We discovered that even though most testers had not previously considered a shade-equipped camp chair, once they used one they appreciated the comfort and convenience of built-in sun blocking. Unless camp chair seats are pretty taut, they tend to round the user’s back, which can be uncomfortable for longer periods. We also wish the chair was easier to get into the bag, as all the extra canopy fabric makes packing it up an annoying task.
These styles don’t take all that long to set up, but it’s a small sacrifice in time that you make with most portable chairs. For us, we try and keep our packable chairs under or around 2 pounds to minimize their impact on our pack weight. Bringing along a chair is already outside of the typical realm outdoor patio furniture of “essentials,” but 2 pounds can be something worth swinging for a short weekend trek. Activities beyond your backyard, like camping, tailgating, and hanging in the park, require a lightweight folding lawn chair that you can pack up, throw in your car, and easily carry to your desired destination.
For a wide selection of lawn chairs and camping chairs, start by shopping the selection at SCHEELS. Upgrade comfort and convenience with a lawn chair or camping chair from SCHEELS. We carry traditional lawn chairs that are lightweight, fold up, and store in a carrying bag for maximum convenience. These bag chairs are also a great choice for busy sports parents who are always looking for a comfortable alternative to bleachers. The Kijaro Dual Lock Folding Chair is a classic folding sports chair without any of the slouchy slack you’ve come to expect from camping chairs.
They are an employee gift that will be appreciated or a giveaway item that will make prospects and customers excited. “It’s plain, but that’s what makes it a great template to create a unique piece for your home,” Hsu says. “You can have a lot of fun making something that’s aesthetically pleasing.” Hsu’s reimagination of a folding chair uses wood, plastic laminate, and strips of cork.
Don’t underestimate the design potential of a basic folding lawn chair. Yes, it may be utilitarian and nondescript, but this ubiquitous piece of outdoor furniture can serve as a blank canvas for forward-thinking design that borders on artwork. The material is also plasticky and heats up underneath us after sitting for a while, which leaves something to be desired. But if you love the classic look and want a simple, very portable lawn chair, this might just be the ticket. It has one of the longest packed down lengths and is surprisingly heavy at nearly 17 pounds. The rocking feature also is really only nice if you’re on flat, stable ground.
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.
Below, we discuss how each affects the overall performance of a quality lawn chair, and which models stood out as top performers in each area. On the downside, we wish that the drink tray was part of the chair, outdoor patio shades as when carting it around, it was easy for us to forget the tray in the car. We also would prefer that the powder-coated metal was a lighter color, because the black color gets super hot in the sun.
The Helinox Chair One is the lightest, most compact option on this list, but the Yeti Hondo Base Camp Chair, the ITA Leisure Chair, and the GCI Outdoor Freestyle Rocking Chair can all be transported easily, too. Recent growth in the camping chair market has led to a dizzying number of unique designs that swivel, rock, and/or recline. We included a number of fun options on our list above, including NEMO Stargaze Reclining Camp Chair (which reclines, rocks, and swings), NEMO Moonlight (which just reclines), and GCI Outdoor Kickback Rocker. In terms of downsides, more moving parts almost always come with added durability concerns and a more involved setup, and you’re paying more for a specialized design. In our opinion, tried-and-true models like the REI Co-op Skyward, Alps King Kong, and Kijaro Dual Lock have much wider appeal, cost less, and are all most campers need.
We’ve carried and sat in each model to help bring you the details you need to make a confident purchase decision. You can store your folding lawn chairs in the garage, shed, basement, or in your car. It’s about using the space wisely and finding creative ways to fit everything in storage. Dometic made a name for themselves in the vanlife and overlanding communities with their class-leading electric cooler collection, but their latest “GO” series takes aim at the upper end of the camping market. The chair is made with heavy-duty 600-denier fabrics, sturdy aluminum legs, and beechwood armrests that add to the high-end, streamlined look. As its name suggests, the GO Compact Camp Chair also folds down quickly and easily for transport with a relatively streamlined shape for storing in a full trunk.
While it seems gimmicky at first, the canopy is actually pretty nice, especially as the day heats up and shade becomes increasingly necessary. The shade is also adjustable, making both blocking patio furniture sets the sun and getting in and out of the chair without ducking easy. It doesn’t get any more All-American than a classic web-strapped folding chair—unless that webbing is red, white, and blue.