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, ozark trail canopy 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.
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.
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.
But when you’re camping or eating outdoors, you’ll likely want protection from insects, as well. That’s why we focused on collapsible camping shelters with mesh walls to keep bugs at bay. The Helinox Chair One weighs about 2 pounds, compresses smaller than a 2-liter bottle of soda, and is our most lightweight pick. It’s not the lightest chair we tested, but it is the one that struck the best balance between a low weight and comfort, with a roomier seat than the competition (except for the Moon Lence) and a strong and supportive frame. Other chairs we tested sacrificed too much comfort in order to shave mere ounces off of their weights, and we don’t think the trade-off was worth it.
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. L.L.Bean’s Woodlands Screen House is remarkably similar to our top pick, REI’s Screen House Shelter; the two canopies have an identical footprint and pole structure. ozark trail chair But the L.L.Bean tent’s peak ceiling height of 6 feet 6 inches is half a foot lower than that of the REI tent, making it feel notably darker and less spacious. It typically costs more (in fact, the price has risen substantially—more than $150—since we first tested it) and lacks the convenient strap-equipped carrying bag we like.
The included carrying bag does not have wheels to aid in transportation, but at only 29 lbs. We don’t find that to be a noteworthy drawback as the nylon handles and shoulder strap work just fine in carrying the tent. Most of our testers found the REI Co-op Skyward Chair to be one of the least comfortable chairs in our testing pool. People who did like it tended to have smaller body types, so if you find that other camping chairs are too big for you, the Skyward might be a good fit. At a little over 7 pounds, it’s also the lightest traditional chair we tested—but it had the lowest weight capacity (250 pounds).
The Renetto Original Canopy Chair is the best chair with a built-in canopy. Escape to the beautiful sunny days and gentle warmth found at all our sunbelt resorts. With our resort-style amenities and variety of activities, you’ll want to stay all winter long.