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). Overwhelmingly, the Coleman came out on top, with campers praising its comfort and stability. After six months of regularly using the Coleman Cooler Quad coleman cooler Chair, we think it’s the best choice for most people who are seeking an upright chair for car camping, tailgating, and outdoor gatherings. We noticed during the first of our three camping trips—a weekend in California’s Joshua Tree National Park, with a total of seven families—that, given the choice, campers prefer to take the biggest seat.
The REI chair’s polyester seat material feels both more forgiving and more durable than the thinner material on the Ozark Trail Kids’ Folding Camp Chair from Walmart. The box-shaped cupholder is a little roomier than the round cupholders on the Coleman and the L.L.Bean Base Camp chairs—better for stubby water bottles or mugs of hot chocolate around the campfire. We found that the cheaply constructed Walmart chair had a cupholder that was too small coleman cooler for a soda can, or any of the hard-plastic or metal water bottles that the kids we know brought on a camping trip. It will fit a Capri Sun pouch or a narrow, rectangular juice box, but that’s about it. 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 poles are quite thin, and despite having a steel frame, everything feels rather rickety. Ours also came with some sloppy seams, and the carry bag is very thin and fragile. Again, nothing broke on this chair during our few months of testing, but we are skeptical of its longevity.
The cooler itself is an easy-access zippered pouch that hangs from the bottom of the left armrest. But if you want something comfortable enough to watch an all-day soccer tournament and durable enough to bring back every season, we don’t think this one is a winner. It had some thickness, with at least a couple layers of fabric making up the body, but this doesn’t help the integrity.
After so many decades of outdoor excellence, they’ve brought their A-game to this affordable and feature-rich piece of folding furniture. 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. The REI chair is rated to hold up to 150 pounds, the same as the L.L.Bean and Walmart chairs.