Plus, they fold up nicely and include convenient carrying cases for easy transport and storage. Knowing who invented the folding chair and crediting them for their contributions may not seem like it’s all that important. But these guys (and so many others) created a product known and relied upon the world over. It’s hard to have lived in modern society for very long without your tush having graced a folding chair at some point. So the next time you’re having a drink, raise one up to these guys for their tremendous impact on our modern party and event rental industry. Fast forward to 1855, and an American inventor in Boston named John Cram patented what was arguably the first folding chair to resemble the modern ones we use today.
Folding chairs have been around for thousands of years, with some dating as far back as the 15th century B.C. Examples could be found in ancient Rome, Greece, Egypt, and Minoa. Though back then, folding chairs were reserved for only the most prestigious of buns.
Most of our testers found the REI Co-op Skyward Chair to be one of the least comfortable chairs in our testing pool. People who did like it tended to have smaller body types, so if you find that other camping chairs are too big for you, the Skyward might be a good fit. At a little over 7 pounds, it’s also the lightest traditional chair we tested—but it had the lowest weight capacity (250 pounds). It’s currently low in stock, but REI tells us this chair will be widely available again over the summer. It’s durable and comfortable for a range of campers. The Coleman Cooler Quad has been our pick since 2016, through numerous camping trips and several testing sessions.
Weighing about 8 pounds, the Coleman chair is lighter than most traditional models, so it’s easier to grab from deep in a car trunk or to carry for long distances. Like others in its category, this chair comes with an over-the-shoulder carry bag, but some testers found it was light and compact enough to carry without the case. It’s as simple to set up as any chair we tested. In fall 2023, we asked a panel of paid testers with a wide range of body types, dexterities, and mobilities to examine our picks and other camping chairs and to share their perspectives. We’ve incorporated their feedback into this review. We love the price on this four-set of chairs.
This was especially reassuring for testers with knee or hip issues, who noted that they felt confident using the Dual Lock seat’s armrests to stand up and get out of it. It’s extra-supportive for people with joint issues. Testers with knee and hip issues reported that when they were getting in and out of this chair, its armrests felt more stable than those of any other model.
It’s the lightest, most portable chair that is still comfortable. The Helinox Chair One weighs about 2 pounds, compresses smaller than a 2-liter bottle of soda, and is our most lightweight pick. Other chairs we tested sacrificed too much comfort in order to shave mere ounces off of their weights, and we don’t think the trade-off was worth it. Keep in mind that lightweight chairs won’t be nearly as comfortable as traditional camping chairs, so take the word comfortable with a grain of salt.
This pouch is big enough to stow gear like a phone, book, or tablet. Of the chairs we tested, the Coleman chair was the only one that came with a built-in cooler bag, which can hold four standard-size beer or soda cans. The chair also has the round mesh cupholder found on most chairs of this type.
It delivers a solid baseline of build quality, comfort, and reliability that we didn’t find in other, similarly priced chairs. Note that some reviewers mention these run on the smaller size, but they are designed to hold up to 225 lbs. There’s a real-life human behind every post on Brad’s Deals. We’re proud consumer advocates, scouring the internet every day for best-of-web prices on just about everything.
The Krazy Coupon Lady is an independent service supported by advertising. Most of the offers appearing on our site are from companies from which we receive compensation. We may receive a small payment from an affiliate if you click a link to purchase a ozark trail chair product. Sometimes a post is sponsored by the maker of the product, and we receive a fee for the post. We recommend these products based on an intensive research process that’s designed to cut through the noise and find the top products in this space.