The Great Camp Chair Debate

Dave Bennett

Adventurist
I've seen and used alot of chairs over the years. Some good, some bad. I hate chairs in a bag that suck you in when you sit in them. I hate chairs that cost $$$ and break in 1 season. I read the article in OJ. I've seen and heard about PICO chairs and Kermits. None fit my requirements.

So, in 2007 I bought this MacCabee chair at Costco to take to Iraq. I figured it would be durable enough, and if it survived I'd bring it home. It did, and here it is in the fall of 2009 still going strong!

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This same chair has been to Iraq, Maldives, Oman, and Djibouti plus all the trips I've done here in the states like Death Valley etc.

All aluminum structure with rivets (no plastic). Folds flat so it's not the smallest when stowed, but durability and comfort have been outstanding!

Here is a similar design, now being sold as a Coleman, at Costco now:

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Produc...ang=en-US&Sp=C&ec=BC-EC11000-Cat22101&topnav=
 
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Dave Bennett

Adventurist
I'm a big guy (6'4, 250lbs) and this type of frame has been very sturdy, great thigh support (no metal cross bars making your legs go numb). Mine has been thrown around alot and seen plenty of abuse. Sand does not faze it unlike the Pico chair.
 

Connie

Day walker, Overland Certified OC0013
The quest for the perfect chair is an ongoing one for us. There is no other piece of equipment that we have had a more difficult time with. I have repaired chairs, cut the poles down to fit in the right space, stitched seams reinforced arm grommets etc. etc. etc.

We started out with the ones with the attached foot rest. Perfect for afternoon naps, lousy for eating and sitting by the campfire. We have those little tripod guys for quick lunch set up, but the first set, one of them bent when a friend dropped into it instead of sitting gently, the other one and the next set ended up like this:
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I double dog dare you to "flop" down into that. :elkgrin:

I'm going to replace the seat, but they aren't "comfy" chairs. They do however make a nice foot rest and convenient for working on the suspension, cooking on the fire, etc.
 

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Dave Bennett

Adventurist
I have one of the little tripod ones too.

Small and lightweight, great for a quick break, but no fun to sit on for campfire time.
 

StumpXJ

SE Expedition Society
I have two of the coleman versions like tacodoc posted, and they are awesome. The do take up more room, but its worth it to me. I got so damn tired of replacing the fold out accordian chairs. I am 6'2", and 300 pounds. Not one hiccup, and they have held up ecceptionally well.

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~James
 

RHINO

Expedition Leader
i have been looking at these thinking they will be my next chair whenever i replace my current one. the problem i had with the old cheap chairs was the sore pressure point on the side of my thighs, hated them.

i never had a problem with the old camp chairs we had all through the 70's and 80's and thats what my current chair and these ones are more reminiscent of.
 

1leglance

2007 Expedition Trophy Champion, Overland Certifie
It is such a balance between comfort, function, wgt, and storage.
I agree that the pursuit is part of the fun/headache and it will be interesting what I go with once I have the Sportsmobile. I have found that storage is a large part of the equation and until I have the rig and some idea of where & how to stow the chairs I am not sure what I will go with.

My rank of importance:
Comfort - arms, upright seating for eating/laptop work but still can be relaxed in
Stowability
Durability
Wgt

I have such fond memories of the alum webbed lawn chairs we had as kids, but when I called my uncle to ask if he still had any he reminded me how much we used to complain about replacing the webbind, how hot the arms would get, how you could bend them by leaning and other faults...just goes to show how biased our minds can be.

The Search Continues.
 

RHINO

Expedition Leader
so true about the old web chairs lance. they were comfy enough, and thats what i was looking for when i was buying my last chair. compact storage is a plus, but i actually like the simple single fold, i use them like a lid to secure other items below.
 

1leglance

2007 Expedition Trophy Champion, Overland Certifie
I found them new on the web, some place called Ron's I think...google webbed aluminum lawn chair.
Brown ones for $16ish I think.
I am still thinking of getting a couple for playing with...wgt wise they are the same as the PICO & Xpress so no savings, and they fold flat but not compact like the PICO & Xpress.

GCI also as a no arms edition on their site that looks cool, but I have to have arms.
 

Redline

Likes to Drive and Ride
Doc

Thanks much for posting this. I'm going to Costco tomorrow for some other supplies and if they have the 2-pack Coleman chairs in stock I will probably buy them. I would like a comfortable option, even if they are a bit large.
 

Dave Bennett

Adventurist
Doc

Thanks much for posting this. I'm going to Costco tomorrow for some other supplies and if they have the 2-pack Coleman chairs in stock I will probably buy them. I would like a comfortable option, even if they are a bit large.

You're welcome James!

These are fairly light, strong, and very comfortable for a "camp chair", even for a big guy.

The ONLY drawback is the folded size but if one has the room they are well worth it when you get to your destination. I give them a pretty high priority so I'm willing to downsize/leave out other luxury items to make room for these although once my FlipPac is done I should have much more room for anything I want to bring ;)
 

BIGdaddy

Expedition Leader
You're welcome James!

These are fairly light, strong, and very comfortable for a "camp chair", even for a big guy.

The ONLY drawback is the folded size but if one has the room they are well worth it when you get to your destination. I give them a pretty high priority so I'm willing to downsize/leave out other luxury items to make room for these although once my FlipPac is done I should have much more room for anything I want to bring ;)

thanks for the thread, Dave. We used to have a set of these type of chair and its very true, they're very comfy. I think we gave them to Melissa's mom at one point, as we moved into an apartment with no room for outdoor furniture, (or much camping gear, to be quite honest)

When it was time to replace these, having moved into our current house, we looked around a bit before deciding. Melissa likes a chair that she can tip her head back on to a headrest to help with feeding a baby and being able to relax. I like chairs with a cupholder.

Consequently, As a christmas gift to ourselves we bought an inexpensive set of Colemen "accordian-style" chairs that have had several years of use with nary a problem. We use them monthly in the silty, sandy soil on Fiesta Island, and their bulk, however lengthy, is not impossible to stow since its only about 5 inches in diameter. They actually fit perfectly lengthwise in the footwells below the trio of carseats in my xj.

Oh and I"m 6"0' - 275lbs, for those who don't know me, so I'd have to give these types of chairs a passing grade, especially for the cupholder molded into the armrest. :)

To reiterate, though, those "low, director-style" chairs are muy excellente.
 
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Redline

Likes to Drive and Ride
Of course I forgot what season it is and Costco doesn't have camping/outdoor gear 'in stock' now...
Need to order them online if I want them. I might prefer another color but the price is hard to beat.

Doc

Thanks much for posting this. I'm going to Costco tomorrow for some other supplies and if they have the 2-pack Coleman chairs in stock I will probably buy them. I would like a comfortable option, even if they are a bit large.
 

Dave Bennett

Adventurist
Of course I forgot what season it is and Costco doesn't have camping/outdoor gear 'in stock' now...
Need to order them online if I want them. I might prefer another color but the price is hard to beat.

I've noticed most of the things I want from Costco end up being online only.
 

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