Camping Chair reviews

Crusty181

Well-Known Member
Feb 7, 2010
6,854
13,971
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Mentone, VIC
Ive always struggled to find a camping chair that I think is good. The general rubbish offered up is disappointing to put it mildly. Im 6ft and 85kg which has a significant bearing on camp chair comfort.

The widely available common design we all see in every other camp, I find very uncomfortable for more than 5 min and just plain nasty. The act of just sitting in them closely follows the same mechanical process of folding the damn thing up ... so it feels like Im leaning forward and the chair is closing up around me as i sit in it. They are a bearable visitor chair whilst visiting someone else's camp, but outside a cuppa and a 5min chat they'd be better piled 10 high at the tip
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We've had a couple of Anaconda Dune Nomad chairs for many many years and they have been great; robust and very comfy with reclining function, but they are real pain to 'easy access' pack anywhere because they are still large and flat when folded. We have a huge alum tool box on the drawer bar of the van for that sort of thing and the box was acquired with dimensions for those chairs in mind but they can only fit on the bottom of the box .... with everything piled on top and that's painful too, particularly for short stops, or road side lunches where they never come out. My son has one of the above style chairs (because his comfort is secondary to price), and even tho his chair is crap its very handy because it easily sits on top of everything in the alum box.
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Hail the arrival of the Oztent Jet tent Pilot chair. Its a similar looking style to the crap one thats where is finishes. It has an adj lumber support, rear sloping back and solid arms which force the chair to hold its shape. The carry bag folds up and stores in the chairs headrest, creatng a bit of a pillow effect. It has no recline feature which is a real shame for us, but it slopes back enough to be adequate. After a test drive weekend they are a worthy replacment compromise for us. The solid arms completely transform the chair from the crap thing it resembles. I find them big enough for me, adequately comfy enough, but the biggie was that comfort combined with the much more accessible storage for rapid deployment. I still prefer the Dune Nomad style but theyre simply not practical for us (although its taken 8 years to find an alternative)

This is the first camp chair that is an acceptable compromise, and although they are still pretty good after 8 years of constant use the Dunes are being retired from road travel.

The Jet Tent Pilot is certainly not cheap at between $100 - $140 mark each. We got ours at BCF on special for $70 each on a 2 for 1. They also have a 5 year warranty. Well worth a test drive
Oztent Jet Tent Pilot.jpg
 

Drover

Well-Known Member
Nov 7, 2013
12,723
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QLD
Another one of those "I agree with you " situations........:p................I do like those Jet Pilot jobs even though us poor pensioners haven't got any, using a couple of directors chairs, wooden type, okay so long as you sit upright.
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These monsters while comfy once laid out are stress inducing, mongrel things, they can bite you and they tangle up with everything and even in the roomy Colorado they are just a pain to store, whilst they go to the beach with us they stay at home when on trips, for they surely wouldn't be coming home..

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Mind you I still reckon this is the best and most versatile camping seat around, seat, beer carrier, step and covers all the bases and takes up buggerall room.

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mbr37746

Well-Known Member
Oct 20, 2013
283
556
93
Central West NSW
I like this thread. We’d been trying for quite a while to find a chair that delivers comfort, will last the distance and wait for it..... folds up “really” small for the weekends when it’s camping without van (space is a big issue for four peoples gear in the canopy of a Ute). I found these expander chairs, they’re a bit pricey so just bought 1 as a trial, wow, impressive! Delivered everything we were after, so now we’ve got 2. Just wanted to add to the list. The milk crate is another thing I’ve got too, makes a great snack table as well.
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davemc

Well-Known Member
Oct 29, 2013
4,360
4,737
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55
Viewbank, Victoria
www.expandasdownunder.com
Sarah has a Jet pilot had it for years she is very happy with it.
Lost a screw off the back of the arm in Lane Cove so need to fix it. I do not really like it myself
The wine holder you can get works very well unless your brother in law knocks it over twice in 10 mins :(
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Being slightly larger :) I got the King Kokoda chair.. supposed to be ok up to 150kg
well the plastic holding the chair back broke as I sat on it on slightly un level ground and could not find receipt so 5 years warranty no use,
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So brought a ALDI Directors chair. no lumber support so as @Crusty181 said 5-10 mins later your over it was $20 marked down
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Then saw Aldi had a chair that looked the same as the OZTENT I have. again no lumber support :( again mark down $20
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So brought the Oztent directors chair a month back was good for the last trip away although did not spend more then a hour in it at a time
I like the table can swing away and go in front etc.. everyone else liked the table as I kept finding other peoples drinks and food on it :(
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Big kids have a OZtent goanna and king goanna they happy with they fold down well
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Twins have cheap aldi they are happy with not sure they take my weight

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Bluey

Well-Known Member
Mar 31, 2014
2,651
3,817
113
Australia
@Crusty181 we have similar chair to your second picture very good indeed
We put ours in the back bed end when traveling they slip in the gap we have before our bunks and shower then shove towels with them to stop them moving works a treat one on each side best way we find to store them
 

Smergen

Well-Known Member
Jun 8, 2014
2,354
4,716
113
Bacchus Marsh
We have two Oztent Goanna Chairs like @davemc which we bought for the Big Trip. They are brilliant and bought them after trying out @17triton's. They have had a solid workout in our current lifestyle and would hate to think about how many times they've been folded up and put in the bag. They live in the truck and are always accessible. Would buy another two in a heartbeat.

The kids? They've got some, meh... whatever. They're kids. They're bones are soft and still have cartilage. And the get what they're given. This isn't a democracy...
 

17triton

Well-Known Member
Feb 24, 2013
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Ballarat
Yep we have 2 Oztent King Goanna chairs for the kids and 1 Oztent King Kokoda for the boss and I have my trusty Engel chair that I got eons ago with the fridge package and it has been an awesome chair but showing signs of wear and will probably replace with a Goanna when it dies.
 
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megcam

Well-Known Member
We started out with these which i liked because you could still eat at a table with them. You need to be drinking heavily to sit in them for any length of time though.
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Then went these which are not super comfortable, don't have any where to hold a beer and are so heavy you'd have to drive them to the fire after dinner.
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Ended up with these that are comfy but a bitch to fit anywhere but on the bed.
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