The Best Canopy Chair for Outdoor Camping

It’s great to be outdoors, enjoying the fresh air and scenery. Sleeping under the stars is an experience everyone should try at least once in their life, especially for the health benefits. Being comfortable while camping is important, and you’ll find our list of great canopy chairs very useful.

There’s plenty of choice if you’re looking for the best canopy chair for outdoor camping, but if you’re pressed for time and want to get out there, our top choice is the Swimways Kelsyus Original Canopy Chair.

In this article, we’re going to review the following canopy chairs:

Top 7 Canopy Chairs

We’ve done all the hard work for you, so sit back and take a look at our list of the top seven best canopy camping chairs.

What to Consider When Buying a Canopy Chair

Ideally, the chair has to be functional, well-constructed, have lots of extra features and be comfortable. Being able to fold flat and carry easily are also important, especially if you’re camping far off the beaten track.

Canopies

The purpose of the canopy is to protect you from the sun. Being able to move it as the sun moves across the sky will save you from moving your chair and losing the view. The GCI Waterside Sun Shade is a good example of this — you can fully rotate the canopy from front to back.

As well as being movable, the shade also has to offer as much SPF protection as possible. Most of the chairs in our list promise 50+ SPF, however, the Sport-Brella promises 99.5% protection from both UVA and UVB rays.

Something else to consider is whether the canopy is removable — there may be days when you’d prefer to spend some time enjoying the benefits of the sun.

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Ease of Transport and Setup

If you’re looking for a chair to take camping, ease of transport is essential. You might not be driving your car to the final destination, so having to lug a heavy chair can make your trip more tiring and stressful.

Ideally, you need a chair that’s going to be light to carry but is as robust as possible. The two extremes in our list are the Bravo Sports option, weighing a little over 5 pounds, and the Zero Gravity recliner at over 20 pounds.

Being able to set the chair up quickly has to be an essential feature. There’s nothing more frustrating than a chair that requires an instruction manual or one that’s made up of several components.

With this in mind, The Bravo Sports chair is our winner. You can put it up in seconds, which is just what you want when you’re desperate to put your feet up.

Features

When it comes to buying a camping chair, having a sunshade is an important feature, but there are lots more you can choose from. Cup holders, pockets, footrests, and pillows are by far the most significant, especially if you’re looking for convenience and comfort.

Cup Holders

Most camping chairs have at least one cup holder, but be on the lookout for two. There are even chairs that take convenience one step further with a removable accessory tray. Part of relaxing is having everything you need close to hand. Once you’ve sat down, you don’t want to have to keep getting up.

The Zero Gravity recliner is a good example as it has somewhere you can store two drinks, magazines, smartphone, tablet, and other small items.

Let’s not forget the Sport Brella with its insulated pocket, cup holder, and a zipped pocket that can hold up to four cans of your favorite beverage. There’s also a bottle opener included.

Pockets

Look for a chair with as many pockets as possible. It’s good to be able to store all your essentials, beer, magazine, tablet, and snacks included. The Quik Shade, for example, has a handy pocket and a cup holder. It’s large enough to hold several beers or your electronic gadgets.

Footrest

Camping chairs aren’t known for being the most comfortable to sit in, but that’s not the case for the chairs on our list. A footrest is one feature that can add to the comfort, and there are two chairs in our list that have one. Being able to put your feet up adds to the relaxing experience.

The Sport-Brella has one that’s removable, while the Zero Gravity chair’s footrest is a permanent feature. You can lay the chair right back and feel like you’re floating on air.  

Fabric

The most common fabrics used for canopy chairs are polyester and nylon. Both are lightweight, wick moisture away and dry quickly. Mesh is another popular material for manufacturers, for the same reasons.

When looking for a camping chair, it’s advisable to check the stitching along any pressure points. If the quality of the stitching isn’t so good, you might fall through the seat of the chair after using it a couple of times. This has been a reported issue with one chair in our list, the Sport-Brella.

Checking the stitching on the armrests is also worth doing because this type of chair tends to fail around the cup holders.

Frame

A camping chair should be, first and foremost, lightweight. Nevertheless, you don’t want to have to compromise on durability, either. Most people are going to be prepared to sacrifice a certain amount of comfort for a chair that’s easy to lug around.

Frame construction tends to be steel or aluminum, sometimes a combination of both. Steel is strong, while aluminum is much lighter.

As a general rule of thumb, a chair that weighs in at less than 15 pounds should be fine for transportation. Anything heavier, and you’d better plan for a location that’s close to where you can park.

The material used in the frame’s construction also affects the weight capacity. Most of the chairs we’ve featured can withstand a weight of up to 250 pounds. The Quik Shade can hold 225 pounds, but the winner is the Alpha Camp Chair with a weight capacity of up to 350 pounds.

ALSO READ: Top Camping Chair For Heavy Persons

Final Thoughts

The best canopy chair for outdoor camping is one that offers comfort, maximum UPF protection, easy of use, and stability. It also has to be light to carry, but not flimsy.

The Swimways Kelsyus Original Canopy Chair comes in at number one because it has all these features. The canopy is removable and doubles up as a carry bag, and it has an oversized seat for added comfort.

Our second choice is the Folding Zero Gravity Recliner Lounge Chair. The thing that lets this chair down is its weight. Coming in at 20.5 pounds, it’s not a chair to be carried long distances. Apart from that, this canopy chair has all the important attributes and more.