If you are in a hurry and just want to find out what the best heavy-duty camping chair is, then we recommend the Coleman Oversized Quad Chair With Cooler as the best one.
I cannot tell you how many camping chairs I have been through in my life. You buy it, enjoy it for about three days and then it’s broken.
A good camping chair lasts a long time and guarantees you always have a comfortable place to sit wherever life takes you.
If you are sick of dealing with faulty, uncomfortable, and fragile camping chairs, continue reading. We are taking a look at some of the best heavy duty camping chairs that are going to hold up for the long term.
In this article, were going to review the following heavy duty folding chairs:
- Coleman Oversized Quad Chair With Cooler
- ALPS Mountaineering King Kong Chair
- The Strongback Elite
- Kijaro Dual Lock Folding Chair
- Coleman Broadband Mesh Quad
Choosing the Right Camping Chair For You
There are so many different knock-offs out there, so you do not want to go into this blindly.
Everyone has a different preference on what is important and what does not matter, so we want to discuss the things that we find most important on a great chair.
These factors should be the things you are thinking about when you are shopping for camping chairs:
- Does it transport easily?
- Does it offer storage and any unique features?
- Does it offer back or neck support?
- How durable is the chair?
- Does it look comfortable and does it offer padding?
- Does it have any shade?
If you can find a chair that combines all of these things into one you have found a winner. Let’s break down some of these factors into more detail.
Transporting Your Chair
This is one of those things that might matter a lot to some and not at all to others. If you are planning on taking this chair to local sporting events or into the backyard, then this does not matter.
If you are thinking of backpacking 500 miles through the woods, then this is super important to you.
When shopping for chairs take the weight of the chair into consideration. A lot of heavy duty chairs have quite a bit of weight to them. Anything over eight pounds is going to put additional pressure on you and slow you down.
Some smaller chairs weigh less than a bottle of water so definitely keep this in mind when deciding if a heavy duty chair is a way to go.
Durability
This is something that should be important to everyone. You want a chair that will hold up through the worst of times, and not all chairs hold up.
Luckily, if you are shopping for a heavy duty chair (I imagine you are because you are reading this), then you are going to get a chair with a bit of ruggedness and durability.
Pay attention to the legs of the chair and the fabric. Do they look sturdy or do they appear fragile?
Support
Since you are looking for a heavy duty chair, you want something that supports your back and maybe even your neck.
Few chairs on the market offer a specific form of back support, and we cover a couple of them in the reviews here.
The best chairs for your back offer lumbar support and they seat you in a slightly reclined way that offers additional comfort to the back. These chairs also have ample padding, so you do not find yourself getting sore after a few hours in the chair.
In addition to the back support, you may want a chair that does not take a lot of effort to get in and out of. Some chairs are quite low while you are sitting and that makes it very difficult to get up once you are down.
If the chair seats at 18 inches or lower you may not be able to get up. Keep this in mind when you are shopping around.
Overall Comfort
This is the obvious one right? If a chair is not comfortable who would want to sit in it? We are living in an age of technology and online shopping so unfortunately you cannot always go down to the store and sit in a chair to decide if it’s comfortable or not.
You need to have an idea of what sticks out and makes a chair comfortable without actually feeling it yourself.
Take a look and see if the chair you are considering comes with a good amount of padding. If the chair offers a headrest or a slightly reclined back, then it might be a good choice for you.
The heavy-duty chairs usually offer a pretty good amount of comfort and support because they have higher backrests and some even provide shade visors to keep the sun off of you.
Shade Coverage
Since I mentioned it, we should cover it. There are not too many chairs out there that come with a built-in shade visor but if that’s something that matters to you then its good for you to know they exist.
If you work while you travel and need to have access to your computer or phone, the sun could put a damper on that but having a shaded chair would allow you to sit in the chair while on your computer.
Coleman Oversized Quad Chair With Cooler
This oversized camping chair comes in with 24 inches of seat area so it can comfortably accommodate people of all sizes.
This Coleman chair of some of the best quality I have ever seen, and it is also incredibly comfortable because it has a padded seat and back.
One of the astounding features of this chair is the fact that it comes with a cooler bag attached to the chair. In the pocket, you can fit at least five different drinks as well as ice. There is an additional storage section for you to store anything else you have too.
This chair supports up to 325 pounds and comes with a limited one year warranty.
Pros:
- Comes with a built-in cooler
- Comfortable padded seat and back
- Very affordable
- Durable
- Coleman brand reputation
- Resistant to fading for years
- Wide and roomy seating area
Cons:
- The heavy chair is not as good for hiking and backpacking
ALPS Mountaineering King Kong Chair
This is the chair to dominate all chairs. The ALPS chair is built to be heavy-duty and rugged with extreme durability.
The chair comes with plenty of storage space offering two cup holders, side pockets, and storage to the rear of the headrest area.
It is capable of holding up to 800 pounds, and one of the great features of this chair is its overall height. The seated area of the chair sits very high so its perfect for people with limited mobility who may not be able to get in and out of a low sitting chair.
Pros:
- Holds up to 800 pounds
- Comfortable padding on bottom and back
- Made with durable materials meant to last
- Sits high up, so it’s easy to get in and out of
- Plenty of storage
- Great for people with a more significant build
Cons:
- May not be comfortable for smaller people to sit in
The Strongback Elite
If you have lower back pain, this chair is for you. I can even relate by saying that, after sitting in a camping chair upright for a few hours your back starts to hurt…
Not with the Strongback Elite.
This chair works by aligning your body in a specific way that offers lumbar support. You are sitting at a slight angle with your back, and your pelvic area is also slightly tilted. We don’t exactly have any proof of the benefits of this, but we can say that it works.
One of the best features of this chair is the carrying bag that comes with dual shoulder straps; this makes it easy to transport because it is a pretty heavy chair at almost twelve pounds.
The capacity on the Strongback is 300 pounds, and it offers plenty of room for you to sit comfortably.
Pros:
- Built for comfort and support to your back
- Dual straps to carry the chair like a backpack
- 300-pound capacity
- Durable and rugged
- Made to hold up for life
Cons:
- The chair is heavy
- Does not come with much storage space
Kijaro Dual Lock Folding Chair
This chair has made its claim to fame for being such a comfortable heavy duty chair. That is the issue with a lot of the larger chairs; they offer durability and ruggedness so as a result, you sacrifice a little in comfort.
You do not have to worry about that with this chair; I found the Kijaro chair to be the most comfortable of all.
The seat on this is slightly reclined like the Strongback, and the chair still has a weight capacity of 300 pounds.
The seat of this chair sits twenty inches off the ground which is relatively standard on heavy duty chairs but if you are below 5’9” you may find your feet dangling off the ground.
Pros:
- Heavy duty chair
- Durable and rugged
- Extremely comfortable with plenty of padding
- Two built-in cup holders and side storage
- Slightly reclined back
- 300-pound capacity
Cons:
- The chair is slightly too big for smaller people
Coleman Broadband Mesh Quad
While this chair is not quite as big as the previous four and it does not have a lot of the bells and whistles, we will say, for the price you get a spectacular chair.
The reason we still decided to classify this chair as heavy duty is because it has durable materials that are built to last, the seat has a nice height of 18 inches, and the seat gets built with a durable mesh and polyester that does not tear easily.
One of the significant downsides we noticed on this chair is the lower backrest that could prove to be uncomfortable for some people.
Pros:
- Affordable
- Durable and rugged
- Made with high-quality materials
- Coleman brand
- Lighter than the competition
Cons:
- Low backrest
Conclusion
I think this was one of the harder decisions to make when it comes to choosing a winning chair. Each one has their unique bonuses, so I struggled when making this decision, but the winner of the roundup is the Coleman Oversized Quad Chair With Cooler.
We picked this chair for a variety of reasons. It offers a ton of cool features like the built-in cooler and extra storage. It also has everything standard that you would expect in a chair like comfort and durability.
We will say that all of these chairs are an excellent choice if you are in the market for a heavy duty camping chair.