Plus, they fold up nicely and include convenient carrying cases for easy transport and storage. Knowing who invented the folding chair and crediting them for their contributions may not seem like it’s all that important. But these guys (and so many others) created a product known and relied upon the world over. It’s hard to have lived in modern society for very long without your tush having graced a folding chair at some point. So the next time you’re having a drink, raise one up to these guys for their tremendous impact on our modern party and event rental industry. Fast forward to 1855, and an American inventor in Boston named John Cram patented what was arguably the first folding chair to resemble the modern ones we use today.
Weighing about 8 pounds, the Coleman chair is lighter than most traditional models, so it’s easier to grab from deep in a car trunk or to carry for long distances. 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. 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. We’ve incorporated their feedback into this review. We love the price on this four-set of chairs.
It has the most comfortable and supportive seat shape of any chair we tested. The Dual Lock chair has a firmer backrest and seat bottom than the competition. And it avoids the slouchy shape of most traditional camping chairs, which can sag to create a hunch-and-slouch posture. Testers consistently ranked this chair as one of the most comfortable models (typically second to the Yeti Trailhead, which costs almost four times as much). The few testers who didn’t like it often preferred the Kijaro Dual Lock XXL Chair, which costs a little bit more but provides a roomier seat.
The ClassiQ Chair weighs 3.65lbs and holds up to 300 lbs. “Awesome chair! It’s compact, light, easy to setup.” GCI Outdoor makes several rocking chairs, and we plan to try more of them to see if they’re any better than the Freestyle Rocker, which we weren’t enthusiastic about. After eight years of consistent use by senior editor Kalee Thompson’s two young boys, the REI Co-op Camp Chair is, she reports, faded and worn but still holding up. The Renetto Original Canopy Chair is the best chair with a built-in canopy.
The Chair One is rated to hold up to 320 pounds—more than any other lightweight chair we tested aside from the Moon Lence. 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.
All CLIQ chairs are engineered to take a beating and keep on ticking with high-performance canopy materials that don’t stain and are guaranteed to last a lifetime. The Helinox Chair One is the best chair for anyone who needs a lightweight, portable chair. After years of intermittently using the Renetto chair, one staffer said it has held up great. Another said it’s been an essential chair in their life and that it is still going strong after countless soccer games, birthday parties, beach trips, and school events. This chair costs slightly more than the Coleman Cooler Quad Chair, but it’s still a budget-friendly option.
Double cup holders are also extra large to hold bigger drinks. John Dann patented a camping folding chair in 1862. Nathaniel Alexander patented a folding chair in 1911 featuring a book rest. 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.
So they felt comfortable leaning onto the frame for extra support. Here’s a question I’m sure very, very few of you who regularly read this blog have ever asked. I know … it seems like ozark trail sleeping bag a boring subject, doesn’t it? It’s hard to find a home, a store, a school, a church, a gas station, or a hospital without them. They’re everywhere and we use them for everything.
This pouch is big enough to stow gear like a phone, book, or tablet. 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. The chair also has the round mesh cupholder found on most chairs of this type.
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.