Despite its simplicity, it offers exceptional value for its low price, extreme durability, minuscule weight, and versatility. Same goes for the Nemo Chipper which is even cheaper and made from reclaimed materials. For the most significant cost savings, look to the foam chairs, which are almost always less expensive than tent-style models but can still offer you a padded seat to comfort your derrière. With so many backpacking chairs on the market, how do you pick the right one? In this article, we’ve identified the four most important qualities to look for in a chair. We rate each seat on its comfort throughout 30 minutes of lounging, its size and how much it weighs, its overall stability when getting in and out, and its ease of use.
It also facilitates better posture and keeps the back in a straighter, less curled position than most models. This chair has a unique bent leg design that creates a wider base and seat while keeping the packed profile slim. Along with its reasonable price, these attributes make it one of the most well-rounded products we tested. 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 Trailhead is also on the heavier side for a camp chair, and it’s far from compact.
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 ozark trail hammock chair 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 for a soda can, or any of the hard-plastic or metal water bottles that the kids we know brought on a camping trip.
In addition to being very compact, its stuff sack has a strap for easy transport and safekeeping under the chair when you’re using it. The convenience continues with two side pockets that function as cup holders or storage for other provisions. The chair is comfy enough for all-day sitting, and we appreciated that the back was higher on this chair than the other lightweight options we evaluated. Mesh side panels provide breathability that’s perfect for warm weather, but if you’d like to use this chair at the beach or on other soft grounds, we recommend getting a Trekology sand cover to avoid sinkage. The chair comes in black, red, blue, and green, and you can save a few dollars per chair by purchasing a pack of two on the Trekology website. The Kelty’s polyester seat cover manages to meld a cloud-like cushion with a supportive feel that’s kind to your back after a long day of roughing it.
Despite its heavy weight, the Crazy Creek PowerLounger does have a compression strap just for this purpose and is very convenient to roll up. It can be stowed beneath the lid or on the side of many backpacking packs. A close-to-the-ground chair is often the ideal choice for outdoor concerts, movies, theater performances, and other events where you will be concerned about blocking other people’s view.