Camping Chairs Compared: Ultralight, Classic Folding, and Beach Dual-Use
We own three different kinds of camping chairs, and it took buying all three to realize that's actually the right number. They're not competing with each other, they're solving different problems. A chair that's great for a backcountry trip is the wrong chair for a beach day, and a chair that's great at the beach is the wrong chair to carry two miles.
Classic folding chairs: cheap, heavy, and reliable
The basic collapsible folding chair, the kind everyone's family already has a few of, is still what shows up in most of our trip photos. It's not exciting, but it's sturdy, cheap enough that losing or damaging one isn't a big deal, and comfortable enough for sitting around a fire for hours. The downside is purely size and weight. These chairs take up real trunk space and you're not carrying one anywhere on foot.
This is the right chair if you're driving to your site and comfort matters more than portability, which, for most of our trips, it does.
Ultralight chairs: worth it once packing space gets tight
Our OneTigris ultralight chairs are the newest addition, and they've earned a spot for a specific reason. They pack down small enough to actually matter when trunk space or pack weight is the limiting factor. They're less plush than a classic folding chair, but the tradeoff is fair. You're getting a real, comfortable chair at a fraction of the packed size.
The OneTigris ultralight chairs, the pick when trunk or pack space is tight.
These are the chairs that come on trips where every inch of packing space is already spoken for: a canoe-in site, a smaller vehicle already full of gear, or any trip where we're already trying to pack lighter than usual.
Dual-use beach chairs: for the trips that aren't just camping
The third category is the dual-use backpack beach chair, low-slung, built to handle sand, and comfortable enough to also bring camping when a trip happens to combine both. In Florida, "camping" and "beach" overlap often enough that a chair built for both has earned its keep more than a single-purpose one would have.
They're not the chair we'd bring on a backcountry trip. They're heavier than the ultralight option and lower to the ground than a classic folding chair, which some people find less comfortable around a fire. But for a trip where the beach and the campsite are the same day, this is the one chair that works for both without packing two.
Which one to actually buy first
- Camping mostly at drive-up sites? Start with classic folding chairs. Cheapest, sturdiest, and there's no packing tradeoff to worry about.
- Camping somewhere space or weight is limited? A canoe trip, a backcountry site, a smaller car already packed full. The ultralight option earns the extra cost.
- Splitting time between the beach and a campsite? A dual-use backpack beach chair covers both without doubling up on gear.
Fitting chairs into the rest of your list
A chair sounds like a small thing until you're the one person at the campsite without one. Add your camping chairs to a shared checklist in Camper's Checklist so it's not the thing everyone assumes someone else packed.