The importance of agood summer camp chaircan’t be understated. You need it in the woods, at music festivals, and for backyard barbecues. To help you choose the best one, Ispent 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 competitorsbut packs down to half the size and weighsjust three pounds. Helinox designed the legs to flare outso they won’t sink into sand. The seat is low (10.6inchesoff the ground), making it more difficult to get inand out, but it wastotally planted once I was seated.
Evrgrn Campfire Rocker ($60)
Best For: Rooftop barbecues
Evrgrn designeda 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 satdown. Also, testers found thatthe chair had to be on asolid, level platform to work. Rocking in gravel or dirt was nearly impossible.
Alite Calpine Chair ($100)
Best For: Design geeks
This chair’sthree-leg design gives it a that stands out at musical festivals. Ialso appreciated the15-inch seat height, which made for easy ins and outs. The chair was a little less stable than many ofthe othersand harder to assemble, but it still came together in less than a minute. “This looks so beautiful thatI would leave it out on the patio, but I wouldn’t take it rafting,” one tester said.
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 wasstable, and the arm rests coaxedmeinto the right position. It also satwell on all kinds of uneventerrain. The lowseat height was the only drawback. “Once I got in this chair, I would ask people to give me my beers for the rest of the night because I wouldn’t be getting up,” one tester said.
ColemanComfortsmartInterLockSuspension Chair ($50)
Best For:Car camping
This is the Cadillac of camp chairs. Like the car, theis about as plush as seatscome, with a giant 22-inch seating area, high back, and bungee-cord suspension. If you’re tall or have weak knees and don’t like to crouch, this is the chair for you. Of course,all thatcomfort comes at a price. Thischairis heavyand huge. “[The carrying case] is bigger than any tent I own,” one tester said when he first saw theComfortsmart. Relegatethis chairtoyour backyard or trunk.