Best High Weight Capacity Beach Chairs Review 2024

*While aesthetics is a matter of taste, aesthetic flexibility is a measure of how easily a given design would fit into a wide range of home décor schemes.

​**Brand Reliability is a measure of the strength and longevity of the brand, which by extension, is a measure of the level of support you can expect.

Our Selection Criteria

The phrase “high weight capacity beach chair” is too non-specific to be useful, so let’s put a number to it. Given the limitations of most of the beach chairs on the market today, we decided that in order to even be considered for inclusion on this list, the chair in question needed to be able to support a minimum of 400-pounds of user weight. More supported weight is, of course, always welcome, but we used 400-pounds as our starting point, and this (supported weight limit) was our primary concern for this review.

Beyond that, we wanted to provide a cross-section of different chair styles. Though our list wound up being dominated by loungers, you’ll find other options available here, and of significance, note that a lounger did not wind up taking top honors here.

Built-in storage was another item of interest to us for this review, and chairs that featured built-in storage saw a general boost in the overall ranking for including storage options. After that, the weight of the chair was a factor we considered, given that beachgoers generally have to haul their chairs in with them.

Note: We’ll mention this here, so we don’t wind up repeating it for each chair we’ll talk about below. Most of the beach chairs sold today will arrive at your door in a large box and in collapsed form but otherwise ready for use, and that holds true for all of the chairs we’ll be talking about in this roundup review.

No assembly is required for any of these. Just take the chair out of the box, put it where you want it, unfold it, and have a seat to test it out. That’s all there is to it. With all of the above in mind, let’s take a look at our overall winner and the chairs it wound up beating out for top honors:

Our Pick: ALPS King Kong Director’s Chair

At first glance, our top pick may not seem like an obvious choice for the best high weight capacity beach chair. As you’ll see, though, it really does have a lot going for it and a lot to offer. Before we get into the specifics, let’s start with a quick stats review:

A few things jump out at us right off the bat. First, this is the lightest chair on our list of finalists, making it the easiest to transport. Second, despite being so lightweight, it supports far and away the most user weight.

Third, the seat height and width are perfect for our purposes. Note, however, that if you weigh anywhere close to the maximum supported weight limit of the chair, you’ll want to take careful measurements to ensure that you’ll fit comfortably in the seat.

This chair is more than just the raw numbers, though. It’s offered by a great company with a sterling reputation for post-sales service and support, and with a long history of making top-quality outdoor furniture. As such, this company sweats the small stuff, which is why you’ll find extras like a handy storage bag, which makes carrying the chair to the location of your choice an even simpler matter.

It’s also why the chair is available in a trio of fun colors, and why the company paid attention to built-in storage, which we regard as an important aspect of the design of any good beach chair.

Here, you’ll find a cupholder built into each armrest, a handy zippered storage bag hanging off of each armrest and an additional storage compartment on the back of the seat, giving you lots of space and options when it comes to storing your stuff while you’re enjoying a day on the beach.

The 600D polyester fabric is strong, durable, water-resistant, and quick-drying, making this a rugged, durable, versatile little chair.

The seatback is also quilted, but there’s only a nominal amount of padding behind it. There’s not really enough present to make a big difference where comfort is concerned, but it is at least worth giving a mention.

The only real issue with this chair is that some people just don’t like the Director’s chair styling. We get that, but even if you’re not a fan, we feel that if you give this chair a chance, you’ll be incredibly impressed. Where beach chairs are concerned, our personal preference tends toward full-length loungers, and this one frankly blows us away. It’s an incredibly strong design that hits all the right notes. We highly recommend it.

Runner-Up: Ezcheer’s XL Zero-G Lounger

Although we love beach loungers and they dominate this list of the best heavy duty beach chairs, a lounger did not take top honors here. Ezcheer’s XL Zero-G lounger is the best of the lot, but even it couldn’t compete with the King Kong chair we just talked about.

Before we take a closer look at what this model offers, let’s start by looking at the numbers. Here are the basics:

The only number we don’t really like here is the seat height. It’s quite low, and if you suffer from any type of mobility issue, then getting into and out of this lounger could wind up being difficult for you. Everything else is fine. This is the longest chair on our list, and it’s well-made from weather-resistant materials.

It’s slightly on the heavy side, but not unmanageably so, and as long as you don’t have to tote it a great distance before setting it up, it shouldn’t be too much of an issue.

Sitting in it is a lot like sitting on a trampoline. The mesh fabric feels a lot like that. And the trampoline feeling is reinforced by the fact that the upholstery is lashed to the frame via a pair of bungee cords, giving it a delightful bouncy feel as you move around in the chair.

We love the sleek, handsome look of the design, which is enhanced by its all-black coloration, but this could wind up being something that works against you.

If you use this chair without the benefit of a beach umbrella, the black frame and material are going to get hot quickly, which may be uncomfortable. If you do plan on using it in direct sun, we absolutely recommend investing in a good beach umbrella to help mitigate the heat problem.

This chair is unique among the loungers on our list of finalists of the best beach chairs with high weight capacity in that it’s the only lounger that comes with any type of built-in storage.

In the box the chair comes with, you’ll find a clip-on cup holder that has a few extra little hidey holes for your phone and a few other small odds and ends.

The amount of storage offered here is underwhelming. Still, any storage is better than none at all, and we regard it as a welcome addition indeed. And, if you decide you want or need additional storage, it’s easy enough to add yourself later with a bit of DIY engineering. A D-ring affixed to a mesh drawstring bag, and then attached to one of the chair arms will set you up for storage quickly and easily.

Unlike the other loungers we’ll be talking about, later on, this model does not lay flat, so it can’t be used as a makeshift cot. On the other hand, it does recline back to about 155 degrees, which is fine for most other purposes. Plus, it sports a comfy pillow that offers head and neck support, making it perfect for those long, leisurely summer days.

This model also offers Zero-G seating positions, which is a wonderful surprise that adds real value to the design. Zero-G seating was inspired by NASA and is often found in massage chairs and some recliners. You almost never see it offered on beach furniture, however.

It’s a good feature that works by allowing you to position yourself such that your knees are elevated slightly above your heart. Not only is this delightfully comfortable, but it really does leave you with a feeling of weightlessness.

More than that, though, Zero-G seating has many well-documented benefits, including the fact that it will help lower your blood pressure and alleviate chronic back pain. On top of that, if you’ve recently had some type of surgery, Zero-G seating will help you recover more quickly because it facilitates better blood flow.

It’s a rare thing when you can say that a humble beach chair is actually good for you, but that’s definitely the case here. You’ll look good in the chair, you’ll be comfortable, and it promotes better health in a few different ways. Given all of that, we feel this chair is definitely worthy of a second-place spot on our list, and we highly recommend it.

Budget Pick: Oversized Heavy-Duty Lounger

Our third-place winner is another lounger that is closely related to the H.yina, which earned an honorable mention and will be talked about later. This appears to be an upgrade to the H.yina chair, boasting most of the same stats, with the advantage being that this chair is significantly lighter. Let’s start by taking a look at the raw numbers. Here are the basics:

These are generally good numbers. The OS Lounger is made out of tubed steel with high-quality, breathable Oxford fabric stretched over the frame to provide support. Sitting in it, you’ll be cool and comfortable.

Of interest, this heavy weight capacity beach chair can be purchased with or without a full-length body pad, available in your choice of two colors, cyan or grey. We recommend spending the extra money to get the pad on the thinking that it’s better to have it and not need it than to simply not have it at all.

It’s a good addition that adds value to the chair, although in practice, it’s more useful at home. Toting the chair itself and the padding along with it could be both daunting and cumbersome. The addition of the padding obviously makes the already comfortable lounger even more so, and it just makes it a more versatile piece of furniture in general.

This is a lay-flat lounger too, so in a pinch, you could use it as a makeshift cot, which adds further to its versatility. In short, then, this is a good lounger for at-home use, either by the pool or on the patio. It’s a decent camping chair because it can pull double duty as both your seat during the day and your bed at night. It’s a decent beach chair because it’s light enough that toting it to your favorite spot is a reasonable proposition.

Unfortunately, it offers nothing in the way of built-in storage, is a bit on the pricey side, and is offered by an unknown brand, which all work against it. Taken together, these things explain why it didn’t earn a higher ranking than it should.

It’s a good chair, and we regard it as being the most versatile option on our list of finalists, but it may not be for everyone. We do, however, recommend it.

Also Great

Big Jumbo Heavy Duty Beach Chair

Our fourth-place winner is a classically designed beach chair with an almost retro look to it, owing to the hardwood chair arms that look almost out of place in today’s mostly plastic and aluminum world. Before we say more about this model, though, let’s take a look at the numbers that define this heavy-duty folding beach chair:

These are generally good numbers. The chair is light enough that most people should have little difficulty toting it to their chosen spot on the beach, and the seat is generously sized. Note, however, that if you weigh close to the upper limit of the chair’s supported weight, you’ll want to take careful measurements to be sure you’ll be able to sit comfortably in it.

We do wish that the seat was a bit higher. Typically, a big and tall chair will have a minimum seat height of 18” and go up from there. This, then, is a much better fit for someone shorter and heavier. If you’re on the tall side, the seat height may be problematic for you. On the other hand, if you’re on the beach, you can simply stretch your legs out and put your toes in the sand. It may not be a deal-breaker, but we did at least want to draw your attention to it.

The chair is clad in 600 Denier polyester fabric that has been treated to be both water-resistant and quick-drying, two important details for a good beach chair. It’s not luxuriously comfortable, but it’s not bad, and you certainly won’t mind spending time on it.

Although this chair doesn’t have any padding on offer, it does sport a small headrest pillow. And the seatback is adjustable with four recline settings to choose from, giving you plenty of options where rest and relaxation are concerned.

Aside from its eye-pleasing vaguely retro aesthetic, the big thing to talk about here is built-in storage. When most people go to the beach, they’ve got “stuff,” they want to take with them. Sunscreen. A cold drink. A beach towel. Snacks and other small items.

Having places to put all that stuff is an important consideration, and the Big Jumbo delivers in style. You’ll find a cupholder built into one arm. A handy storage pouch hanging off of the other, another pouch hanging from the crossbar directly under the seat, and yet another generously-sized pouch on the back of the seat with a Velcro fastener to keep whatever you opt to put in it safe and secure.

The frame of the Big Jumbo is anodized aluminum, which is durable and rust-resistant, making it a good pairing with the ruggedized upholstery and the sturdy hardwood seat arms. It’s built to last and, with proper care, will provide you with years of reliable beachgoing service.

The chair, though, is largely self-selecting. If you’re more interested in a lounger, then this one will be a nonstarter by default. In a similar vein, if the seat height is too low to be workable for you, you’ll give it a pass without a second thought. Even so, and even though we prefer loungers, we have to admit that we kinda love this model and recommend it.

H.yina Oversized Zero-G Lounger

This chair is functionally similar to both the Ezcheer XL Zero-G lounger and the OS Heavy Duty Lounger we talked about earlier. In fact, as far as we can tell, the H.yina is an older version of the OS Heavy Duty Lounger, which is lighter and easier to transport. Let’s begin as we have previously, by taking a look at the core stats that define the model:

The one thing that jumped out at us here is the weight of the chair. This is a heavy brute, and unless you’re in pretty good shape, toting it in with you to your favorite beach spot could be a daunting challenge. That, combined with the fact that it’s offered by a no-name brand, gave us pause, which is why we only gave it an Honorable Mention here.

If the weight of the chair isn’t an issue for you and you’re not especially brand conscious, you’ll find it to be a surprisingly comfortable, versatile chair. Like our second-place winner, the Ezcheer, this heavy duty beach lounge chair offers Zero-G seating options, which have all of the same advantages we described above.

The Oxford cloth fabric is of high quality and durable, and the headrest pillow is comfortable. Also note that this model lays completely flat, giving you the option of using it as a makeshift cot if and as needed. You won’t get a world-class night’s sleep on it, but it’s a whole lot better than sleeping on the ground, and if you need it for this purpose, it’s absolutely indispensable.

While this model doesn’t offer anything in terms of built-in storage, that’s an easy thing to overcome if you don’t mind making a couple of DIY mods to your chair.

Given its weight, which we regard as the model’s biggest limitation, here are the cases we can see where this might be a good fit for you:

If none of those apply to you, one of the other models we’ve talked about elsewhere in this roundup will almost certainly serve you better.

Final Thoughts: Best High Weight Capacity Beach Chair Roundup Review 2024

While we absolutely stand by the ALPS King Kong Director’s Chair as our top pick for the best high weight capacity beach chair on the market today, we understand that others may take a different view. That’s exactly why we wanted to include not only our overall winner but the other contenders it found itself in competition with.

Here then, are some reasons why you may decide one of the other models we’ve talked about in this roundup review may be a better fit for you:

The simple truth is that any of these will serve you well, so the real question is ‘which of these is the best fit for you?’ One thing we’re sure of; your next beach chair is lurking somewhere in this roundup review. Pick your favorite, stick your toes in the sand, and enjoy!

Recommended Reading

High Weight Capacity Folding Chairs

Reviewing folding chairs with robust construction and supportive features, offering versatility and convenience for events, gatherings, or outdoor activities.

---

References & Resources

• BeachMall, Official Brand Website.
• ALPS Mountaineering, Official Brand Website.
• What to Know About Camping Chair, Medium.
• The Best Beach Accessories and Traveler Tips for Your Next Beach Trip, Tripadvisor.