When she wrote the first version of this guide, Kalee lived in Southern California, where she tested chairs on three group camping trips. Living in the south, spending time outside is practically second nature. Between barbecues, crawfish boils, and annual family reunions, the great outdoors sort of feels like my second home. After spotting the Ozark Trail Oversized Mesh Cooler Chair on TikTok, I immediately knew I had to get my hands on it.
When folded, the Mac Sports wagon’s dimensions are approximately 29½ by 20 by 8 inches. It comes with a small cover, which squeezes the accordion folds together tightly and makes the wagon easier to lift and carry with the included strap. The material is easy to wipe clean, and during our testing it didn’t grow any mildew when stored damp. Even after over a year of use, ozark trail backpack the wagon didn’t lose any ability to fold or unfold smoothly. Of all the wagons we tested, the Mac Sports Collapsible Folding Outdoor Utility Wagon best hits the sweet spot of price, versatility, weight, and ease of use. It’s one of the simplest wagons to unfold and use, and it rolls smoothly enough to keep its contents intact over mud, grass, bumps, and curbs.
We were able to fix the problem, but a year of use has also led to scratches on the wheels and the plastic looking pretty shorn. One staffer who also owns the Mac Sports Heavy Duty Collapsible Folding All Terrain Utility Cart has also noticed ozark trail canopy scratches on the wheels. But the Seina offers just half the internal space, and its 4-inch wheels were more prone to tipping when packed with the same beach gear. The Sekey Folding Wagon Cart feels like a durable tank, built solid.
It’s not our lightest, most comfortable, or toughest pick, but it’s close enough, and it’s reasonably priced. If you’re looking for highly specialized or ultra-lightweight chairs for backpacking, our recommendations are probably not for you. We also don’t have suggestions for couch-style or loveseat chairs (we’d like to look at those someday, though). After new testing, we still love the Coleman Cooler Quad Chair for most outdoors situations.
After researching dozens of wagons and testing 10, we concluded that the Mac Sports Collapsible Folding Outdoor Utility Wagon is the best all-around wagon for basic toting. Within those first 2 days, I found the brakes, drivetrain, and tires tapped out on steep ascents and descents that were 50% gravel and 50% golf-to-baseball-sized rocks. This terrain was well beyond the limits of these components. Apparently inspired by Kenda’s Booster Pros, the tires handled pavement commuting well. However, between myself, camera equipment, racks, bags, fishing gear, and more, I’d be pushing 265 pounds on the trail.
Many testers found other chairs more comfortable and easier to put together than the Nemo Moonlite Reclining Camp Chair. This is also the most expensive lightweight chair we tested, and we think the Chair One is a better value. The 4-pound, steel-framed REI chair has an attached carry strap, rather than a carry bag (which the other chairs have). After a couple of camping trips, we concluded that a strap is more convenient than a bag—it’s quicker and easier for a kid to grab the chair and go, without parental help.
It’s the lightest, most portable chair that is still comfortable. The Helinox Chair One weighs about 2 pounds, compresses smaller than a 2-liter bottle of soda, and is our most lightweight pick. Other chairs we tested sacrificed too much comfort in order to shave mere ounces off of their weights, and we don’t think the trade-off was worth it. Keep in mind that lightweight chairs won’t be nearly as comfortable as traditional camping chairs, so take the word comfortable with a grain of salt. Most of our testers found the REI Co-op Skyward Chair to be one of the least comfortable chairs in our testing pool.
We ultimately settled on a testing pool of six models that were recommended by experts and well reviewed, and that included the features testers told us they wanted. Wagons can be helpful for all kinds of jaunts, including trips to the beach and the farmers market. The bike’s shifting, braking, tires, and other attributes were annoying at times and at worst, frightening. The drivetrain made sense on milder dirt, gravel, and paved roads. Instead, the limited range of the gearing helped offset the shifting stiffness by making smaller jumps between gears. The drops were a bit deep for anything other than relatively smooth descents.