The Coleman Cooler Quad has been our pick since 2016, through numerous camping trips and several testing sessions. 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. We love the price on this four-set of chairs. Each comes with a convenient carrying bag that you can sling over your shoulder. Made from an easy-to-clean polyester fabric and metal frame.
Many testers found other chairs more comfortable and easier to put together than the Nemo Moonlite Reclining Camp Chair. This is also the most expensive lightweight chair we tested, and we think the Chair One is a better value. The canopy is big enough to block most, if not all, sunlight any time of day, and the chair’s seat has a strip of breathable mesh down the middle for airflow. Senior staff writer Lauren Dragan said the Renetto is her most comfortable camping chair. The REI Co-op chair’s polyester seat material feels both more forgiving and more durable than the thinner material on many other kids’ chairs. Compared with cheaper chairs of its kind (like those from Walmart), the REI Co-op chair functions better and will last much longer.
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. Convenient carrying bag makes is easy to keep in the trunk. Made with a steel frame and rated for up to 300 pounds. The TikTok version of the chair is adorably summer-themed, featuring nostalgia-inducing red, white, and blue popsicle designs all over the seat.
Like others in its category, this chair comes with an over-the-shoulder carry bag, but some testers found it was light and compact enough to carry without the case. It’s as simple to set up as any chair we tested. These portable chairs are great for camping, sporting events, ozark trail canopy and backyard BBQs. Plus, they fold up nicely and are compact with most styles including a convenient carrying case for easy transport and storage. The Chair One is rated to hold up to 320 pounds—more than any other lightweight chair we tested aside from the Moon Lence.
It’s not our lightest, most comfortable, or toughest pick, but it’s close enough, and it’s reasonably priced. If you’re unsure which camping chair to buy, you can’t go wrong with the classic Coleman Cooler Quad Chair. 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.
But we also have picks offering better support, higher weight capacity, and greater portability. Reading the reviews people love that it is so roomy and that it’s so comfortable. They also love that it’s easy to fold and easy to open and set up. Closed sides keep the wind from blowing through. Each arm rest has a built-in insulated hand rest. Comes with the same compact bag with a shoulder strap for carrying.
It can hold a lot of supplies, and it’s easy to carry and set up. The King Kong chair has two cupholders and intuitively placed storage pouches under each armrest; unlike the Coleman chair, though, this one doesn’t have a cooler pouch. There’s also a mesh pocket behind the backrest, to hold things you don’t need to access quickly.