Written by Gareth Walton on 3rd Jun 2026
A camping chair seems like a simple purchase until you sit in a bad one for a weekend. The cheap folder that sags after two trips. The "ultralight" that puts your knees above your ears. The recliner that takes up half the car boot and still isn't comfortable.
Most guides list ten chairs and crown one "best overall." This one explains the different types, the features that actually matter, and how to match a chair to the way you camp. Because the right chair for a backpacker and the right chair for a family car camper are completely different products. We design and sell our own range, so we'll be honest about where each type wins and where it doesn't, including the jobs our chairs aren't built for.
For most UK family campers, a padded high-back chair with a steel frame is the best all-round choice.
Comfortable for long evenings, easy to stand from, and built to last more than a season. Beyond that, match the chair to how you actually camp:
- Best all-rounder and heaviest-duty: OLPRO Henwick -- steel frame, 150kg limit, insulated cooler and cup holders
- Best for luxury comfort: OLPRO Olympus XL -- padded bucket seat, named "Best for Luxury Comfort" by Countryfile
- Best for backpacking: a sub-1.5kg ultralight like the OLPRO Ultralight High Back (1.35kg)
- Best for dining at camp: a director's chair with a folding side table
- Festivals and kids: a low-profile or budget chair you won't mind getting muddy
What to Look for in a Camping Chair
Before types and specific models, the criteria. Six things separate a good camping chair from a frustrating one:
Six things that separate a good chair from a frustrating one
Camping Chair Types Explained
Every camping chair falls into one of seven categories. Each has a clear strength and a clear weakness.
Standard Folding Chair (Quad Chair)
The entry point. These are the chairs stacked in supermarkets and garden centres, four legs, cross-frame, fabric seat, fold in half. They're cheap (£10-£30), widely available and set up in seconds.
The trade-offs show quickly. Budget folders use thin aluminium frames that flex under load, fabric that sags after a season, and joints that fail at stress points. The seat tends to slope backwards, which looks relaxed but gives no lumbar support and makes standing up feel like an ab workout.
Best for: occasional camping, kids, festival throwaway chairs, anyone on a very tight budget.
Director's Chair
A step up in almost every practical way. Director's chairs sit higher (typically 45-50cm seat height), hold a more upright posture, have solid armrests you can push up from, and often include a folding side table.
"The side table changed how we used our director's chairs on site," says Gareth from OLPRO's product team. "People eat meals, prep food, keep a book and a drink right there. It's a workspace as much as a seat."
The OLPRO Directors Chair (from £54, RRP £91) uses a steel frame with a folding side table and cup holder on one side and a storage organiser pouch on the other. Heavy-duty padded polyester, available in three colourways. Countryfile named it "Best for Accessories" in their camping chair roundup. At around 7.5kg it's not light, but that's the trade-off for a chair you can eat dinner in.
Best for: campsite dining, people who prefer upright seating, those with back issues who need an easy chair to stand from.
Padded / High-Back Chair
This is where comfort gets serious without tipping into recliner territory. Padded high-back chairs add cushioned backs, padded armrests and better fabric against bare skin on warm evenings.
The OLPRO Henwick (from £47, RRP £75) is the stand-out here, and the chair we'd point most family campers to first. Steel frame, a 150kg weight limit (the highest in our range), and a feature list that genuinely earns its place: an insulated cooler on the left armrest that holds eight cans, a wine glass holder on the right, a large mesh cup holder, a side storage pocket and a carry case. At 6kg it's a chair designed for someone who plans to sit in it for hours, not minutes. Three colourways, including a grey and charcoal.
Best for: all-round family camping, long campsite evenings, heavier campers, anyone who values seated comfort.
Bucket / Moon Chair
Bucket chairs wrap around you. The deep, curved seat feels cocooning -- you sink in rather than sit on. Our luxury pick lives in this category: the OLPRO Olympus XL(from £64, RRP £98) pairs a padded bucket seat with ergonomic lumbar support, an insulated cup holder and a steel frame rated to 130kg. Countryfile named it "Best for Luxury Comfort", and it's the chair to reach for when the evening is the event.
The downside of the bucket shape in general is that it sits lower and is harder to climb out of, so it's less suited to dining at a table. The Olympus XL's higher back and firm lumbar support soften that compared with a cheap moon chair, but if getting up easily is your priority, a director's or high-back chair still wins.
Best for: lounging, stargazing, long relaxed evenings, anyone who prioritises sinking in over sitting up.
Reclining / Zero Gravity Chair
Maximum comfort, minimum portability. Recliners offer multiple angle positions, padded headrests and that zero-gravity feeling where your legs lift and your spine is fully supported. They're heavy (6-10kg), bulky folded and eat boot space.
In all honesty, a full zero-gravity recliner isn't part of our range -- our Olympus XL covers the "deep comfort" job without the bulk. If you're set on a multi-position recliner for a week of sunbathing, that's a specialist buy and worth shopping around for.
Best for: long-stay car campers, sunbathers, garden crossover use, anyone with a big enough car.
Low-Profile / Festival Chair
Low chairs (seat height under 30cm) exist for two reasons: festival ground rules that ban tall chairs blocking views, and beach use where you want to sit just above the sand. The OLPRO Folding Beach Chair (£41, RRP £67) fits the bill -- low profile, lightweight and stable on uneven ground. Our Ultralight Low Back (£39, RRP £69) is another low option that packs down small.
Be honest with yourself about mobility before buying low. These are physically harder to stand from than standard-height chairs, and that gets worse on tired legs after a long day.
Best for: festivals with height restrictions, beach days, younger campers.
Ultralight Backpacking Chair
The specialist end of the market. Ultralight chairs use aluminium frames and lightweight ripstop fabric, and pack down to the size of a water bottle. The Helinox Chair One (around £90-£110, 1kg) is the benchmark, and we'll happily admit it's hard to beat on weight alone.
Our own Ultralight High Back (£49, RRP £79) weighs 1.35kg, packs to 46 x 14 x 10cm, and adds a padded headrest and breathable mesh panels -- a more comfortable seat than most chairs this light, and a fraction of the premium price. Countryfile named our ultralight range "Best Ultra-Lightweight". These chairs assemble each time (poles into fabric) and sit lower to the ground. They aren't lounge chairs. They're "I've just hiked 15 miles and I want something other than the ground" chairs.
Best for: backpackers, wild campers, anyone carrying gear on their back.
Chair Types at a Glance
| Type | Best For | Comfort | Weight | Typical Price | Easy to Stand From? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard folding | Budget / occasional | Moderate | 3-5kg | £10-£40 | Yes |
| Director's | Dining / upright | Good | 6-8kg | £50-£100 | Yes |
|
Our pick Padded / high-back |
All-round comfort | Very good | 5-7kg | £40-£80 | Yes |
| Bucket / moon | Lounging | Good | 6-8kg | £40-£100 | Harder |
| Recliner | Relaxation | Excellent | 6-10kg | £50-£150 | Harder |
| Low / festival | Festivals / beach | Moderate | 1-3kg | £15-£50 | Difficult |
| Ultralight | Hiking / backpacking | Moderate | 1-2kg | £35-£110 | Harder |
Typical UK retail prices, 2026. Scroll the table sideways on mobile.
Luxury, XL and Heavy-Duty Chairs: Are They Worth It?
This is the question we get asked most by campers ready to upgrade from a supermarket folder, so it deserves its own answer.
Olympus XL £64
Named "Best for Luxury Comfort" by Countryfile. Padded bucket seat, lumbar support and a 130kg frame for deep, sink-in comfort.
Henwick £47
The toughest frame and the most features. Rated to 150kg with an 8-can insulated cooler built into the armrest.
Luxury and XL chairs
Buy you a deeper, padded seat, proper lumbar support and a wider, more generous frame. If your camping evenings revolve around a comfortable chair, a drink and a couple of hours of doing nothing, this is where the money goes furthest. The XL designation also means more room across the seat, which suits taller and broader campers who feel boxed in by a standard chair.
Heavy-duty chairs
These a different promise: a frame that won't flex, creak or fail under load. Our Henwick is rated to 150kg not because most campers weigh that much, but because a frame engineered with that much headroom feels rock-solid for everyone and lasts longer. If you've ever felt a chair flex worryingly as you sat down, that's a frame working at its limit.
Weight capacity is the first thing we set when we design a new chair. We over-engineer the frame on purpose. It costs more, but nobody should be thinking about whether their chair will hold them while they're trying to relax.
Which Chair for Which Camper?
The type guide gives you the theory. Here's the practical version.
Family car camping
Weight is irrelevant 10 metres from the boot. Comfort and durability matter, and the cooler and cup holders get used every evening.
Best fit Henwick or Olympus XL
Campervan or motorhome
Needs to fold flat for storage under beds, with clean feet that won't scratch van flooring. The side table folds in.
Best fit Directors Chair
Festivals and the beach
Low-profile to meet height rules, light to carry, and cheap enough that a muddy field won't break your heart.
Best fit Folding Beach Chair or Ultralight Low Back
Backpacking and wild camping
Every gram counts. A padded headrest and 1.35kg pack weight is a comfortable seat after a long day on foot.
Best fit Ultralight High Back
Bad backs and older campers
Prioritise seat height, solid armrests to push up from, and a firm back that doesn't sag. Avoid low and bucket chairs.
Best fit Directors Chair or Henwick
For kids
Low to the ground, a safe seat height, and a carry bag they can manage themselves.
Best fit Kids Camping Chair
Browse the full OLPRO camping chair range to find the right fit. Planning the rest of your pitch? Our guide to camping tables pairs naturally with this one.
The "Cheap Chair vs Proper Chair" Question
This comes up constantly on camping forums. "My £10 Aldi chair does the job, why would I spend £50?"
For occasional use, two or three trips a year, a festival, the odd garden barbecue, a cheap folding chair is fine. It does the job. No argument.
For regular campers doing 10 or more weekends a year, the maths changes. Cheap chairs break at the stress points after one or two seasons. Frames bend, fabric sags, joints rust when stored damp. A £10 chair replaced every year costs you £50 over five years, and you never once sit in a good one.
A £40-£60 chair with a steel frame, a proper weight limit and a manufacturer's warranty lasts 5-10 years. OLPRO's lifetime warranty covers frame and fabric defects, which is our way of saying the chair is built to last rather than built to a price point.
The honest answer: buy cheap for festivals and kids. Buy properly for the chair you sit in every camping trip.
How to Look After Your Camping Chair
Most camping chairs die from neglect, not use. Here's a quick cheat sheet for you to use to ensure a lifetime of comfort from your camping chair.
Chair care cheat sheet
Cleaning
Wipe the frame with a damp cloth. Spot-clean fabric with mild soapy water and a soft brush. Never pressure wash -- it forces water into joints and weakens stitching.
Drying & storage
Always dry before storing -- damp fabric grows mould and steel frames rust. Store in the carry bag in a dry place, not left outside where UV degrades the fabric.
Maintenance
Tighten screws and bolts periodically -- they loosen with repeated folding. Replace worn foot caps to stop the chair sinking into soft ground and scratching hard floors.
FAQ
Every OLPRO camping chair comes with a carry bag, lifetime warranty, and free UK delivery.
Steel-framed, over-engineered, and built to outlast the season.
Browse the camping chair range →