Children's Camping Chair

What makes a children's camping chair different

A kids camping chair isn't a toy and it isn't a small adult chair with the legs cut off. It's a chair the maker has sized for a child. Three things change from the grown-up version:

• Seat height: low enough for short legs to reach the ground
• Seat width and back height: narrower and shorter, so a kid doesn't sink into a hammock of fabric
• Weight capacity: lower, because the frame is lighter

The folding part usually stays the same. Most kids' chairs fold the way a regular quad chair does, with hinges and crossing legs, and that's where the safety questions live. More on that below.

Why bother? Put a small kid in an adult camp chair and watch. His feet hang, he slides toward the back, and every time he wants out he has to roll over the armrest like he's leaving a canoe. A chair that fits lets him sit like everybody else, by the fire, at the table, at the edge of things.

The basics all camp chairs share (frame material, fabric, how capacity is stated) are on the main camping chair page. This page sticks to sizing a chair for a kid and keeping the kid safe in it.

Which chairs land in the table below

The table under this text lists camping chairs that their maker describes as sized for kids. It shows the camp-chair fields where the maker or the Amazon listing states them (listing values are marked): weight, weight capacity, seat height, seat width, back height, frame, cup holders and packed size. If neither states a value, you get a dash.

Makers change their kids' lineups often, so I won't quote the list. Use the table to compare seat height and capacity side by side, then read each maker's page for its stated age range.

What to look at when you pick a kids camping chair

I'd check these in order. Fit first, the lock second, everything else after.

Seat height: feet on the ground

Seat height is the distance from the ground to the top of the seat. For a kid, it's the most important number on the page.

Here's a test that doesn't need a tape measure. Sit your kid on a chair at home, the one he likes, with feet flat on the floor and knees bent at the front edge of the seat. Now measure that chair from floor to seat. That's your target. A shop teacher would tell you to measure twice, and this is one of the few times measuring the customer works better than measuring the board.

Too high and feet dangle; a kid scoots forward to reach the ground and the chair tips forward with him. Too low and he's squatting, which is fine for a toddler and miserable for a ten-year-old by the second hour.

Seat width and back height: room to sit, not to sprawl

Seat width and back height show in the table when the maker or the listing lists them. A seat that's too wide lets a small kid sink into the middle of the sling. A back that's too short gives nothing to lean on.

Kids grow, so a little room is fine. A lot of room is a different chair. If you're buying for two kids a few years apart, the bigger one's chair probably won't fit the smaller one well.

Weight capacity: read it as a ceiling

The table shows each chair's stated weight capacity. Read it the way you'd read any rating: as the most the frame is built for, not a target to reach.

Kids add load in ways adults don't. They stand on chairs. They sit two to a seat. They flop into a chair from a run. One adult chair maker's guide puts it plainly: its capacity is based on even weight distribution. A kid landing on one corner isn't even distribution.

Rule of thumb: the child should be well under the stated capacity, with room for a winter coat and a growth spurt. When he gets close, it's time for a bigger chair. Don't let adults sit in a kids' chair at all.

Frame locks and hinges: the part that matters most

This is the one that isn't a comfort question.

In 2005, CPSC announced recalls of several brands of children's folding chairs. The descriptions were close to identical. The safety lock could fail, letting the chair fold or collapse unexpectedly, and children's fingers could get caught in the hinge and slot areas. In one recall, the firm had seven reports of collapses that resulted in four fingertip amputations. Those were folding chairs for kids generally, not camp chairs specifically, but a folding camp chair has hinges and crossing legs too.

What to look for and do:

• A lock you can see: a sleeve, latch or pin that shows plainly when the frame is fully open
• Hinges that sit away from where hands rest: check where the frame crosses and folds
• Adults open and close the chair, every time
• Check the lock before each sit, the same way you'd check a stand strap
• Stop using a chair whose lock slips; repair parts come from the maker only

If you own an older kids' folding chair of any kind, look up the maker on the CPSC recall list. One 2005 recall told owners to stop using the chairs and destroy or discard them.

Chair weight: can the kid carry it

Weight shows in the table where the maker states it. A light chair is one the kid can carry from the car to the site, which is half the fun and a fair share of the work. (At our camp, the rule is you carry what you sit in. Grown-ups too.)

A carry bag with a shoulder strap helps. So does a chair light enough that the kid doesn't drag it through every puddle on the way.

Cup holders and extras

The table shows cup holders when the maker or the listing lists them. A cup holder on a kids' chair is less about drinks and more about having one place for the flashlight, the juice box and the rock he found. Extras like side pockets, canopies and printed fabric are fine. They don't change the fit or the lock.

Kinds of kids' camp chairs and when to choose which

Mini folding quad chairs

The most common type: a small version of the adult chair that folds into a bag. Good for most kids from preschool through grade school, as long as the seat height fits.

Low chairs for little kids

Seats close to the ground, for small children who climb in on their own. They're stable because they're low, and they get outgrown fast.

Kids' chairs with a canopy

Some kids' chairs come with a small shade canopy. The American Academy of Pediatrics says to keep babies younger than 6 months out of direct sunlight and to limit sun exposure between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., when UV rays are strongest. It also says UV bounces back from water, sand, snow and concrete, so a canopy is one layer, not the plan. The AAP recommends a hat with an all-around 3-inch brim and tightly woven clothes that cover the body. More on shade chairs is on the camping chair with canopy page.

Small adult chairs for older kids

At some point a kid outgrows the kids' aisle. A compact adult chair with a lower seat often fits a growing kid better than the largest kids' chair. Check that the seat height lets his feet reach the ground.

Keep kids' chairs back from the campfire

Fire is not a joke at our camp, and it isn't one here.

NFPA's campfire tip sheet says to watch children while the fire is burning and never let children or pets play or stand too close to the fire. It also says to help young children roast marshmallows, never shake a roasting marshmallow, and remember that a heated metal skewer can burn. Smokey Bear's guidance is to clear an area at least 10 feet across around the fire and keep tents and gear at least 15 feet away. An adult chair maker's guide warns to keep its chair away from excessive heat and open flames, and a kids' chair is the same fabric and plastic.

Set the kids' chairs back from the ring, with an adult chair between them and the fire. Kids get up fast and don't look where they step.

Kids fall asleep wherever they sit

My grandson's first sit was at 12, in a two-man ladder stand with me, harnessed, and he was asleep by 8:10. The harness was the point that morning. I bring it up here because it taught me something about kids and seats: they fall asleep wherever they are. A chair that fits, with a lock that holds, is a chair that's still standing when he wakes up.

Care for a kids' camp chair

• Shake out sand and crumbs before folding; grit in a hinge wears it
• Wipe the seat with warm water; one adult chair maker calls its seat fabric spot-clean only
• Dry it fully before it goes in the bag, which the same maker says for its seats
• Check the lock and every rivet at the start of each season
• Retire it when the kid stops fitting it, not when it breaks

Who should skip a children's camping chair

Skip it if the kid already fits a compact adult chair with feet on the ground. You'll get more years out of it.

Skip it for babies and young toddlers who can't sit up and climb out on their own. A folding chair isn't a seat for them; ask your pediatrician what is.

Skip the cheapest chair in the pile if you can't see how its lock works. My one opinion on this page: buy a kids' chair with a lock you can see and check. The reason is in the CPSC recalls above: the failures were locks that let chairs fold unexpectedly and hinges that caught fingers.

Everybody else, measure the kid, check the lock, and set the chair back from the fire. Then go find the rock he wants to keep.