Senior editor Kalee Thompson, who wrote a previous version of this guide, has been regularly using the Coleman chair she originally tested in 2016. Aside from the color fading and the cooler pouch deteriorating, her chair has held up to years of backyard hangs and camping trips. In summer 2023, she bought a newer Coleman Cooler Quad Chair to compare to her 2016 model, and she found them to be more or less the same. Testers preferred the Coleman chair’s thoughtfully placed mesh storage pouch over those of its competitors. Of the chairs we tested, the Coleman chair was the only one that came with a built-in cooler bag, which can hold four standard-size beer or soda cans.
We blame the crossbar design, which runs front to back rather than side to side; this creates a lot of wobble from right to left, especially if the chair is not on perfectly even ground. Its base design is the same as for other variations, the Flexlite Camp Dreamer and Flexlite Camp Boss. After years of intermittently using the Renetto chair, one staffer said it has held up great.
And it comes with the same durable build of the standard Mac Sports wagon, but with twice the internal volume. Please go back to your cart to review and delete any out of stock items. Changing your order type may impact availability of items already in your cart. The box-shaped cupholder is a little roomier than the round cupholders on the Coleman and ozark trail screen house the L.L.Bean Base Camp chairs—better for stubby water bottles or mugs of hot chocolate around the campfire. You can stow this featherlight, compressible chair in a backpack or even a work bag. Testers with knee and hip issues reported that when they were getting in and out of this chair, its armrests felt more stable than those of any other model.
The most striking detail of the X Series 24 is its corten finish—it’s designed to oxidize, creating a natural finish that protects the steel rather than continuing to degrade it. It weighs more than twice as much as most of the ozark trail chairs other models we tested, which means it’s not exactly portable—but it’s built to last. We shopped a range of smokeless fire pits we wanted to test in person and those we wanted to further research based on other expert reviews.
This well-built pit is easy to take on beach day trips, campouts, and park days. It has a dual-walled design and draws air from the bottom as you’d expect from the traditional fire pit, but it comes at a significantly lower price. Integrated handles at the sides make it easy for transport and emptying the ash pan. Most likely, you want a fire pit that adds ambiance to your outdoor space, provides warmth on chilly evenings, and maybe even grills up some tasty meals.
Some models, like the Tiki we tested, are also designed to burn wood pellets. Whatever fuel you use, you’ll burn through it more quickly in a smokeless fire pit due to the constant stream of air feeding the fire. The upside of this is that, when the wood burns this hot and completely, you have less ash to clean up. For the first round of testing in 2019, I used each wagon on trips to my son’s elementary school, traveling about half a mile each way over sidewalks and city streets during the course of two months.
The use of charcoal, along with the optional Outpost Grill attachment, makes the Y-series a competent barbecue. You can cook over wood as well, and the height of the grill surface is adjustable so you can keep clear of the flames. We appreciated the adjustable legs which raised the top of the fire pit up to 20 inches and made the grill surface easier to reach. The 15-inch body height allowed for more heat to be felt on our lower extremities. Once they were burning, we walked toward each pit until we could feel noticeable heat, then circled them to see how even the distribution was and how much it was affected by wind. We also looked at them through a Flir infrared camera to see if there were any concerning hot spots on the fire pits’ bodies.
This wasn’t too problematic when the wagon was carrying an average load (beach chairs, towels, drinks, and snacks). But with a kid or two added to the mix, this wagon’s wheels started to drag deeper. We think the Mac Sports wagon is fine for occasional beach use, especially if your gear is more bulky than heavy and you don’t have to travel too far to your spot. But if you’re looking for a folding wagon to primarily use at the beach, we recommend paying more for the Mac Sports Heavy Duty Collapsible Folding All Terrain Utility Cart. Most of our testers found the REI Co-op Skyward Chair to be one of the least comfortable chairs in our testing pool.
The Dual Lock seat’s name comes from a locking mechanism that secures the chair when it’s folded or expanded—releasing the lock is a matter of pushing a button on one of the legs. As a result, the chair feels grounded and less wobbly than its competitors. This was especially reassuring for testers with knee or hip issues, who noted that they felt confident using the Dual Lock seat’s armrests to stand up and get out of it. This time-tested classic is reasonably priced, roomy, and dependable enough to last for years. It’s not our lightest, most comfortable, or toughest pick, but it’s close enough, and it’s reasonably priced.