The importance of a听good summer camp chair听can鈥檛 be understated. You need it in the woods, at music festivals, and for backyard barbecues. To help you choose the best one, I听spent the past couple weeks throwing back beers with my butt planted in various chair models. Here are my five favorites for 2016.
Helinox Beach Chair ($150)
Best For: Hanging out by the water
is just as comfortable as its larger competitors听but packs down to half the size and weighs听just three pounds. Helinox designed the legs to flare out听so they won鈥檛 sink into sand. The seat is low (10.6听inches听off the ground), making it more difficult to get in听and out, but it was听totally planted once I was seated.
Evrgrn Campfire Rocker ($60)
Best For: Rooftop barbecues听
Evrgrn designed听a that sets up in minutes and lets you sway while drinking beer. But be warned: This chair is tiny and not suited for all rockers. One tester with a 32-inch waist felt pressure on his hips as soon as he sat听down. Also, testers found that听the chair had to be on a听solid, level platform to work. Rocking in gravel or dirt was nearly impossible.
Alite Calpine Chair ($100)
Best For: Design geeks听
This chair鈥檚听three-leg design gives it a 听that stands out at musical festivals. I听also appreciated the听15-inch seat height, which made for easy ins and outs. The chair was a little less stable than many of听the others听and harder to assemble, but it still came together in less than a minute. 鈥淭his looks so beautiful that听I would leave it out on the patio, but I wouldn鈥檛 take it rafting,鈥 one tester said.听听
REI Stowaway Low Chair ($45)
Best For: Drinking beer
All testers who sat in this were surprised by how comfortable it was. The wide platform was听stable, and the arm rests coaxed听me听into the right position. It also sat听well on all kinds of uneven听terrain. The low听seat height was the only drawback. 鈥淥nce I got in this chair, I would ask people to give me my beers for the rest of the night because I wouldn鈥檛 be getting up,鈥 one tester said.
Coleman听Comfortsmart听InterLock听Suspension Chair ($50)
Best For:听Car camping
This is the Cadillac of camp chairs. Like the car, the听听is about as plush as seats听come, with a giant 22-inch seating area, high back, and bungee-cord suspension. If you鈥檙e tall or have weak knees and don鈥檛 like to crouch, this is the chair for you. Of course,听all that听comfort comes at a price. This听chair听is heavy听and huge. 鈥淸The carrying case] is bigger than any tent I own,鈥 one tester said when he first saw the听Comfortsmart. Relegate听this chair听to听your backyard or trunk.听