During our testing period, we paid close attention to details that matter in a camp chair, like how well the cup holders and pockets work. We weighed and measured them, carried them all over, and jumped into them to see what they could handle. What follows is a comprehensive discussion of our in-depth findings from months of lounging. While paying premium prices for a camping chair when you only make it to the wilderness a couple times of year may not seem practical, good portable seating can be an invaluable addition to your home life too.
The ENO Lounger DL and the Nemo Stargaze Recliner Luxury also score well in this metric because of their similar abilities to be broken down into smaller segments and stuffed into a small carrying case. The ALPS Mountaineering Rendezvous is also a reasonably portable ozark trail canopy chair with a low profile. If you do burn, having some aftersun on hand will be a god-send mid-festival. Bioderma’s formula came out on top in our round-up of the best aftersuns, with our tester lauding the lightweight product for its immediate cooling effect.
Carrying bags are included to make it easy to pack up and carry the chairs for transport. Durable polyester fabric allows these folding chairs with cup holders to last for a long time and stand up to various conditions. These seats come in a pack of four to provide seating for family and guests.
And though we don’t recommend leaving your chair out for full seasons of UV exposure, this is one of the few models we’ve actually done this to. After over a year and a half of sitting outside in a high-elevation environment (5000 feet above sea level), the only difference in this chair is a slight fading of the canvas-like material. Another camp chair that features a perforated and breathable material that also resists damaging UV rays is the Yeti Trailhead.
Despite having a high back and being impressively durable, this model weighs just 3.24 pounds and is the lightest chair we tested. If that’s not enough, its carry bag can also double as a pillow for a personalized headrest. Comfort is our most highly weighted metric, accounting for 40% of the overall score for each camping chair.
They also appreciated its cupholder (rare in chairs of this sort) and its quick close-up-and-carry design. The TikTok version of the chair is adorably summer-themed, featuring nostalgia-inducing red, white, and blue popsicle designs all over the seat. There’s a cupholder on the right arm and a built-in cooler on the left that can hold a six-pack of drinks (or more, if you dare). There’s even a bottle opener attached to the inside of the cooler to cover all the bases for chillin’ and grillin’ outside. On the back is an elastic slot and Velcro bands to secure an overhead umbrella, and underneath the seat is a strap that collapses the chair for easy transport. Good design with a small pocket to place your cell phone or snacks near the cup holder.
While the feet of our shorter testers rested comfortably on the ground, Kelty also makes a version that’s several inches taller. Made of durable materials, this chair can stand up to the trials of seating multiple people and even dogs for extended periods. After three straight years of regular use and some severe sun exposure, it’s fading a bit but is still as comfortable as the first day we got it. This chair has grown on our lead tester the longer she has owned it, a credit to its impressive longevity and comfort.
Fortunately, most of the chairs we tested were reasonably straightforward — even the more complex packable chairs were a cinch after a small learning curve. The bag of the moment, Uniqlo’s TikTok-viral crossbody bag is perfect for festival season. Roomy, adjustable, affordable and available in an array of fun colours to make a style statement, the styled-up bum bag is just what you need to carry your essentials around the field. Coming in minimalist black, beige and white finishes or playful yellow, red and green, there’s a reason why Lyst named it the hottest product in the world. Considering you’ll spend most of the festival outside in the sun, a good SPF is essential. Our favourite hails from La Roche-Posay, with its anthelios oil sunscreen praised for ticking every box.
But after half a dozen excursions, we found—as we had with the Renetto Original Canopy Chair—that having a chair you can easily carry without a bag is preferable. In real-world conditions, you’re often packing up fast to try to get ahead of crowds or traffic. So you can easily misplace a carry sack ozark trail chairs on a dark night in a crowded field, especially if you’re in a large group or have a lot of stuff. At a fireworks show and at the beach, we appreciated a chair that was ready to go without even 30 seconds of hassle. The Everywhere Chair closes like a book—simply lift the padded strap and go.