7 of the best budget camping chairs to buy in 2023

If you’re willing to try something a bit unique, a heavy-duty steel frame and sturdy fabric means your investment in this chair should pay off for a lifetime of outdoor relaxation. However, since many campers prefer chairs at a traditional height, the Kelty Lowdown narrowly ozark trail screen house missed winning our Best Overall pick. A rocking chair can take your campsite serenity to a new level. GCI’s Freestyle Rocker is sturdy and supportive but provides a soothing swaying motion. Trekology’s Yizi-go is an incredible value in the ultralight chair space.

When you need comfortable and reliable seating, choose the Ozark Trail basic quad folding outdoor camp chair. Relax in comfort and style wherever you go with ozark trail chairs the Ozark Trail compact low-profile mesh chair. This convenient foldable camping chair is for easy storage and transportation and includes one cup holder.

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 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. T+L writers are shopping and product experts who score the market for the best of the best travel gear. For this article, lifelong camper Lydia Price joined a group of other editors to put 29 outdoor chairs to the test in our New York City lab.

We were downright giddy over this spacious, cleverly designed outdoor loveseat. The two-seater slips in and out of a slot in the wrap-up, tote-style carrier, which can be expanded to fit other gear for storage and double as a dog mat when the chair is in use. When it comes to comfort, the Kelty Low Loveseat was one of the most outstanding during our test.

Walk around any campground or tailgate party, and you’ll notice the popularity of this variety of accordion-style seat. You can pick one up at just about any big-box store (sometimes for as little as $10), order one with your favorite sports team’s logo, or pay a premium for a similar model from Cabela’s or REI. Camping trips, beach days, picnics in the park, outdoor movies and theater performances, a fresh-air get-together with friends—there are countless occasions when you might use a camp chair. Testers provide periodic updates to report on the chairs’ performances over the course of six months.