Guide Gear Oversized Rocking Camp Chair Review 2024

Do you love camping and spending time in the great outdoors in general?

Do you weigh more than three hundred pounds?

If you answered yes, you’ve probably struggled with one of the market’s major limitations.

Most companies selling camping gear, camp chairs included, design the vast majority of their products to accommodate people who weigh up to three hundred pounds. While that works for some 90% of the market, what about that other 10 percent? If you’re in that group, you’ll find a few options.

The good news is that Guide Gear is one of the companies that cater to that often overlooked 10% of the market, and the Oversized Rocking Camp Chair is an excellent example from the Guide Gear product line.

We’ll quickly admit that this chair won’t be for everyone, but come on. Even if it’s something you wouldn’t admit in public, many people enjoy rocking, and this chair gives you the best of both worlds. You can rock to your heart’s content and do it anywhere. What’s not to like about that?

If your interest is piqued, read on. In the sections that follow, we’ll tell you everything this well-priced chair has to offer. Even if you decide it’s not the camp chair you’re looking for, we think you’ll be impressed by this one. Let’s take a closer look.

Key Features to Consider

A ruggedized, rocking lawn chair. That’s the first thing that’s likely to enter your mind when you initially set eyes on the Guide Gear Oversized Rocking Camp chair, and those are valid observations, with the key being ‘ruggedized.’ Lawn chairs have a reputation for being notoriously flimsy, which is an issue this chair definitely does not suffer from. Its tubular steel construction can support up to five hundred pounds of user weight, which is impressive. And it’s not bad to look at, either, blending in seamlessly with most camp settings.

Guide Gear offers this model in two color configurations: blue, trimmed in black, or camo, trimmed in black. Whichever option you buy, the chair comes with a black pillow for your head and neck, allowing you to sit back and take in the open sky as you rock.

Chair Specifications

In terms of basic statistics, here’s what you’re looking at where this chair is concerned:

These are good numbers. The seat is wide enough for most bigger folk and complements the supported weight limit. Even better, the frame is light enough that it’s not an ordeal to pack the chair in with you, even if you’ve got quite a hike before you reach your campsite.

No Carrying Strap or Bag

Unfortunately, this chair doesn’t come with a carrying strap or bag, so you’ll need to get a little creative when it comes time to merge the collapsed chair with your other gear to pack it into wherever you happen to be going, but that’s certainly not an insurmountable problem.

Includes Cupholder

While this model doesn’t feature built-in storage, a handy cupholder is attached to the left armrest of the chair. This allows you to enjoy a cold drink while rocking the day away.

Lacks Onboard Storage

As with the lack of a carrying strap, storage is easily remedied. Simply buying a mesh drawstring bag and a D-Ring and attaching it to the crossbar running across the front of the chair will fix you up for storage without getting in the way of the chair’s rocking action.

Adjustable Armrests

While most camp chairs aren’t adjustable in any way, the Guide Gear Oversized XXL Rocking Camp chair is one of the exceptions to that. You can adjust the armrests, choosing from three different positions. Doing so also changes the seatback angle, allowing you to lounge back slightly.

Durability

Note, however, that the armrests are hard plastic and not padded, and there have been some user complaints about them breaking easily. This is the one genuine weak spot in the design, and we hope that the company provides more robust chair arms in some future model upgrades. Even so, if you’re careful with them, they should serve you well enough. Don’t try to force the armrests into some new position, or you’ll risk breaking them.

Breathable Material

The material is breathable, and the pillow on the headrest enhances the chair’s overall comfort. However, it’s not what we’d call plush.

Still, it’s comparable to sitting in a mesh task chair at your desk, with the added advantage that you can rock your troubles away while sitting in it.

No Assembly Required

As with most camp chairs sold today, the Guide Gear XXL Rocking Camp chair will arrive at your doorstep in collapsed form, but otherwise, it is ready to use. Just take it out of the box, unfold it, and have a seat. That’s all there is to it.

Pros and Cons of Guide Gear XXL Rocking Camp Chair

We like this chair, but we don’t quite love it. In our view, it falls just shy of being a great design. It’s rugged, versatile, and supports much user weight, but we wish the armrests were better and as durable as the rest of the chair. Even so, as we mentioned earlier, as long as you’re mindful that they’re somewhat fragile and careful when adjusting them, they should serve you well enough.

We’d also have preferred to see some built-in storage here. It would have been easy enough for the company to add a storage pouch or pocket running along that front crossbar, saving you a step and a bit of DIY engineering. However, this is hardly an insurmountable issue or a deal-breaker.

If you’re here looking for an outdoor rocker, you might want to check out our roundup review on the best high-weight capacity outdoor rocking chairs here.

Final Verdict: Guide Gear Oversized Rocking Camp Chair Review

Overall, the Guide Gear Oversized Rocking Camp Chair is good, but it’s also somewhat self-selecting. Unless you’re specifically looking for a rocking camp chair, you probably won’t be interested in this model. If you are looking for an outdoor rocking chair, though, and you weigh more than 300 pounds, this is one of the very few on the market today that’s big and robust enough to support you properly. On that basis, we provisionally recommend it.

Recommended Reading

Official Manufacturer Support

References & Resources:

• Guide Gear, Official Brand Website.
• Different Types of Outdoor Furniture, Siliconindia.
• How to Macrame a Vintage Lawn Chair, DIY Network.
• The Lost History of the American Lawn Chair, Men’s Journal.
• Rock on/Health Wellness and Rocking Chairs, Courier-journal.
• Sew a New Bag For a Folding Camping Chair – DIY- Tutorial, Maiden Jane.