Best High Weight Capacity Camp 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.

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 got 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, pickings are slim, and the search for quality gear offered at a fair price can be a daunting one.  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 in a bid 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 all about the chair we gave the top honors. 

As I was 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 the writing of this roundup review and worked hard to find the very best options currently available.

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 by making it more specific.

Given that the majority of 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 wound up having a 500-pound weight capacity.

In addition to that, we also looked for chairs that were comfortable and had extras like cup holders, built-in storage, or some other feature that made that model in particular 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 every time you get up, someone else is likely to 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 ruggedized for the great outdoors.  The fabric is warm and fuzzy, and there’s plenty of padding beneath it, which makes it a good option in general, but a fabulous option when camping in cooler climates.  Best of all, if you decide you want one of these, you can order yours in either red plaid, tan, or navy, giving you some nice color options to personalize your chair with.

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 that this chair doesn’t have a complex or cumbersome locking mechanism to contend with and that it comes with a small built-in storage pouch that can pull double duty 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 drawbacks and limitations are that the fabric isn’t terribly breathable, and it’s not waterproofed. If you’re camping somewhere hot, prepare to sweat if you spend any time at all in the chair. If you get caught in the rain, all that plush padding is going to take some serious time to completely dry out.

We don’t regard any of the negatives to be 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 couple of custom mods to it, right? This chair comes highly recommended!

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

At first glance and 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 do a quick stats review.  Here are the basics:

This is far and away the biggest chair in our list of finalists of 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 if you’ve got a permanent camp set up somewhere and you don’t have to pack gear in.

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

Add 32 pounds to the weight of the other gear you’re planning to pack in and then calculate the distance of your hike. Depending on what kind of physical shape you’re in, 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 because as heavy as it is, it’s going to change the equation and may influence where and how you use it.

Aside from the story that the raw numbers tell, the big thing to talk about is the fact 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. Doing so is incredibly comfortable and genuinely leaves you with a feeling of weightlessness.

More than that, though, it’s actually really 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 type of surgery, then sitting in a Zero-G seating position will help improve the flow of blood 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, built into a camp chair, and its presence here kind of blows us away.

Honestly, the presence of Zero-G seating positions in this chair makes 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 by itself. So, it’s big and heavy. So, it doesn’t have any built-in storage or a cup holder. It offers Zero-G seating, and that more than makes up for the chair’s other shortcomings.

If you suffer from chronic back pain, if you’ve recently had surgery, if you have high blood pressure, or if you just place a premium on comfort, this heavy-duty reclining camping chair deserves a closer look. It is superb, and although a bit on the heavy side, 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 products by Guide Gear that we’ve taken a look at 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, which makes it a rare find in the world of camp seating. While rocking chairs aren’t for everyone, they are incredibly popular. If you’re a fan, this model essentially gives you the best of both worlds, allowing you to rock your troubles away while you’re 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 lots of 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 doesn’t have either a carrying strap or any type of built-in storage. Both of these issues are easily remedied, but be aware that 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 weak point in the design.  They’re made from think 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 complaint mentioned about this chair. We love that it’s highly adjustable, allowing you to tweak the angle of the seatback to taste. Still, we do hope that 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 specifically looking for a rocking chair you can take camping, you’re almost certain to prefer some other 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 and don’t have a huge amount of other great to pack in with you, and as long as you’re not facing a monumental hike, the weight of the chair 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, the armrests are an admitted weak point in the Big Boy’s design. They’re thin, unpadded plastic, and while they are functional, it would be generous and then some to describe them as comfortable.  They’re not.

Fortunately, there’s a simple DIY fix for adding your own armrest padding in a matter of 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 to be problematic.

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

The feet that the chair comes with are exceptional.  The company refers to these as “duck feet.”  We don’t think they look much like duck feet, but they do a good job at keeping the chair from sinking deeply into the muck if you’re using it on soggy ground.

Unfortunately, this model doesn’t come with a cupholder or any type of built-in storage. But both of those shortcomings are easily remedied with a bit of DIY engineering.  

Overall, then, this is a good, high-quality, sturdy little chair, and the swivel seat is a welcome addition both in and out of the hunting blind.  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, which is 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 users who are both taller and heavier, and the seat width is generous enough to accommodate just about everybody.

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

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

In terms of extras, you’ll find only one, 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 the addition of some type of built-in storage.

Even without that, though, this is a good chair, and storage is an easy thing to rig up. A D-Ring and a mesh bag with a drawstring, and you can 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 the addition of 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 so far 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 of the best heavy duty camp chairs is the fact 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 give a 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 be sure 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 amount of weight that the models on our list of finalists can support, check out the modest weight. If this chair had managed to make it onto the table with our finalists, it would be the lightest entry listed, which makes its maximum supported weight all the more impressive.

In addition to that, 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 which look handsome and any of which would make a good addition to your campsite.

If there’s a drawback to this model, 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 do 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 be sure to give it a mention, 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 list of finalists will almost 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 of this piece indicates, for this roundup review, we focused specifically on high weight capacity camp chairs.  Camp stools did not enter into 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, incredibly versatile, and although it would probably be overselling it to describe this product as handsome, it’s actually 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 of the best heavy duty camping chairs. An impressive feat by 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 what you find 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 for one, 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’re only giving 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 an ideal choice for people who love the great outdoors but also suffer from chronic back pain. Such folks are unlikely to be making long hikes with heavy packs anyway, making the weight of the chair significantly less of an issue than it otherwise would be.
• 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 honestly, this chair is handy in just about any setting as the swivel seat is worth its weight in gold.
• And the XXL Director’s Chair is a good choice if you don’t have a particular need or use-case in mind, and just want a basic, functional camp chair.

Where our two alternative picks are concerned, the LivingXL Director’s chairis 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 has a delightfully modest price, this would be a great addition to your collection of camping gear, in addition to whatever chair you settle on, and in a pinch, serves well enough as short term camp seating too.

At the end of the day, 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 close to one another 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 is lurking somewhere in this roundup review!

Recommended Reading

High Weight Capacity Dining Chairs

Reviewing dining chairs with sturdy construction and ample support to accommodate heavier individuals, ensuring comfort and durability during meals.

High Weight Capacity Accent Chairs

Assessing accent chairs with robust frames and supportive features, adding style and comfort to living spaces while accommodating larger users.

---

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.