Chilling on the beach during a hot summer day? Awesome. Lying on a damp beach blanket with sand all over your legs? Not so much. It gets even worse when it’s a crowded beach with people getting sand all over you as they walk by. That’s when having a beach chair nearby really comes in handy.
The best beach chairs are portable enough to carry to the beach, either by strapping to your shoulders like a backpack, squeezing into your beach wagon, or collapsing into a bundle that can slot inside your large beach tote. Despite that portability, they offer plenty of lounging comforts, allowing you to plop down and relax while you watch your kids play with beach toys from a short distance.
The best beach chairs will often come with a few added creature comforts. Some will have head pillows that let you comfortably tilt your head back. Others will have cupholders, storage pouches, or foot stools. We’ve even seen some with integrated coolers, although we’ve always thought that went a little too far. Either way, we appreciate all these little details that seek to elevate an erstwhile humble beach chair into something more.
Since it’s going to be used around sand and saltwater, you want rustproof beach chairs that can withstand the more punishing elements on the beach. We tend to prefer chairs with steel or aluminum frames, as they’re durable enough to support heavy weights. Most people we know prefer aluminum, though, simply because they’re noticeably lighter.
These are the best beach chairs for lounging in the sand this summer.
Coleman Utopia Breeze Beach Sling Chair
Pros
- Lightweight
- Compact collapsed size
- Wide, comfortable seat
Cons
- Fixed seating angle
- Arm rests are pretty useless
Weight: 5.3 pounds
Materials: Powder-coated steel, unlisted fabric
Capacity: 250 pounds
Accessories: Rear storage pocket, mesh cup holder, tube-shaped carry bag
This beach chair doesn’t have the multiple locking positions of other beach chairs, so you’re confined to the same low-slung seat with a slight but comfortable recline. We find the seating position to be adequately relaxing, so we don’t mind the fixed seating angle. It’s roomy, too, with a 21-inch width, so you can spread out and move your body a bit. Unlike most beach chairs that fold up into a backpack-style form factor, this one collapses into a bundle that’s sized to fit into the included tube sack, which has a carrying strap for slinging over one shoulder. It’s lightweight, too, coming in at just 5.3 pounds, all while supporting up to 250 pounds with its powder-coated steel frame. We like the built-in cupholder and the storage pocket in the back, although the smaller curved arm rests weren’t all that useful. You might also find it inconvenient to have to put it in the case every time you want to move to a different spot on the beach.
Homevative Backpack Fold-Up Beach Chair
Pros
- Five positions, including a lay-flat one
- Locking safety hinge
- Comfortable height and width
- Tons of extra features
Cons
- Some padding on the thigh bar would have been nice
Weight: 8 pounds
Materials: Aluminum, unlisted fabric
Capacity: 240 pounds
Accessories: Removable pillow, mesh cup holder, phone pocket, two insulated cooler pouches, towel bar
if you want a beach chair with every imaginable creature comfort crammed into it, you might appreciate everything this one brings to your summer day trips. First, it’s a really good beach chair, with a high back rest and five-position adjustability, complete with a lay-flat configuration for those times you want to get some restful nap on the sand. There’s also a safety hinge that locks it when fully opened, so it won’t accidentally close up on you while you’re in the middle of a pleasant dream. Like we said, there’s a ton of comforts here, such as a removable pillow, a mesh cup holder, a phone pocket, a pair of insulated cooler pouches for keeping unopened cans nearby, and even a towel bar in the back (which also serves as the end leg when laid flat). When collapsed, it goes into backpack mode, so you can easily move to another spot on the beach. It weighs just eight pounds, too, so there’s no hassle putting the whole thing on your back, even though it looks unwieldy because of how wide it is.
Rio 4-Position Backpack Lace-Up Beach Chair
Pros
- Locking bracket secures all four recline positions
- Flexible suspension keeps it comfortable for long periods
- Large storage pouch
Cons
- Non-intuitive opening/closing
Weight: 8 pounds
Materials: Aluminum, unlisted fabric
Capacity: 240 pounds
Accessories: Rear storage pocket, head pillow, cup holder
We love the higher 11-inch seat height of this beach chair. Just makes it easier for taller folks to slide in and out. It has four recline positions, with easy adjustments and a locking bracket that ensures it doesn’t accidentally close while your whole weight is plopped down on the chair. The lace-up suspension offers great support that lets you really sink into the chair, too, keeping you comfortable even for longer periods. There’s a removable contoured head pillow, a cup holder, and a large storage pouch in the back, as well as comfortable backpack straps for easily carrying it when moving around. It also seems to use the same wide, molded plastic armrests as the Homevative above, which we find to be very comfortable. You do need to get acquainted with the chair to learn how to open, adjust, and close it back up, though, so you might struggle with that at first (we definitely found it hard to close at the start).
GCI Outdoor Sunshade Backpack Beach Chair
Pros
- Integrated SPF sunshade
- Low but comfortable seat height
- Very useful large rear pocket
Cons
- Stiffer support
Weight: 9.7 pounds
Materials: Aluminum, polyester fabric
Capacity: 250 pounds
Accessories: Rear storage pocket, cup holder, head pillow, SPF sunshade
As you can probably tell from the name, this beach chair comes with an integrated sun shade that should give you some partial cover from the sun. You’ll still want to lay on the sunscreen, though, since that shade will only likely cover your upper extremities. We like it, since it removes the glare of the sun from our faces, making it just that much easier to read messages on the phone. The sunshade can be pushed to the back, too, for those times you want to bask in the full might of the sun’s rays. Do note, the sunshade is practically a sail during windy days, so you might want to watch out for when there’s strong winds in the area. The seat height is just right at 11.4 inches, while the four reclining angles allow you to dial in the most comfortable seating position. We also love the contoured armrests, the cushioned head pillow, and the large storage pouch in the back, as well as the backpack style form factor when collapsed. It can get uncomfortable when sitting in it for long periods (it has stiffer support), so you’ll definitely want to move around a bit for comfort (it’s roomy enough to allow it).
Tommy Bahama 5-Position Classic Lay Flat Chair
Pros
- Locking tab secures recline angle
- Offers lay-flat angle
- Wooden armrests
Cons
- Low seat height
Weight: 8 pounds
Materials: Aluminum, unlisted fabric
Capacity: 250 pounds
Accessories: Insulated cooler pouch, cup holder, removable head pillow, zippered pocket, towel bar, bottle opener
This is one of the most popular beach chairs around, so much so that we see at least one every single time we go to the beach. It’s not hard to figure out why. For one, it has five adjustable positions, including a lay-flat angle for those times you want the sun directly on your stomach or your back. Similar to the Rio beach chair above, we had a bit of confusion about opening, adjusting, and closing (it has a similar design, including a secure locking bracket), but we got the hang of it after a bit. We do appreciate that it locks in place, though, so we don’t have to worry about the whole thing accidentally closing on us. The wooden arm rest makes it feel more premium than other beach chairs, making it a really nice touch, although we do find the low seat height (8.6 inches) a bit uncomfortable for taller individuals. We love the insulated cooler pouch on this, by the way, which is large enough to fit up to eight cans of drinks. Just don’t keep drinks there for the whole day because they do warm up after a bit (just keep one or two at a time).
Mac Sports Beach Day Foldable Chaise Lounge Chair
Pros
- Transforms into a 100-pound capacity beach wagon
- Wheels rolled along the beach easily
- Comfortable reclining angles
Cons
- No cup holder
Weight: 19 pounds
Materials: Aluminum, plastic, polyester fabric
Capacity: 225 pounds
Accessories: Head pillow
Is that a beach chair or is that a beach wagon? Truth is, you can use it as both. That’s right, this chaise-style beach chair can fold up to become a wagon that you can use to tow your stuff around the beach, since it has a pair of wide treaded wheels on the back specifically for that purpose. It can carry a decent amount of stuff in the cart, too, with a maximum payload of 100 pounds, so we were able to throw in umbrellas, a small cooler, snacks, and even a folding table in there. It can also collapse completely into a flat trolley that you can tow to the beach if you don’t have any other stuff you want to bring. When deployed as a beach chair, it offers four reclining positions for the back rest, so you can dial in the comfort a bit. It even has a foot extension, although we do wish it can rise up, so we can keep our feet elevated (alas, it doesn’t). If you regularly bring a wagon to the beach, might as well be one that can transform to a chair, right?
Helinox Beach Chair
Pros
- Collapses to very compact size
- Extremely lightweight
- Breathable, quick-drying fabric
Cons
- No cupholder
- No armrest
- Very low seat height
Weight: 3.2 pounds
Materials: Aluminum, polyester ripstop fabric
Capacity: 320 pounds
Accessories: Storage pocket, head pouch, carrying case
Want a beach chair, don’t want to carry it on your back? Well, you might prefer a beach chair with more of a camp chair vibe. That’s exactly what Helinox did with this design, which seems to repurpose their popular camp chair model for the beach. As such, it gets the same lightweight build (only 3.2 pounds), high strength (supports 320 pounds), and mesh ventilation panels, which they pair with splayed legs for stability, a high back rest that will allow you to lean back comfortably into the chair, and a head pouch that you can fill with a towel for use as a pillow (it comes uncushioned). We love how supportive it feels for being such a lightweight chair, along with the compact collapsed size, quick-drying fabric, and stretchy storage pocket. It’s not the most comfortable beach chair, though, since you only get one fixed position and sits a bit too close to the ground. Basically, it’s worth considering if you want a premium and compact beach chair, but there are definite tradeoffs for its upsides.
