The light wind whistling through the trees. I saw Jurassic Park and I was not taking the chance of summoning a civil war era T-Rex right to his dinner. My brain thumped inside my skull as I stared out into the moonlit woods through the small slit in my curtains. That’s when I realized all my windows were cracked about 3 inches. I instantly decided security took precedent over ventilation.
I rolled out of the truck, having to steady myself as I stood. I tried to piece together in my mind what I had witnessed the night before. I was filthy, the palms of my hands scraped and caked with my own blood. My hand found my forehead, and with it some dried leaves clinging to my wet, matted hair that was firmly stuck to my forehead.
The air was thick with sulfur and sweat. My flip flop caught on something and I went face first into dirt. Sounds were bubbling up from the ravine behind me. As I got up to make my final dash for the safety of the truck I felt something whiz by the side of my face. Sticks began to rain down and clink against the rock on the trail.
We chose the Coleman Cooler Quad Chair as the model with the right combination of comfort, durability, usability, and price for most campers. Most of our testers found the REI Co-op Skyward Chair to be one of the least comfortable chairs in our testing pool. People who did like it tended to have smaller body types, so if you find that other camping chairs are too big for you, the Skyward might be a good fit. This chair’s sturdy frame and higher seat height made that precarious dance just a little bit easier. It’s heavier than its competitors and not as easy to fold, but it has a carrying strap attached to the frame (something its competitors didn’t have).
Keep in mind that lightweight chairs won’t be nearly as comfortable as traditional camping chairs, so take the word comfortable with a grain of salt. During a camping trip, I sat in a friend’s REI Flexlite Camp Boss, which is a larger version of REI’s Flexlite line of chairs that we mention in the competition. It was surprisingly comfortable and more stable than the Flexlite and Flexlite Air that we tested.
It’s large enough to accommodate a wide range of body types, and its steel frame supports up ozark trail canopy to 325 pounds. It’s durable and comfortable for a range of campers. The Coleman Cooler Quad has been our pick since 2016, through numerous camping trips and several testing sessions.
It will also serve as a reminder to choose my campsites a bit more wisely. Wirecutter is the product recommendation service from The New York Times. Our ozark cooler 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).