Nothing quite beats having a place to rest your butt at camp. We’re talking about more than just a rotting stump you found trailside. From the ultra pared-down, highly portable bucket seat to the high-end armchair we’d consider using as living-room furniture, there is a camp chair that will enhance every trip.
While you can buy cheap camp chairs for $10, you will see a lot of chairs with price tags north of $100 on our list. We believe that a comfortable, well-made camp chair is a worthwhile investment because of how integral it is to an enjoyable camping trip. After all, the best part about camping is lounging comfortably around a campfire with friends and family for hours.
At a Glance
- Best Overall: Big Agnes Big Six Armchair ($175)
- Best Value: GCI Outdoor Freestyle Rocker ($70)
- Most Versatile: DOD Sugoi Chair ($119)
- Most Portable: Helinox Chair One (re) ($120)
- Splurge: Yeti Trailhead Camp Chair ($300)
- Best for Families: Kelty Lowdown Couch ($180)
- Other Products We Tested
- Products to Avoid
- How to Choose a Camp Chair
- How We Tested Camp Chairs
- Meet Our Testers
Best Overall
Big Agnes Big Six Armchair
$149-175 at REI $125-213 at Backcountry
Chair Weight: 3.9 lbs
Deployed Dimensions: 24″ x 26″ x 40″
Packed Dimensions: 5″ x 6″ x 22″
Maximum Weight Capacity: 300 lbs
Seat Height: 20”
Comfort: 9/10
Stability: 8/10
Portability: 8/10
Pros and Cons
⊕ Killer back support
⊕ Great packability
⊕ Functional cupholders
⊗ Legs sink into fine sand
⊗ Complicated setup
The Big Six Armchair beat out all other camp chairs on this list because it checks all of our boxes: it’s comfortable, stable, and very packable for a high-backed chair. Testers were surprised how supportive the Big Six proved for a two-piece, sub four-pound chair that packs down small enough to fit into a 25-liter daypack. Credit the 20-inch seat height, generous 20-inch back height, and the high-tenacity Robic nylon upper that stretches tightly against six connection points on the chair to provide firm upper back support.
On top of a killer comfort-to-size ratio, testers appreciated that this relatively packable chair features two luxurious armrests with two solid cupholders. “This would be a great chair even if it never left camp,” said one tester. But the beauty of this chair is that you can easily take it with you on short outings. One tester’s family slid it into their beach bag and hiked a quarter mile from camp to a secluded rocky beach in Crescent City, California.
Our only gripe: The chair can be confusing to put together—it takes about a dozen times setting up the octopus-like pole structure before it starts to become intuitive.
Best Value
GCI Outdoor Freestyle Rocker
Weight: 12 lbs
Deployed Dimensions: 24” x 24” x 43.8”
Packed Dimensions: 25″ x 4.9″ x 34.8″
Maximum Weight Capacity: 250 pounds
Seat Height: 19.7”
Comfort: 9/10
Stability: 8/10
Portability: 3/10
Pros and Cons
⊕ Great value
⊕ Durable
⊕ Very comfortable
⊗ Awkward and large when packed down
An oldie but goodie, the Freestyle Rocker has been our go-to for everything from camping to tailgating to soccer games for years because it’s so comfortable. The nearly 20-inch seat height, taut, mesh backrest, and spring-action rocker make this chair a delight to fall back into after a long day of outdoor activities.
The chair’s sturdy base and gentle rocking motion meant we never worried about tipping backwards even when perched on riversides and sandy beaches. Despite being a more budget-friendly option, the Freestyle Rocker has proved remarkably durable thanks to the powder-coated steel frame that only folds at the seat, a design that creates fewer potential failure points and provides solid structural integrity overall.
Our biggest complaint about this chair is that it doesn’t pack down small enough to comfortably fit into the trunk of small vehicles (like a Honda Element). Unusually, it folds flat on the vertical axis, so its packed dimensions retain the chair’s 31-inch height.
Most Versatile
DOD Sugoi Chair
$119 at Backcountry $119 at DOD
Weight: 5 lbs
Deployed Dimensions: 24” x 26” x 37”
Packed Dimensions: 4” x 15” x 18”
Maximum Capacity: 250 lbs
Seat Height: 12”-17”
Comfort: 8/10
Stability: 7/10
Portability: 8/10
Pros and Cons
⊕ Soft, supple seat material
⊕ Variable seat height
⊕ Can sit upright or recline
⊗ Does not dry quickly
The soft, cotton canvas seat made the slingback-style Soto stand out in our test. It delivers a delightful give that enhances comfort while still providing enough back support. The chair’s adjustable seat height also won us over.
The Soto’s telescoping legs have four height settings—from 12 to 17 inches—that not only let you dial in your preferred seat height, but let you turn this chair into a recliner by dropping the rear leg heights to a lower setting than the front legs. No matter which height the legs were adjusted to, the Soto proved stable for testers up to 280 pounds, even when set up on uneven terrain.
A classic skin-on-frame style makes setup and takedown straightforward. It’s also very portable—it folds flat and tucks into a briefcase-sized canvas carrying case. The only downside to this canvas-backed chair is that it retains moisture. After getting soaked during an early morning rainstorm on the Scott River, it didn’t fully dry out until the next morning.
Most Portable
Helinox Chair One (re)
$120 at REI $120 at Backcountry
Weight: 2.5 lbs
Deployed Dimensions: 28″ H x 21.5″ W x 20″ W
Packed Down Dimensions: 14.6” x 4.7” x 4.3
Maximum Capacity: 320 lbs
Seat Height: 14.5”
Comfort: 6/10
Stability: 7/10
Packability: 10/10
Pros and Cons
⊕ Easily fits in a daypack
⊕ Lightest-weight chair we tested
⊗ Low seat is not great for those with knee problems
While not the plushest or most luxurious chair, the Helinox Chair One (re) is a smart pick for campers who value packability. It’s the only chair on this list that packs down small (and light enough) enough to fit into a sub-30-liter daypack—not a prerequisite for a camp chair, but nice for those who want to pick up and find a serene spot to relax miles beyond their campsite.
This updated version of a perennial favorite is sturdier thanks to a stiffer frame made from repurposed aluminum and the addition of a second tension line (there used to be just one). For a low-back bucket seat chair, it’s surprisingly supportive thanks to the rigid materials that are stretched tautly by the two tension lines.
With a 14.5-inch seat height, the Chair One (re) is also 30-percent taller than the original Chair One, which made for more comfortable sitting without diminishing its packability. That said, it still sits relatively low to the ground, making it a tad more difficult for folks with knee issues to get in and out of.
But if you’re looking for a camp chair you can take with you on short hikes from the campsite, the Chair One (re) offers the best balance of comfort, stability, and packability.
Splurge
Yeti Trailhead Camp Chair
Weight: 13.3 pounds
Deployed Dimensions: 24.0″ x 29.9″ x 36.3″
Packed Down Dimensions: 4” x 4” x 42”
Maximum Weight Capacity: 500 pounds
Seat Height: 16.75”
Comfort: 9/10
Stability: 9/10
Portability: 2/10
Pros and Cons
⊕ Best back and seat tension in test
⊕ Durable and solid
⊕ Sturdy feet on loose terrain
⊗ Very expensive
⊗ Large and heavy
If it weren’t for its large size and hefty price tag, the Yeti Trailhead might have won our test because it’s damned near structurally perfect. Two heavy-duty click points—one with a handle on the back of the chair and one at the front of the seat—stretch the Trailhead’s highly breathable mesh tightly over the alloy steel and plastic frame. This made the Trailhead as sturdy as a lawn chair and provided best-in-class back support.
Its four, heartily padded feet offered plenty of stability on rocky shores and sandy campsites alike. Our bigger tester (6’4” and 280 lbs) especially appreciated the two-foot-wide seat that sits 16.75 inches above the ground and the 20-inch seat back height.
The downside to that robust build is weight: at 13.3 pounds, the Trailhead is a seriously heavy camp chair that makes transport cumbersome. While it comes with a carrying case that made schlepping it nearly a quarter of a mile to a campsite in Scott River, California, manageable, this chair is not for campers who value portability. Another drawback is the eye-watering $300 price tag. But the fact that the Trailhead is comfortable, stable, and durable enough to pull double-duty as a patio chair softens the blow a bit.
Best for Families
Kelty Lowdown Couch
$180 at REI $180 at Backcountry
Weight: 21 lbs
Deployed Dimensions:64″ x 23.5″ x 80″
Packed Down Dimensions: 35” x 13.5” x 9”
Maximum Weight Capacity: 600 lbs
Seat Height: 12.5”
Comfort: 9/10
Stability: 8/10
Portability: 3/10
Pros and Cons
⊕ Balances comfort and stability
⊕ Extremely burly materials
⊗ Very heavy
⊗ Huge packed size
Our crew of 25 testers have collectively spent hundreds of hours on this three-person couch over the course of three summers’ worth of testing. When all was said and done, the Lowdown established itself as the unequivocal favorite among kids and families.
While all of the other chairs on this list depend on rigidity for support, the Lowdown has an almost hammock-like back that allowed testers to sink into the low seats. We don’t always love this style of seat because it can feel like you’re melting into the chair (not in a good way); but the Lowdown features light padding on the seat and back that offers just enough support while enhancing comfort.
And although it’s five feet wide, this camp couch is incredibly stable. Credit the steel frame that boasts eight connection points to the ground. The design proved so sturdy, kids felt confident standing on it, and we had to repeatedly ask them to stop using it as a wrestling platform . Save for a tiny hole left by a campfire ember, the 600-denier polyester seat cover continues to look almost new after multiple summers of use.
As a three-seater, the Lowdown doesn’t score high marks for portability. It packs down to the size of a large couch cushion and weighs a whopping 21 pounds, which makes it bulkier to transport than many car camping tents. That said, setup and takedown is not complicated for such a large chair—one piece folds out/in like an accordion and the carrying case simply wraps around the collapsed chair. We just needed a truck bed to throw it in once packed up.
Other Products We Tested
- Helinox Chair One (re) High Back ($150): While we loved the added comfort of a higher-backed Chair One (re), part of the original chair’s appeal is its incredible packability, which is diminished by the higher back on this version.
- Crazy Creek Aircliner ($125): This chair received high comfort marks and is an engineering marvel that rolls down skinnier than a frozen bean burrito and weighs only 29 ounces. But it was outmatched in comfort compared to the big dawg chairs that made our final list.
- Quechua MH500 Folding Camping Chair ($60): This proved to be an awesome lightweight counterpart to the Chair One (re) in terms of packability and weight, but it was less comfortable.
- GCI Pod Rocker ($70): The decision whether to feature the GCI Pod Rocker or the GCI Freestyle Rocker was heavily debated amongst our testers because they were both well-loved, but too similar to both be included on our list. We chose the Freestyle Rocker in the end because it has a better cup holder and was slightly easier to transport.
Products to Avoid
Cheap Kids Chairs: Our lead tester bought his daughter cheap kids camping chairs from big box stores three summers in a row, only to throw them away after each summer. Most of these kids’ camp chairs are too unwieldy and are prone to collapsing. They’re simply not worth the lower price because they don’t hold up to extended use.
How to Choose a Camp Chair
Consider Seat Height and Level of Support
Camp chairs are often an afterthought because we tend to overlook the small pains of sitting in a slouchy chair or bending down to sink into a chair that is just a few inches off the ground. But if you camp a lot, it’s worth investing in a quality chair that suits your body’s needs. If you have bad knees, don’t get a chair with a low seat height. If you have back problems, avoid slingback style chairs and go for a chair with firm support.
Packability vs. Features
Be realistic about how you are going to use a camp chair and what features are important to you—not all camp chairs come with all the bells and whistles, like cupholders, reclining back, adjustable leg height, etc. If you have a tendency to pack heavy for your camping trips, you might not be able to fit the plushest, bulkiest camp chairs on this list. If you have to hike into your campsites, you’ll want a chair that’s lighter and portable. Do you want a camp chair that could double as a backpacking chair? You’ll want to pay close attention to a chair’s weight and packed dimensions and realize that you will sacrifice comfort in the name of packability.
Budget
Car camping chairs have traditionally been looked at as a place to save money. We suggest splurging here. Good chairs are like good bedding; we spend significantly more time on them than we think, so maximizing your comfort with a comfortable chair made to last is a worthwhile investment.
How We Tested Camp Chairs
- Number of Chairs Tested: 17
- Total Testers: 16
- Number of Campfires Sat Around: 36
- Number of Kid Disputes Over Chairs: 10+
We cast a wide net in the camp chairs we tested, from the cush and fully-featured to the pared down and more packable. Since size and packability aren’t always the biggest priorities for car campers, we mainly focused on big loungers with seat heights north of a foot, though we did include some minimalist chairs that can reasonably be stuffed into a pack.
Our group of 16 testers spent hundreds of hours in different campsites—with main hubs being on the Scott River in Northern California as well as a month in Crescent City on the far northern California coast. We hiked these chairs into remote beaches and set them up on rocky river banks. On top of the major factors like overall comfort and portability, we also paid attention to the nuances like how easy they were to set up and take down, how stable they were on uneven terrain, and how well their cupholders fit our bevvies.
Meet Our Testers
Joe Jackson has tested over 75 camp chairs for this publication during the more than 10-years he has professionally tested gear as Outside’s Gear Guy. He takes testing camp chairs very seriously—he once hiked a collection of camp chairs into one of the most remote class V whitewater runs in California in the name of credible product testing.
Zach “Red” Williams was our designated van camper for this test. He and his family use camp chairs more than their chairs at home during the summer on multi-week road trips and regular weekend camping trips.
Josie Jackson (7) has been testing gear since she left the hospital as a newborn. Her father (Joe) has asked her opinion on hundreds of pieces of gear, and she never avoids telling him the cold, hard truth about the gear she doesn’t like.
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