I tested 40 camping chairs so you don't have to.
A few years ago, I decided I needed better camping chairs.
This should not have become a project.
It became a project.
By the time I was finished, I had sat in, ordered, assembled, carried around or returned somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 camping chairs. I sat in practically everything I could find at Camping World, Cabela's and Walmart, then started ordering the contenders I couldn't find locally.
Price wasn't really the issue. I figured I'd use good chairs for years, so if an expensive chair was genuinely better, I was willing to pay for it.
The problem was that I wasn't actually looking for a camping chair.
I eventually realized I needed three.
The Under-the-Awning Winner: Strongback
Most of my camping-chair time is spent under the awning. I might sit there for hours working, reading, talking with friends or enjoying a cup of coffee. For that job, comfort wins.
My winner was STRONGBACK Elite. The Elite is currently about $160, and Strongback builds actual lumbar support into the chair rather than letting your lower back collapse into a fabric sling. Strongback also offers different models/sizes, which matters because chair geometry changes depending on the person sitting in it.
It's the chair I want when I'm going to sit for a long time.
Its weakness? It's more chair than I want to haul across a campground every time someone says, “We're having a campfire over at Site 42.”
That led to category number two.
The Rally-and-Campfire Winner: Kilos Gear GrandPeak
For rallies, potlucks, campfires and anywhere else I'm carrying my own chair, my winner is the Kilos Gear GrandPeak High-Back Chair.
It packs into a remarkably small bag and weighs about 4.8 pounds, but it still gives me a high back, headrest and cup holder. Even better, the adjustable legs let me change the seating position from relatively upright to reclined—or remove the legs entirely for ground-level seating. It's currently $129.95.
But here's what pushed this one over the top for me.
They make a heated seat for it.
The optional HeatMax seat is currently $69.95, runs from a USB power bank, has three heat settings and heats both the seat and back. Kilos says a 10,000 mAh power bank can provide up to 8.5 hours of heat.
If you've ever sat around a campfire in late fall, camped in early spring or stayed outside far too long because the stars were spectacular, you understand why I consider this genius.
The “I'm Not Getting Up Anytime Soon” Winner: The Hammock Chair
Then there is the chair you don't really need.
You just want it.
I tried at least four hammock-style chairs before keeping the Member's Mark Swing Lounger. Some swallowed me so deeply that getting out felt like its own recreational activity. Others didn't inspire a lot of confidence in the folding mechanism.
The Member's Mark version hit the sweet spot for me. It's sturdy, doesn't sit as deeply as some of the others I tried, and I like the way its frame locks into place. Best of all, the current version is only about $38. Member's Mark Swing Lounger Camp Chair
For lounging under the awning with absolutely no intention of accomplishing anything productive, it's hard to beat.
And Then There's YETI
I get asked about YETI chairs.
Yes. I tried them.
In fact, I took two on a camping trip because I really wanted to give them a fair test. They were well made and I liked sitting in them, but they didn't give my lower back the support I wanted.
I sent them back.
That wasn't because price was the deciding factor. I had already decided I'd spend the money if they were the best chairs. They simply weren't the best chairs for me. Strongback gave me the lumbar support I wanted at a considerably lower price.
I even tried the roughly $89 Costco imitation afterward. I actually preferred it to the YETI, but not enough to keep it either.
Forty chairs, remember? Standards had become high.
What About Chairs With Tables?
I tried those too.
Built-in side tables are undeniably convenient, particularly at a rally meal. But I found the chairs more cumbersome to carry and store, and eventually decided I'd rather have a comfortable chair with a cup holder and put my plate on my lap.
RV storage space is too valuable for features I don't care that much about.
The traditional inexpensive folding sling chair didn't win either. They're perfectly serviceable for shorter periods, and I'll happily leave a cheap one somewhere like a festival where I don't want to worry about it. But after sitting in one for a long time, the front edge tends to put pressure on the backs of my legs and eventually my backside starts going numb.
That seemed like a fairly compelling reason to keep looking.
The Secret Weapon: Add a Footrest
One thing improved almost every chair I liked: a portable footrest.
I have one from Camping World and the Kilos Gear GrandPeak 2-in-1 Stool & Footrest, currently about $45. The Kilos version weighs only 1.2 pounds and packs down small; it can also serve as a stool or little side table.
GrandPeak 2-in-1 Stool & Footrest
$44.95 · KILOS GEAR
Put your feet up and suddenly a good camping chair gets considerably closer to outdoor living-room furniture.
The Lesson From My Completely Ridiculous Chair Experiment
After approximately 40 chairs, I discovered there really isn't one “best camping chair.”
There's a best chair for what you're going to do in it.
If I'm spending the afternoon under my awning, I want the lumbar support of the Strongback. If I'm walking across a rally field for dinner, give me the Kilos. If I'm settling in with a book and nowhere to be, I'm taking the hammock chair.
And if it's 45 degrees outside?
I'm taking the heated seat.
Could I have figured all this out without testing 40 chairs?
Probably.
But then we wouldn't have The Great Chair Selection Caper.
Jennifer’s Chair Winners
A note before we sit down: I bought or tried these chairs on my own. None of these companies paid me, provided products for this review, or asked me to recommend them. These are simply the chairs that survived my slightly ridiculous 40-chair experiment.