We spent 200+ nights testing the best headlamps for brightness, battery life, comfort, and ease of use for backpacking, hiking, running, climbing, and camping. I’ve guided hiking, backpacking, rock climbing, and (mostly) rafting trips in Alaska and Colorado for seven years. I’m now a program manager for a guiding company out of Southeast Alaska and managed their hiking and rafting program on the Chilkoot Trail and Taiya River.
Whether you enjoy car camping, backpacking, soccer game viewing, backyard barbecuing, or some mix of it all, it helps to have a clear idea of how you’ll use your camping chair. It will help you narrow down which of the other factors are most important. It doesn’t pack down particularly small or include a carrying case, but it’s easy enough to carry around the campsite or backyard. At 4 pounds, it’s light enough for even young children to drag into place. And with a seat height of 11 inches off the ground, it works well for a range of children.
We also really enjoyed their Aluminum Deck Chair, which brings the same wide seat and throws in a side table at the cost of easy transport. Compared to the competition, even our other top contenders, you’re getting a lot of value out of this chair. There aren’t many other options out there with such a high carrying capacity, this many features, and low weight coleman cooler at any price range. A camping chair with such a high-grade integrated cooler wouldn’t be much without a cup holder to match. The Everywhere Chair keeps your bottom about 4 inches off the ground. The strap that supports the back (and doubles as a carry strap) allows adjustments to control your angle of recline, from upright to a stargazing-appropriate angle.
Some will dry more quickly than others, but none of them will be damaged by a little rain. When considering the packed dimensions, also consider how exactly you’re going to be toting your favorite camp chair around. Many are familiar with the fabric sleeves that encase collapsable chairs for travel, but there are few other options available. With a design that sits somewhere in between a camping and a backpacking chair, the Lounger DL is a packable seat that makes no concessions in the comfort department. A lightweight aluminum frame assembles easily with shock cord construction and stretches a hammock-inspired swaddle that boasts a padded head and armrests. It proved impressively sturdy and stable as well, even as a 3-year-old repeatedly climbed in and out.
If you’ve got a little more to spend on a camp chair to last a long time, we love the Nemo Stargaze Reclining Camp Chair and it wins our Most Comfortable Camp Chair award. Unlike other reclining or rocking style, it has a sturdy base, fast, intuitive set-up, and compact breakdown. Designed as a hammock-style chair, it allows you to rock, recline, and swing— all with a base that feels more secure than other camp chairs we considered. We like this chair so much it made our Best Gifts for Campers gift guide. Even folks who never thought they’d want a reclining camp chair fell in love with the Nemo Stargaze. Even testers who hate assembling gear would run to have this be the first thing up in camp.