Best High Weight Capacity Camp Chairs Review 2024

Author’s Note: I live in a remote, wild area, and I’m in the same boat you likely are. At 6’6” tall and weighing in at 340 pounds, I was frustrated and disappointed by the relative lack of camp chairs designed with people like me in mind. That’s one of the things that ultimately led to the creation of this roundup review.

Do you weigh more than three hundred pounds? Do you love spending time in the great outdoors? 

If you answered yes to both of those questions, then you’ve probably had some firsthand experience about how frustrating it can be to find camping gear that’s designed with you in mind. In particular, you may have noticed that most of the camp chairs on the market today have an upper weight limit of about 300 pounds, which renders them completely useless to you. 

Beyond that 300-pound “sweet spot” manufacturers seem to have settled on, the pickings are slim, and the search for quality gear offered at a fair price can be daunting. That’s exactly why this roundup review of the best high-weight capacity camp chairs was created!

We scoured the internet searching for the best high-weight capacity camp chairs being sold today to help save you time and spare you the frustration of the search. One fact quickly emerged. The market for high weight capacity camp chairs is utterly dominated by one company:  Guide Gear.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it is a bit unusual. Nonetheless, we selected a number of interesting finalists and evaluated them side by side. Eventually, an overall winner emerged. In just a moment, we’ll tell you about the chair we gave the top honors. 

While conducting the research, I was thinking about you, the reader. But I was also window shopping for myself, evaluating chairs that a) I could actually make use of, and b) chairs that I genuinely liked or found valuable and interesting. All that to say, I had a personal stake in writing this roundup review and worked hard to find the best options currently available.

What We Look For: Our Selection Criteria

As the title of this roundup review indicates, our primary focus was on finding high weight capacity camp chairs. Unfortunately, that term is too vague to be useful, so let’s put some teeth into it by making it more specific.

Given that most camp chairs sold today support up to 300 pounds of user weight, we wanted the chairs on our list of finalists to exceed that.  We arbitrarily picked 400 pounds of supported weight as our minimum. 

If a chair could support more than that, so much the better, but by looking for chairs that supported at least 400 pounds, we felt we’d be able to find options that would accommodate most of the people that the regular camp chair market was shutting out. As you can see, all of the chairs on our list of finalists had a 500-pound weight capacity.

In addition, we looked for comfortable chairs with extras like cup holders, built-in storage, or some other feature that made that model interesting or even more useful. Aesthetics got a minor nod but was a small part of the overall equation.

Our Pick: Oversized Club Camp Chair by Guide Gear

This is a big, comfortable chair that’s likely to become a camp favorite. In fact, your biggest issue if you buy just one of these is that whenever you get up, someone else will likely steal your seat!

Aesthetically, it looks like a club chair you’d expect to find in a study, office, or library but scaled-down and rugged for the great outdoors. The fabric is warm and fuzzy, and plenty of padding beneath it, making it a good option in general but fabulous when camping in cooler climates. If you want one of these, you can order yours in red plaid, tan, or navy, giving you some nice color options to personalize your chair.

Chair Specifications

As to the basic stats that define our top pick in our list of the best high-weight capacity camp chairs, here are a few:

Despite its massive size, it really doesn’t weigh all that much. As long as you don’t have a full day’s hike to reach your campsite, the chair’s weight, added to the weight of the other gear you’ll be packing in, shouldn’t be problematic.

We like the fact that this chair doesn’t have a complex or cumbersome locking mechanism and comes with a small built-in storage pouch that can double as a cup holder. But given the size of the chair, we do wish that they’d included more onboard storage. There are certainly plenty of places the designers could have put it!

Even without tons of storage, though, this is a very good, comfortable, versatile chair. Its only real drawback and limitation is that the fabric isn’t breathable or waterproof. If you’re camping somewhere hot, prepare to sweat if you spend time in the chair. If you get caught in the rain, all that plush padding will take some serious time to dry out completely.

We don’t regard any of the negatives as absolute deal-breakers, and most of them have easy fixes if you’re willing to do a bit of DIY engineering. Camp gear isn’t really camp gear until you’ve made at least a few custom mods, right? This chair comes highly recommended!

Runner Up: Oversized Zero-G Camp Chair by Guide Gear

At first glance, aside from the fact that this chair bears a camo print with black trim, it looks like it would be more at home beside the pool in your backyard rather than being toted off to some remote campsite.

Don’t let the first impression it gives fool you, though. This is a rugged, all-business chair that can take just about anything you can throw at it.  

Chair Specifications

Before we get into its capabilities, let’s take a moment to review the stats. Here are the basics:

This is far and away the biggest chair on our list of finalists for the best high-weight-limit camping chair. It’s also the heaviest chair by a wide margin. That’s fine if you live most of the year in an RV or have a permanent camp set up somewhere and don’t have to pack gear in.

But if you’re planning on lugging this chair to your campsite and have a long hike ahead of you, this one will be a little daunting.

Add 32 pounds to the weight of the other gear you plan to pack, and then calculate the distance of your hike. Depending on your physical shape, this chair could be a deal-breaker based on the weight it adds to the equation alone. Even if it’s not, it bears thinking seriously about it because as heavy as it is, it will change the equation and may influence where and how you use it.

Aside from the story the raw numbers tell, the big thing to talk about is that this is a Zero-G chair. Zero-g seating was inspired by NASA and works by placing you in a position such that your knees are elevated slightly above your heart. It is incredibly comfortable and genuinely leaves you with a feeling of weightlessness.

More than that, though, it’s good for you, health-wise. If you suffer from chronic back pain, sitting in a Zero-G seating position will help to alleviate that pain. It’s been documented to lower your blood pressure, and if you’ve recently had some surgery, sitting in a Zero-G seating position will help improve blood flow to your lower extremities, which will help facilitate faster healing.

In other words, it’s just an all-around good (and good for you) seating position. That’s why you frequently find it built into massage chairs and top-end recliners. You seldom see this kind of feature, though. It is built into a camp chair, and its presence here blows us away.

Honestly, Zero-G seating positions in this chair make every other negative thing we could say about it more or less meaningless. It’s a great feature that puts this chair in a class. So, it’s big and heavy. So, it doesn’t have any built-in storage or a cup holder. It offers Zero-G seating, which more than makes up for the chair’s other shortcomings.

If you suffer from chronic back pain, recently had surgery, have high blood pressure, or just place a premium on comfort, this heavy-duty reclining camping chair deserves a closer look. It is superb, and although a bit heavy, since it lays flat, you can use it as an impromptu cot by night and a camp chair by day. We recommend it.

Budget Pick: Oversized Camp Rocker by Guide Gear

Yet another interesting product offering by Guide Gear, the Oversized Camp Rocker, was an unexpected surprise.

Before we tell you more about it, let’s continue as we have and take a quick look at the core stats that define this model:

As with the other Guide Gear products we’ve examined so far, this one supports a generous five hundred pounds of user weight. It’s a fairly sizeable chair, but it’s by no means the heaviest one on our list of the best heavyweight camp chairs.

It’s light enough that it shouldn’t be a major ordeal to pack it in with you to your campsite unless you’re facing a major hike, in which case, you’ll need to seriously evaluate the weight of your other camping supplies and your health to make a decision about how viable an addition this chair will be to your camping kit.

Assuming you conclude that it won’t be a major issue, you’ll find a lot to like here. First and foremost, it’s a rocking chair, making it a rare find in camp seating. While rocking chairs aren’t for everyone, they are incredibly popular. If you’re a fan, this model gives you the best of both worlds, allowing you to rock your troubles away while enjoying the great outdoors.

The seat is both wide and comfortable enough to make it good for short to medium-duration seating. Realistically, that’s about all you need from a camp chair since you’ll probably be doing many other things in the great outdoors that won’t involve sitting down.

In addition to being a rugged, versatile rocking chair, the model also comes with a handy cup holder and a firm but comfortable pillow that provides head and neck support, making this chair a great choice for late afternoon lounging.

Note, however, that the oversized heavy-duty camping chair does not have a carrying strap or built-in storage. Both issues are easily remedied, but you’ll probably have to do a few DIY mods to optimize the chair to taste. That’s not at all uncommon, and in fact, many campers take great pride in their innovative mods.

The armrests are an admitted weakness in the design. They’re made from thin plastic, which is disappointingly fragile. In fact, in reading user reviews of this chair, we find problems with the armrests or the adjustment mechanism (which reside in the armrests) are the single most common complaints mentioned about this chair. We love that it’s highly adjustable, allowing you to tweak the angle of the seatback to taste. Still, we hope Guide Gear strengthens the armrests in a future model update.

Even with problematic armrests, this is a good chair, but ultimately, it’s self-selecting. Unless you’re looking for a rocking chair you can take camping, you’re almost certain to prefer another model over this one. On that basis, we provisionally recommend it.

Also Great

Big Boy by Guide Gear

The Big Boy is another great option offered by Guide Gear.  Once again, before we get into the particulars, we’ll start with a quick review of the chair’s core stats:

At twenty pounds, it’s a little on the heavy side. But as long as you’re in reasonably good health, don’t have a huge amount of other gear to pack in with you, and are not facing a monumental hike, the chair’s weight shouldn’t be a deal-breaker.

Aesthetically, this heavy-duty outdoor camping chair looks a lot like a scaled-down, ruggedized mesh task chair, and it comes with a swivel seat that makes it ideal for use in a hunting blind.  

It also sports armrests, but like the Oversized Rocker we just talked about, they are an admitted weak point in the Big Boy’s design. They’re thin, unpadded plastic; while they are functional, it would be generous, and some would describe them as comfortable. They’re not.

Fortunately, there’s a simple DIY fix for adding your own armrest padding in minutes. Armed with a pool noodle and a utility knife, you can rig up adequate padding for the armrests if you find the default configuration problematic.

In addition to the swivel seat, this chair also has a handy carrying strap. It’s a bit on the short side, but it’s certainly functional and will make packing the chair a relatively simple matter.

The chair’s feet are exceptional. The company refers to these as “duck feet.” We don’t think they look much like duck feet, but they keep the chair from sinking deeply into the muck if you’re using it on soggy ground.

Unfortunately, this model lacks a cupholder or any built-in storage. However, both of those shortcomings can be easily remedied with a bit of DIY engineering.  

Overall, this is a good, high-quality, sturdy little chair. The swivel seat is a welcome addition inside and outside the hunting blind. It is recommended.

XXL Director’s Chair by Ozark Trail

This is the one chair on our list of finalists of the best high-weight camp chairs that wasn’t made by Guide Gear. This oversized director’s chair comes to us from Ozark Trail, an exceptional company with a good reputation for making top-quality camping supplies. In terms of raw statistics, here’s what you’re looking at where this chair is concerned:

The seat height makes this a better fit for taller and heavier users, and the seat width is generous enough to accommodate just about everybody.

At twenty-three pounds, it is a bit heavy, so all the comments and observations we’ve made previously regarding how much other gear you plan to take on your next camping trip and how long of a hike you’re facing apply here.

While this chair doesn’t offer much padding (there’s some strategically placed in the seatback), the material is breathable and will help keep you comfortable for the short to medium term. As with most camp chairs, though, you won’t want to spend the whole day lounging in it.

You’ll find only one extra, but it is admittedly a very good one. One of the chair arms has a fold-out table with a built-in cupholder. Use this for writing, dining, or pretty much anything else you have in mind. It’s a handy addition, but in our view, it would have been made even better with some type of built-in storage.

Even without that, though, this is a good chair, and storage is easy to rig up. A D-Ring and a mesh bag with a drawstring allow you to mount your own storage pretty much anywhere you like on the chair.

While it’s not a huge issue, we were a little disappointed that this heavy-duty camping chair is only offered in bright red or bright blue. We’d love to have seen a neutral or camo option here, and we feel that adding a neutral color would expand the market for this model.

Even so, if you don’t mind the limited color options and are looking for a good, sturdy, basic camp chair, and none of the other models we’ve talked about are doing anything for you, this one is well worth considering. We provisionally recommend it.

Oversized Director’s Chair By LivingXL

One of the drawbacks of the products we selected for our list of finalists for the best heavy-duty camp chairs is that all of them have an identical upper weight limit. We didn’t plan that; those were just the products that rose to the top of the rankings.

Given that, however, we wanted to shout out to the Oversized Director’s Chair by LivingXL because it has the distinction of having a much higher supported weight limit. For the vast majority of big and tall users, a five-hundred-pound weight limit will work out just fine. Still, there are people who love the great outdoors who are heavier than that, and we wanted to include an option for them as well.

This chair is functionally and stylistically similar to the XXL Chair by Ozark Trail. But it’s even more solidly built and is capable of supporting an impressive 1000 pounds of user weight.  That fact gives this camp chair the highest supported weight limit we’ve seen.  Rather than focusing on that one number, though, let’s take a broader look at the chair’s stats in general.  Here they are:

Despite the fact that this chair can support double the weight that the models on our list of finalists can support, check out the modest weight. If this chair had made it onto the table with our finalists, it would be the lightest entry listed, making its maximum supported weight all the more impressive.

In addition, it’s got a wide, roomy seat, a generously sized seatback, and not one but two storage compartments, one on each side. The larger of the two is big enough to hold a six-pack of whatever you’re drinking, while the smaller is useful for trail snacks or small personal items you don’t want to lose track of in the wilds.

Even better, this chair comes in three different color configurations. If you decide you want one, you can get two-tone grey, blue and grey, or black and grey. All of these look handsome and would make a good addition to your campsite.

If this model has a drawback, it is that LivingXL is a tiny brand that few people have ever heard of. We didn’t even know they existed until we took a deep dive into the market and found them by accident.

Given that, if you have a problem with this chair, getting post-sales support could be a bit of an adventure since small off-brands typically struggle in that area.

Technically speaking, though, this is a competently designed chair that looks great, is reasonably comfortable, and can support a crazy amount of user weight. So, we wanted to mention it, even though it didn’t score well enough to be listed with our finalists.

Ultimately, we regard this as a niche product, though. If you weigh less than five hundred pounds, one of the chairs on our finalists’ list will certainly serve you better. 

This product is specifically for people who weigh between 500 and 1000 pounds. If you fall into that category, we recommend this chair without reservation. If you don’t, then we don’t recommend it at all.

Triple Tree Folding Stool

As the title indicates, for this roundup review, we focused specifically on high-weight capacity camp chairs. Camp stools did not enter the equation. Even so, sometimes, you don’t need an actual chair. Sometimes, simpler is better, and a good camp stool is just what the doctor ordered.

Even though it’s technically stretching the bounds of our roundup review then, we wanted to give one quick shout-out to what we feel is one of the best camp stools on the market today. Don’t let its rather modest ranking fool you; this little stool is all business and will serve you well in almost any setting, indoors or out. It is lightweight and incredibly versatile, and although it would probably be overselling it to describe this product as handsome, it’s not bad to look at as stools go.

As we have in the past, let’s take a quick look at its basic stats.  Being that it’s a stool, there really aren’t many numbers to consider:

We like these numbers. The stool weighs almost nothing and is an easy piece of equipment to add to your existing stock of camp gear. You’ll barely notice the added weight, even if you have to hike quite a distance to reach your campsite.

Despite weighing very little, though, the Triple Tree Camp Stool can actually support more user weight than all of the products on our list of finalists for the best heavy-duty camping chairs. This is an impressive feat for a little stool with a can-do attitude.

It’s only offered in one color (green), collapses easily, and features nylon strapping for the seat. These straps are similar to but much stronger than those on standard lawn chairs. The material is breathable, strong, and easy to keep clean. Best of all, though, this is the only product in this roundup review that comes with a lifetime warranty.

You read that correctly. This tough little stool has a lifetime warranty. Even if you’re not a huge fan of camp stools, that, combined with its modest price tag, makes it a no-brainer. Just buy it and drag it around with you. If you need an extra seat, you’ve got one. If you need a makeshift table to put your camp cooler on, you’ve got one. If you’re glamping and need an impromptu TV stand or a makeshift dinner table, you’ve got one.

It’s just a handy thing to have around, and with a lifetime warranty, you can count on it outlasting you. That’s impressive for such a modest investment.

In our book, everybody needs one of these. However, we know that not everyone will agree, so we only give it a provisional recommendation. Even so, this is a great stool that deserves to be part of your camping kit.

Final Thoughts: Best High Weight Limit Chair Roundup Review 2024

So, what is the best high weight capacity camp chair on the market today? In our view, that honor unquestionably goes to the Oversized Club Camp Chair, offered by Guide Gear. We readily admit, however, that tastes and opinions will vary, which is why we wanted to talk about the other options we evaluated our top pick against. Here are some of the reasons you might reach a conclusion different than the one we reached and why you may prefer one of the other models we’ve talked about here:

• The Zero-G chair is ideal for people who love the great outdoors but suffer from chronic back pain. Such folks are unlikely to be making long hikes with heavy packs anyway, making the chair’s weight significantly less of an issue.
• The Oversized Rocking Camp Chair is hands-down the one you want if you love rocking chairs and are looking to mesh that with your love of the great outdoors.
• The Big Boy is the ideal choice for hunting blinds, although this chair is handy in just about any setting as the swivel seat is worth its weight in gold.
• The XXL Director’s Chair is a good choice if you don’t have a particular need or use case and want a functional camp chair.

Concerning our two alternative picks, the LivingXL Director’s chair is a niche product specifically aimed at people who weigh more than 500 pounds but less than 1000. In that case, it’s about the only camp chair we’ve found that will properly support you. If you weigh less than 500 pounds, then the XXL Director’s Chair offered by Ozark Trail is the better option where Director’s Chairs are concerned, and one of the others on our list of finalists might serve you better still.

Finally, the little Triple Tree Stool is a great minimalist choice. Given that it comes with a lifetime warranty and a delightfully modest price, this would be a great addition to your collection of camping gear and whatever chair you settle on. In a pinch, it also serves well enough as short-term camp seating.

It comes down to your needs and preferences. In this category, budgetary concerns are seldom the make-or-break factor since all of these chairs are reasonably similar in price.

Ultimately, the question is much more about which of these camp chairs is the best fit for you personally. There’s no right answer to that question, but whatever your needs are, we feel certain that your next camp chair lurks somewhere in this roundup review!

Recommended Reading

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References & Resources

• Sportsman’s Guide, Official Brand Website.
• How to Find the Best Camp Chair, Cars Guide.
• How Back Pain Shouldn’t Stop You From Camping, River Basin Recreation.