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From sitting upright at suppertime to sinking further into serenity,
over time the humble household chair has taken shape to better suit outdoor dynamics. Be you a deluxe outdoors person looking to indulge in padded comfort by the coals, or an ultra-light traveller after compact, stackable campsite tackle – there’s a chair for every pair of cheeks.
In this week’s episode of the Snowys Camping Show, Ben and Lauren take a seat to discuss the variety of camp chairs on the market. From the canvas strips fixed to wooden frames that pack flat, to the high backs, seats that sag, and flappy fabric pockets for stashing the knick-knacks – pull up a chair, and join in the chat!
Shortcuts:
00:00 – Intro
01:40 – Camping Chairs
02:59 – Quad-Fold Chairs
06:04 – Director and Deck Chairs
08:11 – Lounge Chairs
09:53 – Ultra-Light and Ultra-Compact Chairs
12:58 – Compact Vs Comfortable
18:03 – Assembly
20:45 – Structure
22:59 – Features
33:48 – Chairs for Multiple Cheeks
36:28 – Beach Chairs
38:29 – Kids’ Chairs
43:40 – Lauren’s Chair Choice
Mentioned in this Episode:
Products:
OZtrail Moon Chair Single with Arms
Oztent Gecko Directors Chair With Table
Coleman Aluminium 5 Position Recliner Chair
Explore Planet Earth Pegasus Hiking Chair
Helinox Chair One XL Camp Chair
BlackWolf Compact Directors Chair
Explore Planet Earth Pegasus Hiking Stool
Oztent Red Belly HotSpot Chair
Coleman Rambler Quad Camp Chair
Brand Pages:
Category Pages:
Camping Chairs
With the extensive range of camping chairs on the Snowys website, determining which model is ‘best’ is far from straightforward.
A chair is not just a chair – in fact, most of the questions that Ben and Lauren receive are about both chairs and sleeping bags. Neither can be physically trialed and tested online – and while some are easier to collapse and pack down than others, this can have comfort taking the backseat (pun intended)!
So, what’s more desirable? Comfort, or portability?
Quad-Fold Chairs
Most of the following ‘chair chat’ is based on Ben and Lauren’s personal opinions, albeit driven by the industry.
The most common design to take a seat at the campsite is the quad-fold, a term that describes any chair with an accordion-style folding action. During their debut, the quad-fold camping chairs were almost revolutionary – but where did the name come from? If a four-legged gazebo folds in and out by the same mechanism, Ben wonders why it isn’t called a ‘quad-shelter’. The word ‘quad’ likely refers to the number of folding axes as opposed to legs – in which case, a gazebo has more.
Quad-fold chairs are available across a vast range of price points from $20 to roughly $100, where the expense is mostly determined by the quality of fabric and incorporation of padding.
With a variety of designs such as ‘moon’ and sofa-style, some quad-fold chairs with a higher back lack a sturdy headrest, featuring only a strip of thin fabric above the main frame instead. Nonetheless, these chairs are easily packed, stacked, and stored, either on a set of roof racks or in the back of a car.
Director and Deck Chairs
…Aren’t they the same thing?
A deck chair is usually attributed to the Sou’wester design; a wooden frame fitted with single-skinned canvas. By this description, a director’s chair could be considered a Sou’wester chair on longer legs. In America, the name derives from the chairs found on film sets, with director printed on a strip of canvas along the back.
Distinguishing a ‘director’ from a ‘deck’ chair may simply stem from a variation in cultural terminology. Nonetheless, these styles feature a rigid, boxy frame, with solid, upright arms and sometimes a built-in table like that of the Oztent Gecko Directors Chair. These chairs boast a more upright design, having them both beneficial for the elderly and more ideal for sitting flush around a dinner table next to chairs alike.
Lounge Chairs
These styles mimic a deck chair, but with a taller back and superior recliner positioning. An example of a lounge chair is the Coleman Aluminium 5-Position Recliner. Others include the OZtrail Sun Lounge Daybreak and the Coleman Layback Lounger.
Despite their bulkier and heavier design, these models allow for sitting upright or stretching back flat. From Ben and Lauren’s experience – they’re much loved within the camping community!
Ultra-Light and Ultra-Compact Chairs
Of the more portable models on the market, Ben especially recommends Helinox. Price can often be a barrier for customers, but Lauren agrees that Helinox leads the field in lightweight, compact, and quality furniture worth every cent.
With a large variety of shapes, styles, and designs, most Helinox products will pack down to the size of a one-litre water bottle or a two-person hiking tent. Explore Planet Earth (EPE) manufacture camp chairs that tick most of the same boxes but, at a lower price point, lack the same level of quality. While EPE are still sufficient, Helinox often supersede them in both materials and manufacturing processes, generating products so well made that there’s often room for fault in the case of careless assembly or human error. Ultimately, Ben and Lauren remind us of the age-old truth – you get what you pay for.
Other camp chairs boasting efficient designs include those by OZtrail which, while compact, are heavier and less stable due to their steel frame and plastic nylon hub. Brands offering similar designs may instead manufacture with a combination of high-quality DAC alloys and glass-filled nylon.
Compact Vs Comfortable
Compact convenience aside, Lauren is yet to land a Helinox chair that covers all criteria for her ideal camp chair. Despite their featherlight but steadfast design, they lack the same comfort of most quad-fold or lounge chairs.
At the campsite, Lauren describes herself as a sloth; she wants versatility and freedom of choice as to how she uses her camp chair. For sitting up or leaning back, Helinox chairs deliver – though they lack in warmth and insulation for the colder climates, surpassed by some Oztent varieties.
Revisiting their benefits, Ben can pack four Helinox chairs in half the space that he would if he opted for director chairs instead. What’s more, they eradicate the need to be strapped to roof racks and bode well when pack size and weight are a major consideration.
On the contrary, Lauren owns two large chairs for both her partner and herself, where the adequate space in their large camper van has this a well-suited arrangement. That said, Lauren admits she doesn’t want to fall into a trap of filling the space in their van just because they can; weight is a factor, and can be a limitation for some adventurers. This is particularly the case on beach holidays, where some heavier chair models aren’t ideal for lugging across loose, trodden sand!
On the lightweight scale, Helinox models sit on the weightless end – followed consecutively by quad-fold, lounge, and director chairs. A more efficient design of the latter is the BlackWolf Compact Directors Chair, which folds up just like a suitcase. While they’re still relatively heavy, they’ve received positive feedback from the camping community.
Assembly
While exceptionally comfortable, Lauren’s old camping chair featured a quad-fold setup system with upright supporting legs that made assembling an awkward task. There was a baton that swung from the top pivot and another from the bottom, and both would meet to interlock as the chair expanded. For such a comfortable chair, this method was ironically a pain in the butt!
For those who aren’t interested in a complicated and tedious setup, easy assembly is a major factor when choosing a chair. Some quad-folds can be stiff to expand, while others have sliding segments in the arms that can jam. With multiple moving parts and tensioning considerations, lounge chairs can also prove tricky to assemble – often leaving the most basic quad-fold design the easiest and most efficient camp chair to both set up and pack down.
Structure
Be it curled up by the campfire or sitting upright at the dinner table – a chair’s structure and form will determine its suitability for you and your camp chair needs.
For example, a chair with arms that angle outwards won’t sit side by side around a table as well as a deck chair with a more upright structure. Sometimes, even a stool bodes better for gathering around the degustation station!
As much as a chair’s structure and design, materials also play a significant role in their suitability to a particular environment. For example, despite both steel and aluminium being prone to corrosion, the latter is more so recommended for beach setups given its lighter-weight qualities. Regardless of the material, Ben and Lauren suggest regularly rinsing away salt water to avoid deterioration.
Features
While most chairs will feature cup holders, some of the more compact and ultra-light models lack them. Others may only allow cup holders as an additional accessory (sold separately), as opposed to a standard integrated feature.
Despite their usefulness, some cup holders are simply a small fabric sack offering limited support – especially for drinkware with long stems, such as wine glasses. For these, some chairs feature an incorporated hook. Chairs without cup holders entirely, such as most director’s chairs, often feature a receptacle built into the fold-out table serving the same purpose.
Other features include book holders, usually in the form of a flap of fabric for keeping magazines, notepads, and stationery. Quad-fold chairs often have organisers in their arms too; a suspended zipped compartment for holding gadgets and gizmos, such as mobile phones. These are sometimes insulated, doubling as a cooler bag – or as Lauren likes to describe it, a ‘’camembert stash sack’!
Reclining features also provide the option to go from tabletop grazing to laid-back stargazing, with a range of structures within the lounge and recliner categories. Be it rigid support or room for snoozing, there’s a chair to tick every box. For those with posture issues, lumbar adjustments and pillows are important. Some quad-fold chairs have a strap around the back used to tighten and pull in the lower back. Other chairs are merely designed with a naturally supportive shape and structure. On the contrary, director chairs lack lumbar support due to the gap between the canvas backing and the seat. That said, their upright structure bodes better for posture and for this reason can negate the need for lumbar support. Meanwhile, the Oztent King Kokoda Chair and Darche KOZI series offer lumbar support in a more comfortable, cushioned design.
Be it rigid support or room for snoozing, there’s a chair to tick every box. Credit: Coleman
For those who struggle to lift themselves from their seats – the solid, rigid arms of deck chairs are often superior to the sagging fabric of the quad-fold chairs that allow too much give. For the heavy-headed, quad-fold chairs usually feature a top section that unzips, perfect for inserting the stuff sack or a jumper to create a cushioned headrest.
More advanced still, other models such as the Oztent Red Belly HotSpot chair have insulated pockets for holding hot pouches. Similar in appearance to ice packs, these work with a single click to instigate a chemical reaction and consequently release heat. Through the same concept, the pockets work just as well in holding wheat bags and hot water bottles. Lauren also describes a technology-based model, USB-heated with power packs. In theory, their design is far more efficient than practical, typically only generating five volts of power and thus an inadequate level of heat for combatting extreme cold.
Chairs for Multiple Cheeks
Bringing the family sofa to the campsite setup, some of the larger camp chairs allow room for between two and three people. An example is the OZtrail Galaxy, with an arm on each end and substantial seating space between. Typically a shared space, some choose to sit on it with their dogs while others even use it for stretching out solo. Put simply – if a quad-fold chair and a gazebo had a baby, this would be it!
As popular and fantastic as they seem to be among the camping community, Ben and Lauren maintain that this design isn’t for them. Chairs like the OZtrail Galaxy are suitable for return road trips from A to B – but given their heavy, awkward setup structure, Lauren imagines them a hassle to consistently assemble and disassemble on trips with multiple stops.
Beach Chairs
Given their low-standing design, some may argue that sitting on a beach towel offers the same experience as sinking into a beach chair. That said, Lauren confirms that the elderly benefit from more structured seating on the beach, as attempting to stand up on soft sand can be a challenge. Fishermen waiting out the bait also find that a chair with a back and even the slightest suspension off the ground can make all the difference in bitterly cold conditions.
When choosing a beach chair, Ben and Lauren ultimately recommend considering all criteria discussed so far – especially an aluminium, plastic, or wooden construction over steel to minimize the impact of corrosion.
Kids’ Chairs
While Ben rates kids’ chairs highly, Lauren has an opposing opinion.
For Ben, a kids’ chair is both affordable and easy to pack, let alone more ergonomic for children at an early age. He was eager to encourage and foster his daughters’ interest in camping, maintaining their own identity in the process. At an initial cost of only $20 each, Ben had no concerns in selling the kids’ chairs for far less before upgrading to adult models.
Maintaining a similar opinion on kids’ sleeping bags, Lauren argues that the amount of time children spend sitting in their camp chairs is disproportionate to how long they remain so small! Once they grow out of their kid-sized chair, there’s little anyone can really do with it – and in that, have perhaps wasted their money. Lauren bought each of her children a standard $30 Coleman quad-fold chair, with both a pouch for their knick-knacks and a cup holder. After ten years, the chairs have accumulated stickers and scribbles – a wholesome mosaic of memories – and only now is Lauren considering an upgrade.
Lauren’s Chair Choice
At the end of the day – when the billy’s on the boil, the damper’s buried beneath the coals, and she looks to kick up her crocs – Lauren’s choice of chair is the BlackWolf Padded Sofa Chair.
For those of a bigger build, like Lauren’s partner, it can be an ordeal to find a chair that accommodates. Lauren found this to be true until securing the Padded Sofa Chair – similar in shape to OZtrail Moon Chair, though sturdier in structure. Where Ben seeks lightweight, compact, and efficient designs, Lauren happily sacrifices these qualities if it means her chair offers that unbeatable creature comfort at the campsite.
Thanks for listening, tune in again for next week’s episode!
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Catch you out there!
From tent pegs and air tents, to setups for summer and one-pot wonders – our gear gurus Ben and Lauren unpack the topics on every camper’s tongue, taking each minute to the limit with how-to’s, destinations, and expert interviews. Be it a swag, tent, or ‘swent’ – set up camp with us!
There seemed to be confusion between “deck chairs” & “director’s chairs”. I think the description of director’s chairs is correct, evolved from the type of chair movie directors use. I think the name “deck chair” comes from the old “scissor frame” style they used to have on the deck of the old steamships. A timber cross/scissor-style frame with canvas attached to a crossbar at the top and bottom. They fold into a flat panel then when you open them, there is a brace that fits into a choice of notches which changes the angle and shape of the seat. A bit like a small hammock with an inbuilt frame. I haven’t seen them for years but sometimes in old movies.
Thanks so much for this insight, Peter! We’ve taken this on board 🙂
I am the Goldilocks of camp chairs. I have a directors chair that proved too heavy and bulky, I also find many of them too uncomfortable, as I like an upright chair. I now have a really light hiking chair that is “just right”, along with an OzTrail double chair that is “just right for me and the dog, when we camp together!
Thanks for the message Lynette! Glad to know you’ve found the chair that’s ‘just right’ for you 🙂 We love OZtrail chairs too!