It is best if you only have to carry it short distances.
It’s the lightest, most portable chair that is still comfortable. The Helinox Chair One weighs about 2 pounds, compresses smaller than a 2-liter bottle of soda, and is our most lightweight pick. 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.
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. We like this durable, well-constructed chair that has a frame that makes you confident to sit. We tested the best running hydration packs and vests of 2024, including top picks from Salomon, Nathan Sports, Arc’teryx, and more.
However, they don’t have all of the same features. There are also chairs that are hybrids between categories, such as the Nemo ozark trail canopy Stargaze Reclining Camp Chair, which comes highly rated and recommended. We’re planning to look at all of these chairs.
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.
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.
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 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.