Helinox Chair One weighs about 2 pounds, compresses smaller than a 2-liter bottle of soda, and is the most comfortable and easy to stow of the three top backpacking chairs we tested. Like competing chairs, the Chair One has a nylon and mesh seat and aluminum legs, which are linked with shock cord (the chair legs are made out of the same material as high-end tent poles). The 4-pound, steel-construction REI chair has an attached carry strap, rather than a carry bag like the other chairs. After a couple of camping trips, we concluded that a strap is more convenient than a bag—quicker and easier for a kid to grab the chair and go, without parental help.
In essence, I had committed to the permanent rainfly option by default and there was a certain contentedness that came with that. 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. In any case, this is a folding chair so there is no assembly of any kind. To fold it, stand on one side of the chair, then step on the bottom bar of the frame and pull up on the side of the seat until chair closes.
An included carrying bag makes it easy to bring this chair with you almost anywhere you go. Select a chair with a built-in canopy, which will give you a little patch of cool at any campsite or cookout. When the fly is fully deployed, the tent has two vestibules, which provide additional gear storage and also help ventilate the tent in inclement weather. With a versatile and user-friendly design, the Napier SUV tent offers a setup that enhances camping comfort.
All these contenders dried well on the trail, taking a similar amount of time to dry on foot. Another favorite for comfort and performance is the Farm to Feet Damascus Lightweight, a well-fitting sock with superior underfoot protection. These can be as strong, or even more so, than aluminum poles (especially cheap ones), but they’re always bulkier, heavier, and not as nice to handle. Either way, it’s easy to add a bit of storage if you want or need it. 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 Ozark Trail XXL Director chair’s metal frame has an all-business look about it too, which clearly sends the message that this is a go-anywhere chair.
I also like that it has aluminum arms which are more supportive than the canvas ones usually found on these types of chairs. There’s a very nice drink holder (won’t hold your coffee cup, must be in an insulated tumbler) and a mesh pocket to hold your cell phone or other similar-sized item. Comes with the same compact bag with a shoulder strap for carrying. With 6.7 cubic feet of internal volume, this wagon fit more stuff than any of the other beach wagons we tested—while also clocking in at a middle-of-the-road 24.5 pounds.
Some 1-person tents will have two major spars or spines that cross for the main support structure. In the Ozark Trail tent, it has only one spar traveling down the center lengthwise with a single rib to open up the area in ozark trail cooler the middle. The four or six tent pegs hold the structure down but are crucial for the tent to stand by itself. A definite smart design choice, the ceiling vents are a massive advantage for and ultimately have two purposes.