Our Guide to Portable Chairs

We've organized the most commonly used items people use to address the Core function below, with example images, characteristics, features, etc.

Our category name		Hard-sides	Soft-sides
		Folding style	Collapsible style	Picnic style	Pitched style
Example qualities & features	Example images
	How to set up	Just unfold or open up			Set-up poles, stretch fabric across poles, like a really easy tent!
	Seat height	Standard 18-20in* (46-51cm)		N/A; on the ground	11-16in (30-41cm)
	Seat surface material & how it sits	Hard plastic or metal	Fabric
		Flat surface. Back may be straight or angled	Surface dips slightly to accommodate weight (usually can still be used by anyone). Back may be straight or angled	Flat surface; may or may not be padded/ Back usually straight	Surface dips to accommodate weight (combined with lower height, may not be the best option for older people). Back usually angled
	Weight capacity (adult model)	500+lbs (227+kg) Usually not an issue	200-300lbs (91-136kg)**	200lbs (91kg)***	200-300lbs (91-136kg)**
Is it permitted at music festivals?*
Effect on other factors For a single person Capacity chair	Price	$10-20	$10-50		$60-120
	Weight	5-10lbs (2.3-4.5kg)	2-5lbs (0.9-2.3kg)	1-2lbs (0.5-0.9kg)
	Size	You'll need a vehicle to transport this	~2-3ft (0.6-0.9m) long & maybe bulkier than a camera tripod	Like a big laptop	A little smaller than a 2-liter soda bottle
			Can be slung over-the-shoulder	May fit in larger backpacks	Can fit in almost any regular backpack, or extra large purses
Rationale		Less technical & more material, no consideration for Weight & Size		More technical & less material, Weight & Size specifically optimized
Why we do/don't carry it = we rent = we sell		Not specific enough for outdoor use	There may be issues with durability & not as versatile for multiple use cases	Doesn't add that much more value than sitting on the ground, which is free	Versatile for most outdoor uses, therefore more worth the money

*Many music festivals don't allow seating that's standard height, since it may block the view for others behind you

**These chairs use more delicate materials to reduce Weight & Size. Take care if you are a larger person using a lower end model as poles may bend (even if they don't break, the chair may feel wobbly)

***This type of chair sits on the ground. If it does have a weight rating, then it means the bottom is cushioned; above this weight rating, you won't feel the effects of the cushioning anymore. If it doesn't have a weight rating, there's no cushion, just a pad between you and the ground.

If you don't go very often, of course you're going to want to spend less money, but this often means real trade-offs in terms of the experience that you will have with the gear. Even if you do go often & are ready to invest in quality gear, having the upfront funds can be hard!

Now, it may seem like this price & quality trade-off is disappearing, because you can find a cheap version of almost anything for tens of dollars that still has good reviews (assuming the reviews are real). So you might be thinking: I'll just buy something cheap, and because the price is so low it doesn't matter if it's less featured or heavier or whatever compared to something higher end. When that breaks, I'll buy something cheap again, and so on. Just remember:

• What's better than cheap? FREE! And we have a gear library of items you can borrow for free!
• Many reviews are written after only a trial use or first use: We've seen entire review videos of gear done at home, which is very different than actually being outdoors! And reviews after the first use don't tell you about durability at all
• You're headed outdoors to relax and enjoy life! Saving money only to have a trip ruined due to quality issues will feel terrible. Our program to rent portable chairs is designed to help you avoid this trade-off: you get to rent high end, quality portable chairs for around the same price as buying cheap ones (sometimes even for less!)

For this item specifically, the price vs. quality trade-off issues center around performance & durability.

• The chair wasn't very durable: we unfortunately have a lot of experience with this. The lower end collapsible & pitched styles that cost $10-20 can sometimes feel single-use: the poles significantly bend & it's uncomfortable & wobbly to continue sitting

There are so many types of camp chairs that start with one of the our types as a baseline and then evolve beyond, like reclining chairs, rocking chairs, love seats, chaise lounges, etc. Chairs may also seat more than 1 person, or be sized specifically for youth or kids. As you can imagine, as capacity increases, so does price and weight & size.

If you're thru-hiking 20+ miles (32+km) per day, every advantage counts! In this case, size refers to compactness. You can carry more gear in the same size backpack if all of it is very compact, or for more weight savings, you can get a smaller size pack.

To reduce more weight & increase compactability, manufacturers reduce the amount of material used (e.g., fewer features, thinner fabrics, etc.) and, where possible, use more technical materials to prevent performance loss. For example, ultralight fabric has to still be waterproof. These strategies create 2 general consequences

• Lightweight gear tends to be less durable: Sometimes, light-weight gear is just thinner & so more prone to damage (even a more technical material may not fully offset the loss in durability)
• Lightweight gear tends to be more expensive: While less materials = lower cost, the more dominating effect is often that thinner materials = more technical = greater cost

For these reasons, the lighter the gear, the more you should treat it as an investment! Is the price difference worth the weight or size savings? This depends on you & your trip!

Here, we give you a list of questions to start thinking about other features. We hope our approach of savings these features for last gets you to more critically think about what you need & not get caught up in the hype of what's cool and over-spend your budget. Remember, we allow you to hire a portable chair so feel free to try out various models with different features.

• Does it have cup holders?
• Does it rock or recline?
• How high is the seat back (for taller people)?