Keep in mind that lightweight chairs won’t be nearly as comfortable as traditional camping chairs, so take the word comfortable with a grain of salt. The first trip was an early-February expedition to Indian Cove Campground in California’s Joshua Tree National Park, where our highly exposed group campsite made daytime temperatures in the high 70s feel like the 90s. We used the shelters for sun protection, setting up camp chairs inside one and a play mat and toddler toys inside another, and placing the large Clam shelter over a picnic table piled with markers and coloring books. No other chair in our testing pool—except perhaps the extremely pricey Yeti Trailhead—came close to matching the King Kong’s build quality. Our testers consistently said the King Kong chair was the most heavy-duty-feeling model of all the chairs we tested. The Coleman Cooler Quad has been our pick since 2016, through numerous camping trips and several testing sessions.
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. The Helinox Chair One is the best chair for anyone who needs a lightweight, portable chair. Whether it’s just for a weekend or for the whole season, these top campgrounds have it all – from unique accommodations to family friendly activities to scenic locations. This 75-acre tropical paradise offers direct oceanfront RV parking, beach relaxation, scuba diving, dancing, volleyball, and so much more. Encore Mesa Spirit RV Resort is a premier destination for the fall and winter season, drawing snowbirds and travelers seeking warmth and relaxation to the vibrant heart of Arizona. It offers a wealth of activities and amenities, from heated pools and outdoor sports to social events and entertainment, making it a haven for those looking to escape the winter chill.
That’s because it’s among the most durable and comfortable chairs we’ve tested. It’s large enough to accommodate a wide range of body types, and its steel frame supports up to 325 pounds. The weight of this Ozark Trail is lighter than most of the same size alternative steel frame canopy tents, coming in right about 29 lbs. From a positive perspective, the lightweight design increases portability which is certainly important in carrying the tent to its intended location. From a negative perspective, the weight is indicative of a lack of high quality material and components used throughout the shelter.
After six months of frequent use, the stitching along one arm had come unraveled, and the small straps holding up the back of the armrests had both ripped in half. Stumps, stools, boulders, and picnic tables are fine for sitting briefly outdoors. But if you want to kick back and stay comfy, the right camping chair can make all the difference. The Woodlands Screen House uses six lightweight aluminum poles, just like the Screen House Shelter.
The thicker, darker netting also makes the whole structure shadier, even without the optional side panels. Like the REI model, the L.L.Bean tent has ample interior pockets, a lantern hook, and a roomy carrying bag, though the bag is of the typical drawstring-sack variety. In between trips, we turned a neighbor’s large, flat yard into an ad hoc camping-gazebo testing ground. We erected our shelters just in advance of a 24-hour rain and checked for leaking and rainy-day ambience midstorm. We also timed setup and breakdown times for each shelter, and we repeatedly zipped and unzipped doors and windows, looking for annoying snags.
Our favorite of the eight canopy tents we tested, the REI Co-op Screen House Shelter ticks all those boxes. However, it isn’t meant as a place to sleep; for that you should choose a regular car-camping tent. Many testers found other chairs more comfortable and easier to put together than the Nemo Moonlite Reclining Camp Chair.
After new testing, we still love the Coleman Cooler Quad Chair for most outdoors situations. But we also have picks offering better support, higher weight capacity, and greater portability. The shelter has a 10-by-10-foot footprint—the most common size for tents of this type—and a peak height of 7 feet. It will shelter a standard-size picnic table, but with little room to spare. If you love camping but hate eating your morning pancakes in the rain, a canopy tent can protect you from the trifecta of bugs, sun, and sudden showers.
With its spacious seat width, this chair also offers more room than any other model we tested. And its backrest extends higher up than those of other chairs; this is nice for taller folks or people who like a good slouch with some head support. Since 2015, I’ve tested camping shelters and large car-camping tents on weekend trips involving more than a dozen families, and I have talked to dozens more about their tent travails.
There’s also a mesh pocket behind the backrest, to hold things you don’t need to access quickly. This chair comes with a sturdy carrying case, with an over-the-shoulder strap, and it’s simple to expand and fold up accordion-style. In fall 2023, we asked a panel of paid testers with a wide range of body types, dexterities, and mobilities to examine our picks and other camping chairs and to share their perspectives. During the winter and early spring of 2017, we added four more canopy tents to our testing lineup. In addition to the models from REI and L.L.Bean, which became our new top picks, we tested the Coleman 15 × 13 Instant Screenhouse and the Wenzel Sun Valley Screen House.
Mt. Hood Village Campground has a unique blend of natural beauty and modern amenities. Situated in the stunning Cascade Range of Oregon, it captivates visitors with its picturesque surroundings, including the iconic Mt. Hood. This prime location sets the stage for a plethora of outdoor activities, from hiking and fishing to skiing and snowboarding. A handful ozark trail camping chair of REI customers complain that the tent is not stable in strong winds. Though the previous version came with four guylines—the stabilizing lines that allow you to stake out the tent for added security in windy conditions—the current version does not, which is inconvenient. Kalee Thompson is an editor covering health, fitness, baby, and kid gear.