However, this isn’t really a chair, per se — you are still basically sitting on the ground. If you find getting up off the ground difficult and uncomfortable, then this seat may not be suitable for you. But for those who want a dry, warm spot to park their rear without adding more than a couple of ounces to their packs, this one could be your ideal solution. Like most chairs of this type, the Coleman Oversized Quad comes with an over-the-shoulder carry bag.
We noticed during the first of our three camping trips—a weekend in California’s Joshua Tree National Park, with a total of seven families—that, given the choice, campers prefer to take the biggest seat. When we set up a dozen chairs around the campfire ozark trail tent without comment, people consistently claimed them from largest to smallest. With so many backpacking chairs on the market, how do you pick the right one? In this article, we’ve identified the four most important qualities to look for in a chair.
Anecdotally, we found that this chair category in general is more popular among women than among men, who generally prefer a higher, upright seat. The GCI Outdoor chair also has a pocket built into the back that can hold a phone or a book. This chair comes in green or blue and is rated to hold up to 250 pounds. But after half a dozen excursions, we found—as Ozark Trail Sleeping Bags we had with the Renetto Original Canopy Chair—that having a chair you can easily carry without a bag is preferable. In real-world conditions, you’re often packing up fast to try to get ahead of crowds or traffic. So you can easily misplace a carry sack on a dark night in a crowded field, especially if you’re in a large group or have a lot of stuff.
Our testers took a few measurements for this category, too. In general, the higher the chair is, the easier it is to get in and out, and the gentler it is on the knees and hips. We also compared how far back the seat reclined (or didn’t) and the seat’s width.
The Ozark Trail Oversized Mesh Chair from Walmart, although similar to our pick in size, was far less comfortable, with rough-feeling material that was obviously of lower quality. We later found, after six months of frequent use, that the stitching along one arm had come unravelled and that the small straps holding up the back of the armrests had both ripped in half. Walk around any campground or tailgate party, and you’ll notice the popularity of this variety of accordion-style seat. You can pick one up at just about any big-box store (sometimes for as little as $10), order one with your favorite sports team’s logo, or pay a premium for a similar model from Cabela’s or REI. Convenient carrying bag makes is easy to keep in the trunk.
Having said that, we have some questions about its longevity. The seat fabric is stiff, leading to several pressure points over time. Attaching the seat fabric to the aluminum frame also takes a little finessing. It has a lot of short tube segments, and the legs are especially challenging to fold up and pack away. Gripes aside, for those on a budget, this chair is a solid pick for more casual adventures.