Lawn Chairs

Let’s say you are having people over for an Easter Egg Hunt. Let’s say that while the children hunt for eggs, you are serving buckets of mixed candy (one bucket for chocolate items, one for fruity items) to the adults. What boxed wine would you pair with that?

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I would like to buy some lawn chairs.

1. They should be able to hold a nice big person, without that nice big person feeling as if the chair might collapse under them. (“Something collapsing under me, actually or apparently because of my weight” is one of my Top Anxieties.) (It happened to me once with someone’s picturesque tree swing. That memory plays in my mind as if from an observer’s point of view, which is how you know it’s one of the worst ones.)

2. They should fold up or stack for storage.

3. It would be nice if they had cup holders.

4. I don’t like the kind with leg rests, but I might like to have one of that kind for anyone who DOES like that kind.

5. Bonus points for assorted pretty colors, but you should suggest it even if it only comes in boring, limited colors.

34 thoughts on “Lawn Chairs

  1. Bec

    This isn’t quite the same one we have (I don’t see it anywhere online so they might not make it anymore) but we’ve had good luck with ALPS brand’s heavier duty chairs. Here’s one that’s rated for up to 500 lbs: https://www.backcountry.com/alps-mountaineering-big-c.a.t.-camp-chair

    Ours is apparently “Director’s Chair” style, which is another good search term – ours feel like you’re sitting in a real chair and not about to fall to the ground.

    Reply
    1. DoingMyBest

      Ack! I ordered 3 of these yesterday and today SOMEONE FROM THE COMPANY CALLED ME TO CHAT AND SEE IF I WANTED TO DISCUSS OUTDOOR GEAR! I wonder if this is their standard procedure for internet orders? *shudder*
      So, just a heads up for anyone else looking at these!

      Reply
      1. Swistle Post author

        Nooooooooooooo!!! Why do salespeople think this kind of thing is a good idea? It is a TERRIBLE idea! If I’d wanted more gear, I would have ORDERED more gear!

        Reply
  2. Sarah Johnson

    Oh, oh! I think I have a possible chair solution! Last year we bought two Kijaro Dual Lock Chair (in Ireland Green and Victoria Desert Orange – although now I’m kinda wishing I had the Ionian Turquoise!) and they’re great. Lots of pretty colors, includes cup holders, fold up, and weight capacity of 300 lbs. I too fear things collapsing under my weight and, in general, I find the folding camp style chairs to feel the least stable feeling but these are solid. $30 each at Dick’s Sporting Goods.
    https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/p/kijaro-dual-lock-chair-16kijudllckchrxxxodr/16kijudllckchrxxxodr?&color=Cayman%20Blue%20Iguana

    They also make an XXL version with a weight capacity of 400 lbs for $10 more.

    Happy sitting! (Also – mmm, wine and candy!)

    Reply
      1. Jessemy

        I second that. The sweeter the dessert, the sweeter the wine. Think dessert wines, port/cream sherry/icewine. Not that those are usually in a box.

        Or perhaps something like this? (quote taken from http://www.epicurious.com/archive/drinking/wine/tasting-notes-box-wines).

        Any wine can come in a box, but I happened to taste two Rieslings that would be welcome at my table anytime. FishEye Riesling Southeastern Australia 2010 ($20, 3L), a white with flavors that are somewhat atypical for this grape but tasty nonetheless, displayed fun notes of bubblegum, melon, and star fruit, with a hint of Riesling’s classic petrol scent.

        Reply
  3. Suzanne

    Okay, with the caveat that I do not own these, nor have I tried them, I *immediately* thought that you need Adirondack chairs. My parents have a bunch of them and they are pretty comfortable AND sturdy. Of course, my parents’ don’t fold. But Amazon has a bunch that fold, and this brand comes in multiple colors, and they have cupholders! https://www.amazon.com/Lumber-Folding-Adirondack-ChairWhite-Holder/dp/B010NVFYMO/ref=sr_1_14?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1491934458&sr=1-14&keywords=folding

    They seem… pricey, for lawn chairs. And… wait… you have to assemble them? Well. Certainly there is a better option. These (https://www.amazon.com/Merry-Garden-Foldable-Adirondack-Chair/dp/B0044FW4RE/ref=sr_1_19?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1491934458&sr=1-19&keywords=folding) are less expensive, and no cup holders, but they look like the one my parents have, and the arms are wide enough to hold a wine glass or a bottle of beer.

    Perhaps what I am doing is recommending a TYPE of chair, rather than a specific version. Adirondack; good and sturdy.

    Reply
    1. Misty

      Adirondack chairs are comfortable when you’re in them, but for people of a certain size (myself included), getting in and out of them can be difficult, even painful (knees!) because they’re so low to the ground.

      Reply
      1. Suzanne

        Oh, crud, you are so right. I was thinking about BEING in them and forgetting about the GETTING in/out. Which I agree can be… difficult.

        Reply
      2. Carmen

        And I find them comfy only if I want to have a nap in the backyard. They force you to like back so far you end up staring up at the sky, which isn’t terribly conducive to witty banter with other party-goers.

        Reply
  4. Carmen

    Sadly, in order to get lawn chairs that will hold up someone like me (a nice big person), it appears you have to pay through the nose. Or at least you did when I bought ours. Now they are much cheaper. The brand we have doesn’t seem to be available on Amazon (I’m in Canada) but they hold 350 pounds and are very similar to these. I love them so much, and they have the added bonus of have side tables attached. They fold flat and are easy to store. https://www.amazon.com/Kamp-Rite-Directors-Chair-Side-Table/dp/B00KH03UDW/

    Reply
  5. Meredith Brim

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01M18RYXI/ref=pd_aw_sim_sbs_468_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=SPTCHABZXJPBFYXS2DTA&dpPl=1&dpID=61JHdo0sNlL#featureBulletsAndDetailBullets_secondary_view_div_1491938700648 for the chairs.

    Boxed wine? I’d try and find a sparkling wine- prosecco would be great. Not sure it’s a boxed option.

    According to the husband who is a wine buyer “Whatever they want. Candy really needs something sweeter, and none of the boxes are that sweet. For red Bota Box Nighthawk blend, white whatever. The Bota rose is good too. “.

    Reply
    1. Anna

      Bota Box wine is yum! Also Trader Joe’s box wines if you have a TJ’s near you. Both of these options come in printed brown boxes, which I think look much klassier than the glossy ones.

      Reply
  6. Judith

    I can’t recommend a product, as I’m not in the US. But.

    Story time!

    A few years ago, I was on summer vacation at the North Sea together with my sister and her family (husband and two kids). We had rented a little vacation house, that already showed a few signs of non-caring on part of the owner, or rather the care-taker, who lived next door and on our first weekend was also celebrating his 40th wedding anniversary, so wasn’t all that prompt to react to any troubles.

    The inside was a bit cramped, which we had underestimated as a problem at the time of our booking, since it was summer, and we thought that surely it wouldn’t rain that much. We were wrong. When our eight days were over, it had rained on all but two days, though usually not full days. The actual hours of sun could be assigned to one finger each of one person’s hands without running out of digits.

    So on the first nice, warm, even sunny opportunity we decided to eat outside, since a table and three (this will be important later) lawn chairs of the sturdy foldable plastic kind were provided, plus a fourth slightly rusty non-foldable one one of the kids got with some extra cushioning. A fifth chair was brought from inside.

    The food and table settings had been brought outside, and I decided to sit down. I’m on the heavier side myself, but I did not plop down in exhaustion, just sat down in the careless way you do when you expect to meet an adequate support to rest your behind on. Meet it I did, until, with an audible “crack”, I suddenly didn’t, and found myself half hanging on the arm supports, half sitting on the floor. I was surprised and a little ashamed, but further investigation showed that the whole thing was supported by a dime-sized plastic element which had given in, which can happen after all. It only is quite embarrassing if you are the one it is happening to.

    Being one piece of outdoor furniture short now, another chair was gotten from inside, and I went on to the next lawn chair. I sat down.

    With a “crack”, I fell. It was a deja vu, but not of the mysteriously fun kind, but of the immediate “I can’t believe this is happening AGAIN” kind that makes you want to crawl under the chair that just gave in under you. Inspection showed that that same plastic part had given in, the strain of our my adult weight having given the dark blue plastic a white tinge next to the bit that broke off. For the rest of the meal, the remaining plastic chair was assigned to the lightest child, while the adults chose seating options more reliable in their structural integrity.

    When we later contacted the care-taker, he eventually admitted that earlier in the season, a young and slender member of a group of people had already broken one. Hearing that did make me feel better, since weight apparently hadn’t played that big of a role in what had happened. The other guy had assumed he himself was at fault since he had not just sat but stood on it, and payed for the damage. It explained why there were only three chairs, since, true to form, the caretaker had not troubled himself to organize a new one, or the owners hadn’t been willing to pay for one. The amusing part came when the caretaker said that the owners were wondering if we could have our insurance pay for the damage. Being sat on is a base function of a chair, and if it can’t fulfill it due to being several years old, made of plastic and stored outside, that counts as wear and tear and isn’t something a holiday renter needs to cover. We basically laughed at him and told him they were lucky no one got hurt (we weren’t counting my pride, even though it felt like we should).

    True to form, no replacement chairs were brought during the rest of our week there. At least the experience was consistent.

    Reply
  7. Kara

    One of my summer goals is to replace all of our crappy plastic stacking chairs with sling chairs. I see them all over the place, Home Depot, Walmart, etc. They’re usually between $15-$25 each, come in a variety of colors and hold up to 250 lbs.

    For daytime wine drinking, I like a rose’, sancere or pinot grigio. Rose’ is especially fun for Easter, because it’s a nice pink color. You can even get more fancy with a sparkling rose’. Or sangria, because it has fruit in it and is therefore healthy.

    Reply
  8. Celeste

    I have been unhappy with the cupholders in our folding nylon chairs. We have little folding tables we set around them and call it good. We also have the director style chairs. Both are comfy, the nylon a little more so as you can lean back. But the director style is easier to get out of, because you can’t recline to any degree. I’ve also tried the zero-gravity style, and they’re comfy but more than I want to spend. Also heavy. No matter which choice you make, you always have to give something up when it comes to lawn chairs.

    Reply
  9. Kay W.

    OK, so I love the retro look of this and the color palettes: http://www.retrometalchairs.com/rmc-styles

    …but I don’t know how comfy they are, nor if they stack.

    I also can attest that these are very nice because I have them BUT when we got them they were significantly cheaper on eBay: http://www.hayneedle.com/product/paradisecovemetalarmchair.cfm They are STURDY. But also maybe a bit too minimal; no cup rests, for example. If you could try one out first I recommend it. They don’t stack either.

    Basically I glommed onto your “pretty colors” suggestion to the detriment of everything else. Sigh.

    Reply
  10. Ali

    Ooh, I just came back from a family spring break trip which included a pre-Easter egg hunt. We had the Bota Sauvignon blanc (or maybe it was Pinot Grigio–the box was a pretty apple green), and it was great with candy.

    Reply
  11. Jess

    Wine: Bota box, one Chardonnay one Zinfandel.
    Chairs: the inexpensive plastic adirndack chairs you can find everywhere right now in fun colors. They are comfortable, cost very little, and stack.

    Reply
  12. Saly

    I got some at Wal-Mart last year, of all places. They were labeled something weird like “heavy duty” or “extra wide” but my husband who is a pretty big guy fits in them comfortably and they have held up really well. They were with the camping chairs.

    Reply
  13. Robyn

    Costco folding canvas camp chairs. Strictly utilitarian (dark green or khaki, when Insaw them last), but they have little slide-out side trays with cups holders to hold drinks and snacks, and are incredibly sturdy. They are a little expensive (maybe $30 each?) but mine lasted literally years. I replaced them last year only because they’d faded and started to look shabby from years of sun exposure.

    Reply
  14. Carla Hinkle

    The Holy Grail of outdoor chairs are Fermob chairs. Google it — it’s what they have in the Tuileries garden in Paris. Powder coated steel, stacking, multiple fun and pretty colors, incredibly sturdy, and can stay outside all year round and never rust. Unfortunately they are…not budget friendly ( to put it mildly) at about $400/chair.

    BUT if you google “metal stacking chair” or “metal bistro chair” or similar you might be able to find something. Ikea has a $20 version that is part plastic but I couldn’t vouch for the sturdiness. Overstock has some that look pretty cute for about $50/chair.

    Powder coated metal chairs are great for sturdiness factor and can come in some many cute colors…maybe not as comfortable as something with a cushion but they will last forever!

    Reply
  15. Shawna

    We got some super-cute chairs at Pier One last year. Sturdy, colourful and stackable, but pricey and no cup holders. Also, while they are outdoor patio chairs to sit at the table on our deck, I’m not sure I’d think of them as “lawn” chairs, if that makes any sense. I feel like the feet might be too narrow and sink into grass if they were to be used on the lawn.

    Reply
  16. Jenny Grace

    My mom once sat on a chair at her FIL’s and WHILE IT DID NOT BREAK he made the comment, “You’re really testing the tensile strength of that chair.”
    (My dad’s dad is sort of the worst)

    Reply
  17. Sarah!

    These colorful plastic Adirondacks are all over the place in my city- probably because they’re weatherproof and aren’t going to get stolen off your porch, but also they’re comfy and cheap (other than the standing-up-is-hard thing previously addressed). I had one for a couple years until I moved somewhere with no meaningful porch, and it held up well for the two years I had it and now sits on a friend’s porch, still going strong.

    http://www.homedepot.com/p/RealComfort-Luxe-Patio-Adirondack-Chair-8371-97-4302/206186387

    Reply

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