Am I crazy for thinking expensive camp chairs aren't worth it? Here's what happened at Badlands last month.

I was out in the Badlands last month and my $40 chair collapsed under me on the third day... right when I sat down to eat dinner after a 10 mile hike. My buddy had a $180 chair that was still solid as a rock. I patched mine with some paracord and duct tape but it was wobbly the rest of the trip. Now I'm wondering if spending more actually buys you reliability or if I just got unlucky. Has anyone else had a cheap chair fail on them vs a high end one holding up for years?

2 comments

2 Comments

barnes.morgan7d ago

God yeah, that's exactly the thing that gets me... you spend forty bucks on a chair and it's basically a gamble whether it'll last one trip or five. I've had cheap ones that held up fine for years then one that folded like a cheap suit on day two. Meanwhile my buddy's been rocking the same $150 chair for like eight seasons and it's still rock solid. The frame design matters way more than people realize too, those cheaper ones use thin aluminum that bends the first time you shift your weight weird, while the nicer ones have a better joint system that doesn't put all the stress in one spot.

the_nathan6d ago

Eight seasons on one chair, that's practically a committed relationship at that point. Must be nice having a chair that doesn't try to fold you into a pretzel every time you lean back to grab a beer. I swear my last cheap one buckled in the middle of a hot dog eating contest, just gave up on life mid-bite.