6 tests × 7 high-back chairs
The 7 Best High-Back Camping Chairs (Bought & Tested!)
I spent $1,140 buying these 7 high-back camping chairs, and I tested them all over 5 months to find out which one is actually worth your money.
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The Podium
Quick Summary
Here’s everything I recommend.
ENO Lounger DL Chair
It has the tallest backrest of any camp chair I’ve tested, and two seat heights to sit at.
7.2/ 10 overall
Best Rocking and Recliner
NEMO Stargaze
7.5/10
- 30.0in backrest
- Adjustable pillow on velcro
- 11° to 57° of adjustable recline
- The only one here that also rocks
Tallest Seat Height
Helinox Sunset Chair
6.9/10
- 29.25in backrest
- 13.0in seat height
- 3.4lbs
- Fully adjustable headrest flap
Jump to: The Rest of the Best ↓ What to Look For ↓ Why You Can Trust Me ↓
The video
If you prefer watching to reading, check out my full camping chairs video here instead.
Camping Guidance
30K+
Best Low Lounger
ENO Lounger DL Chair
Test scorecard
ENO Lounger DL Chair
7.2out of 10
Setup4
Comfort7
Breathability9.3
Features9
Quality8.3
Weight8
Key info
- Backrest height31.0in
- Head supportYes
- PillowBuilt-in, non-adjustable
- Seat height9.5in or 3.6in
- Recline42°, fixed
- Weight5.0lbs
Pros
- The tallest backrest I’ve tested, at 31.0in
- Two seat heights from the same chair
Cons
- Pillow is non-adjustable
TL;DR
For lying back with your head supported, the ENO Lounger DL Chair has the tallest backrest I’ve ever tested.
The High position of the ENO lets me sit at 9.5in above the ground.
If I remove the leg poles, the low position brings me to just 3.6in off the ground. This allows me to stretch my legs out, lean back, and take a nap (this is exactly where the tall backrest comes in super handy).
However, the pillow is fixed in place at the top of the chair and is completely not adjustable. Only the tip of my head reaches it at 5’3, and there’s no velcro or strap to slide it down.
Check out the ENO Lounger DL Chair:
Best Rocking and Recliner
NEMO Stargaze
Test scorecard
NEMO Stargaze
7.5out of 10
Setup5.5
Comfort7.3
Breathability8.1
Features9
Quality8.8
Weight5.5
Key info
- Backrest height30.0in
- Head supportYes
- PillowAdjustable on velcro
- Seat height10.25in
- Recline11° to 57°, adjustable
- Weight8.4lbs
Pros
- A 30.0in backrest with a pillow you can move
- 11° to 57° of recline, and it stops anywhere in between
- The only one here that also rocks
Cons
- Very expensive
TL;DR
If you want a chair that not only rocks, but has a tall backrest as well, the NEMO Stargaze is the only chair here that does both.
The backrest is 30.0in tall, and the pillow is adjustable via velcro.
The recline goes from 11° upright to 57° fully reclined, and you can adjust the angle of recline to anything you want, actually.
Nothing bolts the seat to the frame either. It clips on at two points, and that’s what lets the whole seat swing.
However, it’s a very expensive chair, and the priciest of my three picks.
Check out the NEMO Stargaze:
Tallest Seat Height
Helinox Sunset Chair
Test scorecard
Helinox Sunset Chair
6.9out of 10
Setup5.5
Comfort7.2
Breathability7.3
Features5
Quality9.1
Weight10
Key info
- Backrest height29.25in
- Head supportYes
- PillowAdjustable headrest flap
- Seat height13.0in
- Recline32°, fixed
- Weight3.4lbs
Pros
- A 29.25in backrest
- Tallest seat height of my picks (13.0in)
- Very lightweight (3.4lbs)
- The headrest flap is fully adjustable
Cons
- The steepest scoop of my three picks
TL;DR
If you want a high back without sitting close to the ground, the Helinox Sunset Chair has the tallest seat of my three picks.
The backrest is 29.25in tall, which is enough for me to have a headrest.
The headrest flap at the top of the chair is also fully adjustable.
Anything slides into it as a pillow. I use the stuffed carry bag, and a puffy jacket works just as well.
The seat sits at 13.0in, which is 3.5in above the ENO Lounger and 2.75in above the Stargaze. At 3.4lbs it’s also the lightest of my three picks, by 1.6lbs.
However, the seat is the steepest scoop of my three picks. It starts at 18.2in at the front and drops 5.2in to 13.0in once I sit down.
Check out the Helinox Sunset Chair:
Everything else I tested
The Rest of the Best
Four more of my chairs clear the 26in mark. Three of them are lightweight chairs that lost on comfort, and the fourth is the one I’d have recommended if it weren’t discontinued.
More lightweight high-backs
- Big Agnes Big Six Armchair — a 30.5in backrest, the second tallest here, but it slouches 7.1in when I sit down, which is more than any chair I’ve tested. It also takes 110 seconds to set up. The Helinox Sunset does the same job with far less sink.
- REI Co-op Flexlite Camp Dreamer Chair — a 28.5in backrest and a removable pillow at 3.4lbs, but it slouches 6.9in and mine tore through a pole pocket after three days. Go for the Helinox Sunset instead.
- Helinox Chair Two — the lightest camping chair I’ve tested at 2.78lbs, with a 27.75in backrest. But it sits just 7.5in off the ground, the lowest of the seven and 5.5in below the Helinox Sunset.
Discontinued
- Quechua Reclinable Camping Chair — the only chair I’ve tested with a tall backrest and a taut seat, so it’s the one chair here that supports your back and your neck at the same time. Decathlon has discontinued it, but its test data is still in the scores below. The NEMO Stargaze is the closest replacement.
Buying guideWhat to Look For in a High-Back Camping Chair
A high back is rarer than it sounds, and it costs you something that isn’t obvious until you sit down. The six tests behind the scores on this page all live in my full camping chairs roundup, where all 21 of my chairs were tested the same way, and none of that’s repeated here. These are the four things I’d look at before buying one.
What counts as a high-back camping chair
I measured every backrest from the seat up to the top of the fabric, then sat in each chair and tried to rest my head on it. Most camp chairs stop at your shoulders.
| Camping Chair | Backrest Height (in) | High-Back? |
|---|---|---|
| ENO Lounger DL | 31.0 | Yes |
| Big Agnes Big Six | 30.5 | Yes |
| NEMO Stargaze | 30.0 | Yes |
| Helinox Sunset | 29.25 | Yes |
| REI Camp Dreamer | 28.5 | Yes |
| Helinox Chair Two | 27.75 | Yes |
| Quechua Reclinable | 26.5 | Yes |
| GCI Pod Rocker | 25.1 | Semi |
| YETI Trailhead | 24.0 | Semi |
| Coleman Cooler Quad | 23.5 | No |
| ALPS King Kong | 21.25 | No |
| Coleman Broadband | 19.75 | No |
| GCI Freestyle Rocker | 18.0 | No |
I’m 5’3/160cm, so a taller person will need more backrest than I do.
- Where the line sits: 26in. Anything above that was enough for me to lean back and rest my head on it, and seven of my chairs clear it.
- The two near misses: the GCI Pod Rocker at 25.1in and the YETI Trailhead at 24.0in. I can scoot down and get my head onto both, which is why I’ve only marked them semi.
- Below 23in there’s nothing: the Coleman Cooler Quad’s 23.5in backrest is the tallest one that gave me no head support at all.
Nearly every high-back is a lightweight chair
Sorting my chairs by backrest height put five lightweight chairs in the top seven.
| Camping Chair | Backrest Height (in) | Weight (lbs) | Chair Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENO Lounger DL | 31.0 | 5.0 | Lightweight lounger |
| Big Agnes Big Six | 30.5 | 4.0 | Lightweight |
| NEMO Stargaze | 30.0 | 8.4 | Reclining |
| Helinox Sunset | 29.25 | 3.4 | Lightweight |
| REI Camp Dreamer | 28.5 | 3.4 | Lightweight |
| Helinox Chair Two | 27.75 | 2.78 | Lightweight |
| Quechua Reclinable | 26.5 | 12.0 | Reclining |
Five of the seven weigh under 5.1lbs.
- The two heavy ones both recline: the NEMO Stargaze at 8.4lbs and the Quechua Reclinable at 12.0lbs need a frame stiff enough to hold an angle, and that’s where their weight goes.
- They pack small too: the Helinox Sunset folds to 19.0 x 5.5 x 4.75in, which is 496in³ and the smallest of the seven.
You also get anywhere from a slight to a deep recline angle with these chairs.
| Camping Chair | Recline | Adjustable? |
|---|---|---|
| Quechua Reclinable | 11° to 60° | Yes, 7 positions |
| NEMO Stargaze | 11° to 57° | Yes |
| ENO Lounger DL | 42° | No |
| Helinox Sunset | 32° | No |
| REI Camp Dreamer | 29° | No |
| Helinox Chair Two | 28° | No |
| Big Agnes Big Six | 25° | No |
| Coleman Cooler Quad | 9° | No |
| Coleman Broadband | 5° | No |
The bottom two are regular camp chairs, in for reference. Neither of them leans past 9°.
- The recline comes with it: every one of the seven leans back 25° or more.
The tradeoff: a high back usually costs you back support
This is the part I didn’t expect. Six of the seven chairs here are among the worst I own for lumbar support, and the two worst of the lot are both on this page.
I measured the seat height at the front of each chair, then sat down and measured it again. The difference is the seat slouch, and the bigger it was, the more I felt it at the base of my spine.
| Camping Chair | Seat Slouch (in) | Lumbar Support | Seat Height (in) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quechua Reclinable | 3.0 | Semi | 14.25 |
| ENO Lounger DL | 4.0 | No | 9.5 |
| NEMO Stargaze | 4.0 | No | 10.25 |
| Helinox Sunset | 5.2 | No | 13.0 |
| Helinox Chair Two | 5.5 | No | 7.5 |
| REI Camp Dreamer | 6.9 | No | 9.8 |
| Big Agnes Big Six | 7.1 | No | 11.4 |
Anything at 4in or more I scored as having less lumbar support.
- Six of the seven fail it: only the Quechua stays under 4in, which is where I stopped feeling a strain in my back.
- The two worst chairs I own are both here: the Big Agnes Big Six sinks 7.1in and the REI Camp Dreamer sinks 6.9in, the two biggest of any chair I’ve tested.
- Why it happens: a tall backrest needs something to lean into, so these chairs use a scoop seat that drops you back into the fabric instead of a flat one that holds you up.
- You’re choosing between back support and neck support: the one chair here that gave me both is the Quechua Reclinable, because its seat pulls taut across a steel frame. Decathlon has discontinued it.
- And you sit low: five of the seven sit at 11.4in or lower once you’re in them. I’d avoid anything under 11in if you have trouble getting out of low seats.
So is a high-back camping chair worth it?
It comes down to whether you sit at camp to rest your head, or to sit up straight.
- Worth it if: you want to lie back and nap at camp, because 26in of backrest is the point where my head stopped hanging off the top of the chair.
- Worth it if: you carry your chair anywhere, because six of the seven weigh under 8.5lbs, and my heaviest regular camp chair is 14.7lbs.
- Not for you if: you have a bad back, because six of the seven sit at 4in of slouch or more, and none of them holds you upright.
The scoresAll Test Scores
The scoreboard
These scores come straight from my full camping chairs roundup, where all 21 chairs went through the same 6 tests. Nothing has been re-scored for this post.
- Quechua Reclinable7.7
- NEMO StargazeBest Rocking and Recliner7.5
- ENO Lounger DLBest Low Lounger7.2
- Helinox SunsetTallest Seat Height6.9
- Helinox Chair Two6.7
- Big Agnes Big Six6.0
- REI Camp Dreamer5.5
The Quechua Reclinable tops the board because it is the only chair here that gets both the backrest and the seat right, and it sets up in 4 seconds. It’s not a pick because Decathlon discontinued it. The ENO sits below the Stargaze mostly on setup, at 85 seconds against 43, and it’s still my top pick for the one thing this page is about.
See every sub-score and test weightage
The methodWhy You Can Trust Me
All of this came out of my own testing, so here’s how those 5 months actually went.
$1,140
The first part is buying all 7 of these chairs with my own savings, without accepting any free or sponsored gear from brands.
5 months
Next came about 5 months of testing all of them, so that I had every bit of data I could get.
2 weeks
After that I spent about 2 weeks going through the data and comparing all the chairs against each other.
6 months
The last step is the content creation — videos for my YouTube channel and this blog you’re reading.
Every figure above is from my own testing – measured by hand, bought with my own money.
