The best camping chairs reviewed (2023)

Live For The Outdoors rounds up its favourite camping chairs.

best camping chairs

by Chris Williams |

Beyond essential pieces of equipment, there are the few luxuries and gadgets we allow ourselves, such as camping chairs. What is a simple amenity of home life becomes an expendable luxury on a trek or hike, and the task of the humble chair is usually relegated to a log or patch of ground.

In line with outdoor gear brands' ability to make camping equipment ever lighter and compact, some camping chairs have now reached the point where they can quite happily fit inside your big rucksack without ejecting your stove and cutlery return.

Our Shortlist:

Helinox Chair Zero High Back - Best in Test

Quechua Folding Camping Chair MH500 - Best Value

ENO Lounger SL Chair - Best for comfort

Robens Geographic High - Best lightweight camping stool

Outwell Tryfan - Best padded collapsible camping chair

Helinox Ground Chair - Best for wild camping/backpacking

Outwell Lomond - Best folding camping chair

Therm-a-Rest Trekker Chair - Best innovation

In this article, you will find a top range of expertly selected lightweight camping chairs. Competition is reasonably fierce these days, and the lightweight-durability balance is something many brands are taking a swing at. Many quite successfully.

The best camping chairs

1. Helinox Chair Zero High Back

Best in Test

Description

The Chair Zero from Helinox is the lightest chair made by the masters in lightweight camping

Pros

  • Good support and comfort
  • Low weight
  • Small packed size

Cons

  • Very little padding
Helinox Chair Zero High Back setup with award logo overlay

2. Quechua Folding Camping Chair MH500

Best Value

Description

If you're not in a position to spend the amount the Helinox Chair Zero asks (and fair enough),

Pros

  • Great value
  • Good seat height
  • Aluminium frame

Cons

  • Quite heavy
Quechua Folding Camping Chair MH500 with award logo overlay

3. ENO Lounger SL Chair

Best for comfort

Description

In terms of comfort in a collapsible chair, we haven't tested anything that comes close to the Eno

Pros

  • Hammock-level comfort
  • Reasonably lightweight
  • Easy setup and packing down
  • Stable and durable

Cons

  • Relatively bulky
ENO Lounger SL Chair next to a tent

4. Robens Geographic High

Best lightweight camping stool

Description

Bearing a super light but strong aluminium frame, this stool from Robens is your go-to when you

Pros

  • Excellent value
  • Very sturdy
  • Very light

Cons

  • No back support
Robens Geographic High

5. Outwell Tryfan

Best padded collapsible camping chair

Description

The Outwell Tryfan is a collapsible high-back chair that isn't quite lightweight and compact

Pros

  • Good padding for a collapsible chair
  • Relatively small packed size
  • Removable pillow

Cons

  • Sitting position is a bit upright
Outwell Tryfan next to a tent

6. Helinox Ground Chair

Best for wild camping and backpacking

Description

OK, you've guessed it, we like Helinox chairs. The Chair Zero High Back above is a superb choice

Pros

  • Very lightweight
  • Small packed size
  • Great on soft ground

Cons

  • We've fallen out of it more than once!
Helinox Ground Chair next to a tent

7. Outwell Lomond

Best folding camping chair

Description

Certainly not one for gram shavers and lightweight fanatics, the Outwell Lomond is a fully padded

Pros

  • Folds out very easily
  • Padded and comfortable
  • Feels indestructible
  • Excellent cup holder

Cons

  • Heavy and bulky
Outwell Lomond next to a tent

8. Therm-a-Rest Trekker Chair 

Best innovation

Description

Therm-a-Rest's novel idea of creating an adaptor kit for your [sleeping

Pros

  • Works with most self-inflating mats
  • Padded comfort
  • Very lightweight

Cons

  • Takes longer to set up than a normal folding chair
Therm-a-Rest Trekker Chair 

What to look for in a camping chair

Camping chairs packed away displayed in a row
©Live For The Outdoors

Packed size: Rucksacks still have a finite amount of space, and what sounds like compact may turn out to be not compact enough for you. Rather than simply checking whether a certain chair will fit in your pack, check to see if it'll fit after your rucksack is packed with all your gear. Though, you may be happy attaching the folded chair to the daisy chains on your pack.

Weight: All the chairs we recommend are around one kilogram or less, so none are going to add too much to the overall weight of your load. However, pack smart and remember about where items should sit in the pack.

Materials: Some lightweight camping chairs still have reasonably durable fabrics and frames. It's important to stick to these because there are plenty of models out there that are lightweight but very flimsy.

Weight limit: Adhering to the advice above about selecting a lightweight camping chair made from high-grade materials, its weight capacity will be within the weight of many. This is usually about 120 kilograms.

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