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Finding a comfortable, reliable camp chair is unreasonably hard. Most of the affordable options you grab from your local REI or Amazon for under $50 are hard to unfold, heavy to carry, and start falling apart after just a few trips into the woods. However, as an outdoor gear editor and avid camper, I believe a great camp chair is one of the most overlooked items to make camping a remarkably more enjoyable experience.
Think about it: Your camp chair is not only what you’ll spend hours kicking back in around the campfire, but it’s also your reprieve to take a load off after a long day of hiking or riding in a car. Your camp chair should be just as comfortable, if not more, as your sleeping pad or mattress. And yet, nearly every camp chair I’ve ever tried has been disappointing, leaving my campsite one item away from being the perfect sanctuary.
Which is why when my partner and I stopped in Moab’s outdoor gear store last spring after our budget camp chairs had broken, and we plopped ourselves down into a display of Kelty’s cuddly two-person camping couch, the Low Loveseat Camping Chair, I found myself handing over my credit card within three minutes. (And spoiler alert: I’m not the only fan; Travel + Leisure editors have named my now-favorite as the best two-person camping chair they tested.)
Kelty’s Low Loveseat Camping Chair may not be the most compact item, but it is easily the most comfortable camp chair I’ve ever sat in. It’s ideal when you’re camping with a partner, friend, or your pup (since it can hold up to 500 pounds), and it’s well-designed enough for me to say it might just be the best camp chair ever. The latter is a huge selling point if you like to travel solo with your pup, as you can stretch out to have the couch to yourself, cozy up with your dog, and have a spare seat when friends come along.
When sharing the love seat with a partner regularly, well, truth be told I thought I would hate this design. I like personal space, especially when I’m dirty and tired. But each of the two connected seats are roomy and oversized so you often aren’t even touching the person sitting next to you. In fact, it’s spacious enough that my 70-pound dog can squeeze her way in between me and my partner for real family campfire cuddle time.
The biggest selling point of Kelty’s Low Loveseat, though, is that it sits down low, just over a foot off the ground (13.5 inches). This, plus the spacious seats, is what makes the chair so comfortable — when you’ve been hiking or traveling all day, plopping into this low couch allows you to stretch your legs out and really just lounge like you would on a couch. I personally have never been able to find that kind of relaxation with the upright camp chairs that require your feet to hang 90 degrees.
Kelty continued this theme of luxurious comfort through every detail: The 600D-weight polyester covering the seat is slightly cushioned and insulated, which adds to the lush feel. The back of the chair comes up tall enough to cradle your head, including for my 6-foot partner. The adjustable armrests are extra-wide and don’t slip when you put the weight of your full arm on it. And the cup holders are perhaps my favorite feature. There are two per side, which is nice if you’re nursing two drinks at once, or you want to store both your mug and your phone close by. One of the holders is also oversized so wider coffee mugs or water bottles can fit in it.
In addition to how comfortable this chair is, the design also feels incredibly durable. The steel frame unfolds smoothly and feels reliable underbody, while the rugged polyester seats are both comfortable to sit on and enduring against the elements. Mine has a few burn holes in it from windy campfire embers, but otherwise the material is pretty unscathed despite my dog clawing around on it. We also use this love seat on our covered porch at home when not camping, and it's maintained both its color despite sun exposure and the integrity of the metal despite some element exposure.
This chair comes with a carrying case that it folds up to be 41 inches by 12 inches 12 inches — about the size of a small rug, rolled. The case has a single backpack strap that’s pretty comfortable to sling over your back and definitely helps to haul the 15-pound chair (although I wouldn’t be hiking more than a quarter-mile with it). When you’re ready to pack up, the chair scrunches down and the feet tuck into a little pocket on the inside of the carrying case. The case then burrito-wraps around the chair and latches with three sturdy buckles. Overall the process is incredibly easy to do by yourself, takes about two minutes, and makes the cumbersome accessory much easier to move and load.
My one caveat to this chair is it’s definitely most ideal for people without physical disabilities. While the carrying case makes the chair significantly easier to haul, the 15-pound load still requires a small amount of strength and coordination. And the low-down design might be difficult for some to get in and out of, like my 75-year-old father-in-law.
While the Kelty Low Loveseat makes sitting around a campfire eons more comfortable — not to mention eons more romantic if you’re looking to set a cuddly under-the-stars mood with your partner, I also love how versatile this chair is outside of camping. As I mentioned, at home I keep this love seat on my porch for afternoon cocktails or card games because it’s as comfy — if not more — than any porch furniture I could snag for the same price. My dog also loves to sit in it by herself while basking in the sun (yes, it’s as cute as it sounds).
This chair is also ideal for outdoor concerts or music festivals, since the lower profile means you’re not blocking the people behind you. Most of all, it’s really inviting for social situations — a friend can plop down next to you to take a load off or have an intimate conversation, all without encroaching on your personal space. That said, it’s worth noting Kelty just released a three-person version of this chair, the Lowdown Couch, which is only slightly bulkier but just as comfortable with an entire third seat. This version would be ideal if you have kids, more than one dog or partner, or go to music festivals a lot.
As for the Low Loveseat Camping Chair, the price is also impressive when you consider that most single camp chairs of this quality and comfort will run you anywhere from $60 to $100 each. Kelty is known for making durable, luxurious-feeling outdoor products at a reasonable price point, and $140 for what I’m dubbing “the best camp chair” that fits two is no exception.
At the time of publishing, the price was $140 .
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