Kalee Thompson is the senior editor heading up Wirecutter’s kid coverage. When she wrote the first version of this guide, Kalee lived in Southern California, ozark trail canopy where she tested chairs on three group camping trips. These portable chairs are great for camping, sporting events, and backyard BBQs.
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.
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). It’s currently low in stock, but REI tells us this chair will be widely available again over the summer. It’s durable and comfortable for a range of campers. The Coleman Cooler Quad has been our pick since 2016, through numerous camping trips and several testing sessions.
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. Several Wirecutter staffers have owned the Coleman chair for years, using it on camping trips, in backyards, and at sporting events. For the most part, it’s held up well, but one common quibble is that the seat bottom begins to sag after several years of use.
The Ozark Trail Padded Camping Chair is on clearance for just $40, regularly $79.98. The padded seating area detaches if it’s a hot day and you want the breathability of the mesh seating. It’s that familiarity and prevalence that makes party chairs so uninteresting to us. You can buy one for peanuts and keep it out on your porch or patio for three hundred years and never think twice about it. You probably have folding chairs in your home right now that you couldn’t describe with much detail without cheating. They’re little more than background actors in our day to day lives.
Folding chairs have been around for thousands of years, with some dating as far back as the 15th century B.C. Examples could be found in ancient Rome, Greece, Egypt, and Minoa. Though back then, folding chairs were reserved for only the most prestigious of buns.
Brad’s Deals isn’t a store – instead, we’re here to help you find the best deals online , no matter where they are. Our ClassiQ Chair has been thoroughly tested. It has been rated to support weights up to 300 lbs. The CLIQ Chair’s precision-engineered frame, ergonomically-designed canopy, and tip-proof design keep you laid back and upright. Collapsing like an umbrella to the size of a water bottle (yes, really), ClassiQ chairs weigh less than 4 lbs and can be stored and carried absolutely anywhere adventure takes you.
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.
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.