The Best Outdoor Chairs, According to Experts

Three of our experts recommend this ultralight chair that many campers will likely have seen before. The Crazy Creek, which has been made the same way for more than 30 years, is a favorite of Ryan Fliss, the chief marketing officer of camping app The Dyrt, who told us it’s “perfect for those who value go-anywhere seating, but don’t want to commit to storage space.” He and its other fans all praise the Crazy Creek, which folds flat and has handles for carrying it to and fro, for its construction and portability. While Fliss acknowledges that new users may be nervous about the legless element, he promises “you will still be comfortable, because you have a soft bottom and a seat back.” The way it works, according to Asher Kaplan, a frequent camper and graduate student studying urban planning, is simple: “You sit on the bottom part, and your weight supports you as you lean back. It’s like a lawn chair meets a suspension bridge. You really feel yourself supporting yourself in it.”

Julia Rock, a Minnesota-based journalist and former camp counselor, adds that due to its design, the Crazy Creek is actually more than just a chair: “You can use it as a sleeping pad, by unhooking the straps and laying it flat.” It’s also waterproof, she notes, making it “really easy to wipe clean.” Rock is partial to the tie-dye colorway, but there are six other styles to choose from, including this teal one. The brand offers a lifetime warranty for all of its products, but none of our experts say they’ve ever had reason to use theirs (and Fliss has owned his Crazy Creek for nearly a decade).

This more traditional-looking four-legged chair comes recommended by two parents, who say it is far more comfortable to sit in than others they’ve set up along the sidelines of their kids’ games, and one camper who loves how portable the chair is for its sturdiness. Barber Rodney Cutler, a dad to two soccer players, told us that other less-expensive lawn chairs he’s tried don’t have enough seat support, which makes them harder to get in and out of. But this chair, while still light, “sits you fully upright, so you never sink.” Cutler also likes its two cupholders and additional zip pocket, which provide plenty of space to keep drinks and other essentials within reach. Alison Conologue, the aunt of two volleyball players, says she also has watched many of their games from this chair, which she’s gifted to people because she likes it so much and has even started taking to the beach. She agrees that its seat “does not sink, making it easier to get out of,” adding that it locks into place when it’s open — and folded up, making it that much easier to carry (with or without the “carry bag” it comes with). And Nailah Blades, a leadership coach and founder of Color Outside, adds that on top of the above benefits, the seat is also “wide enough to never feel like a tight squeeze” and that the range of colors it’s available in (12 at time of writing) allows you to “add a fun pop of color to your campsite.”

Another three people we spoke with told us that in their opinion, the best lawn chair is often a very basic and affordable option like this. Trei Brundrett, Vox Media’s chief operating officer — and a parent of four kids, one of whom is an “active camper” — says he has “eight chairs in my truck right now” and that he likes the “cheapest chair” the most, because it’s “light, easy to set up, and comes in a bright color, so you can’t lose it.” Maggie Slepian, a Montana-based writer and co-founder of Backpacking Routes, says that she’s specifically a “lifelong fan” of Coleman’s Quad chair because it “lasts year after year, unfolds in one piece, and is just as comfortable as a lot of the name-brand camp chairs from higher-end gear companies.” Slepian adds that, because the chair comes with an “accompanying carry sack,” there’s never a “huge hassle to carry it from car to campsite.” Camper and educational consultant Noa Kattler-Kupetz also calls out the pocket and cupholder for stashing essentials.

Four of the people we spoke to recommended different lawn chairs that rock. According to Real Simple executive editor Rory Evans, the mother of softball-playing children (who told us she has a tattoo of a rocking chair on her ankle), rocking lawn chairs can “make endless kids’ sports games more comfortable, and are much easier on the lower back.” Writer and outdoorsman James Lynch is also a fan of rocking lawn chairs, telling us that once you’ve “rocked, every other chair seems pedestrian.” His favorite rocking lawn chair is this model from GCI, a brand that came up a lot in chatting with our experts. “It folds up like a normal heavy duty pop-up chair, but it’s so much more,” Lynch says. “The metal construction is great, the fabric is durable, and it has nice hard plastic armrests and a beer can holster.” But his favorite feature is the chair’s patented rocking mechanism, which he says works like this: “The system works by using strong metal pistons on the back legs that compress as you push back, and then decompress to ‘rock’ you forward. It does take a bit of a push to get the chair going, but once it goes it’s supremely comfortable.” Should you want to sit still, Lynch adds that the mechanism can be adjusted so that the chair doesn’t rock.

For a rocking chair with a little more give, Fliss recommends this less-expensive GCI model, which has a more flexible sling seat. He describes it as “a rocking chair you can take anywhere.” At just under 12 pounds, it’s lighter than the RoadTrip rocker and, according to Fliss, “can be deployed in a few seconds.”

Clint Carlson, the creative director of multi-platform camping resource 50 Campfires, is also a fan of GCI’s spring-loaded rocking chairs. His favorite style is the Firepit Rocker, which “sits lower to the ground than most chairs,” a height he finds “to be more relaxing.” Carlson, who says he “didn’t want anything else” after sitting in this chair, adds that it “folds flat, and is easy to tote around.”

If you’re looking for a top-of-the-line, luxurious chair to relax in outdoors, Carlson says this GCI chair is the “ultimate in backyard comfort.” While zero-gravity chairs that hold your entire body off the ground are “nothing new,” he says that GCI’s is the only one that allows you to lock the backrest in place while your feet are still raised. “It’s excellent for conversation around a fire, does a good job of relieving pressure points, and is great to nap in, too,” he says. Though he cautions this would be better for someone who doesn’t intend to move it around a lot, because the 19-pound chair is “not as portable as other chairs.”

Strategist contributor Bianca Buchanan told us that this chair “folds up really well, despite the fact that it’s very large,” and has a strap so you can carry it around. Once unfurled, it also has a hole for your head, “like one you’d see on a massage table, so you can lay on your stomach and tan,” Buchanan explains.

Adventure journalist Morgan Tilton told us that this “lightweight, easy-to-pack” chair that’s similar to the Helinox has been one of her go-to outdoor chairs for the last two years. She says the ripstop polyester seat is “flexible, comfortable, and offers soft support for my hips and back.” And, like the Helinox, this chair’s aluminum frame is “fast to assemble or stow,” according to Tilton, who adds that there are “two pull-loops that help you seamlessly pull the fabric off the scaffold” once it’s time to pack it up.

If you like the idea of a chair with a table, but would rather one that can swivel to be out in front of you, former Strategist staff writer Hilary Reid previously wrote an ode to this chair, which has a built-in swivel table that she uses to transform her fire escape into a home office and alfresco dining room. At just eight pounds, Reid says the lightweight chair is easy enough to move around and folds flat, so she can “store it in a closet between uses.” But what really sets it apart for her is the table, which she writes is “large enough to hold my laptop, and has a cupholder for a coffee cup or glass of wine.”