Before we get to the chairs though, I’m often asked what the differences between car camping and backpacking are. The biggest difference is in the amount of gear that you can take. On a car camping trip, you can pretty much take anything and everything that you can fit into your car. If you want to take several camping chairs, a camping table or two, a portable toilet and a solar shower, feel free. If you’re going camping with a big group, bring along one or two family camping tents. You might as well be comfortable, right? On the other hand, backpacking is a completely different animal. You need to be a lot more careful what you bring along, because you don’t want to be lugging too much gear through the woods.

The first chair we have is essentially a classic camping chair available from REI. Fairly basic, comfortable, and well made. This sort of chair will most likely last you for years if treated well. It’s currently priced at $34.50(US), so not super cheap, but you can be sure, coming from REI, that it is high quality. One thing to note is that it weighs in at nearly 10 pounds, so that’s definitely something to consider when making your selection. This is not a chair you want to be lugging in on a long hike.

Another thing to know about these types of camping chairs is that they fold down easily for storage and travel. Each chair will be slightly different, but they usually fold down into a long cylinder shape about 2 feet long, and also usually come with a carrying case for easy transportation.

***

The second chair we have is a variation of the classic chair. This one is made by ALPS, available at Amazon, and is designed to be more comfortable (with extra padding and such) than the standard camping chair. This chair would be great if you are planning on, say, fishing and will be sitting for long periods of time.

This chair also weighs in at nearly 10 pounds, and folds flat for storage and travel instead of into a cylinder.

***

Our third chair is made by Kelsyus and is also available at Amazon. It is a canopy chair, which is to say that it is a standard champing chair that come with a canopy that attaches on top. This sort of chair is great for the beach, camping out in the open, or any sort of area with a lot of sun and little or no shade.

Also, guys, if you are trying to get your wife or girlfriend to come camping with you, and she’s worried that she won’t have anywhere to relax, then this is the chair for you! Grab a pitcher to make some sweet tea, and this chair, and she’ll be set!

***

This last chair is also a great one for people who want to make sure they’ll be able to relax on their camping trip. It is another variation of the standard camping chair, and this time it comes with a footrest. It’s made by Xscape and is available at Amazon.

Let me tell you, there are few things better than coming back into camp from a morning hike, sitting down in this chair with a cold beverage, putting your feet up, and taking a little nap. This chair weighs in at over 11 pounds and is currently priced at $50(US).

The biggest problem with finding good camp chairs is figuring out what sort of chair to bring along on your trip. A lot depends, really, on what sort of camping you’re going to be doing: car camping, short hike-in, or a long hike-in.

Car camping is pretty self-explanatory: you’re able to drive right up to your campsite and don’t have to unload your supplies from your car (or van, wagon, or RV). Since you don’t have to worry about lugging your gear anywhere when you’re car camping, you can bring just about anything that you want to on your trip. Big tent, nice camping bed, camp stoves, and you can even go for complete comfort when selecting your camping chair. Go for something like this chair: large, comfortable, and it even reclines!

There are a few variations on folding camp chairs suitable for car camping. You can go a bit lighter and get something like the chair below (and some will come with the tray shown), but the only thing you really need to worry about with car camping is how comfortable the chair is.

Another option for car camping is getting a hanging chair like the one below. Although they may be more like a hammock than an actual chair, hanging chairs are quite comfortable and will definitely get you jealous glances from other campers. One issue with them, though, is finding a suitable tree near your campsite to hang it from.