Best Beach Chairs UK 2024
We’ve looked through the best beach chairs available in the UK and selected our top picks to review. The beach chairs can be separated into two distinct design styles — front folding and crossbar. The chairs we selected are deliberately a combination of these styles as what will suit you best depends on your intended use and what works for your body. We tested these chairs by walking with them, and by sitting in them for hours on sand, pebbles and grass. Comprehensive reviews of each product can be accessed via the ‘Read Full Review’ buttons below, or you can watch our beach chair video review. Looking for some fun at the beach? Check out our list of the best inflatable kayaks.
Updated 13th February 2024
Beach Chair Reviews
Kampa Sandy High Back
Price At Time Of Writing | £29.99
Overall Rating | 90
Construction and Design | 8
Setup/Pack Down | 8
Portability | 9
Comfort | 8
Durability | 7
Open Size - 64x57x64cm
Weight - 3kg
Load Capacity - 120kg
Materials - Steel, polyester
Pros - Well-constructed, easy setup
Cons - No cup holders and pockets
Overall - A sturdy, reasonably-priced, simple option
Tommy Bahama Deluxe
Price At Time Of Writing | £149.99
Overall Rating | 86
Construction and Design | 8
Setup/Pack Down | 5
Portability | 8
Comfort | 8
Durability | 7
Open Size - 61x81x71cm
Weight - 3.33kg
Load Capacity - 136kg
Materials - Aluminium, polyester
Pros - High quality, good-looking and lightweight
Cons - Flimsy carrying straps, low back
Overall - Great for lounging with everything to hand
RIO Beach Folding
Price At Time Of Writing | £111.84
Overall Rating | 85
Construction and Design | 9
Setup/Pack Down | 7
Portability | 9
Comfort | 5
Durability | 5
Open Size - 78x63x75cm
Weight - 3.18kg
Load Capacity - 113kg
Materials - Aluminium, polyester
Pros - Lightweight, well constructed and good looking
Cons - Shallow seat and no headrest
Overall - A portable option if looks are important
SONGMICS Portable
Price At Time Of Writing | £45.81
Overall Rating | 81
Construction and Design | 7
Setup/Pack Down | 6
Portability | 9
Comfort | 4
Durability | 5
Open Size - 63x68x75cm
Weight - 3.1kg
Load Capacity - 150kg
Materials - Aluminium, polyester
Pros - Lightweight and easy to carry, well-priced
Cons - Suited for small people only
Overall - A basic but well-made option
Homevative Foldable Backpack
Price At Time Of Writing | £75.00
Overall Rating | 81
Construction and Design | 8
Setup/Pack Down | 5
Portability | 7
Comfort | 5
Durability | 6
Open Size - 43x64x84cm
Weight - 3.75kg
Load Capacity - 109kg
Materials - Aluminium, polyester
Pros - Thoughtfully designed pockets, durable materials
Cons - Uncomfortable when reclining or if tall
Overall - Portable and ideal for having everything to hand
GCI Outdoors Sunshade
Price At Time Of Writing | £120.02
Overall Rating | 76
Construction and Design | 6
Setup/Pack Down | 7
Portability | 3
Comfort | 7
Durability | 3
Open Size - 114x62x110cm
Weight - 4.63kg
Load Capacity - 113kg
Materials - Aluminium/steel, polyester/mesh
Pros - Built-in sunshade
Cons - Heavy, too big to carry, not the best looking
Overall - The best option with a built-in shade
Homecall Beach Folding
Price At Time Of Writing | £34.62
Overall Rating | 69
Construction and Design | 4
Setup/Pack Down | 6
Portability | 3
Comfort | 4
Durability | 2
Open Size - 52x35x56cm
Weight - 3.49kg
Load Capacity - 120kg
Materials - Steel, polyester
Pros - Simple setup, heavy duty fabric
Cons - Metal parts are low quality
Overall - You can certainly sit down on it
Advice We’d Give to A Friend
The Basics
How do I know if it's going to be comfortable? - Consider whether you want a chair that reclines or something more upright. Look for a good amount of space between the seat fabric and any metal frame to ensure no frame digs into you, check the depth and width of the seat matches your size, and look for extras like armrests, cup holders and storage pockets.
How important is portability in a beach chair? - If you've ever carried a whole bunch of stuff down to the seaside, pretty important. Look for lighter-weight chairs with backpack or carry straps.
Will it last? - Well-constructed chairs made of strong steel or aluminium frames that have been rust-treated, and high denier fabric, will last for years, so look for those qualities when choosing a beach chair.
Budget
You can definitely find a decent beach chair without having to spend a ton of money. For a better comparison, we can divide the market into three main categories:
Under £50 - You're generally looking at chairs with a much simpler design that probably won't recline. You can get some good durable picks in this range if you're happy with that.
£50 to £75 - You're usually looking at some less well-constructed reclining chairs, or chairs with more features. There are decent chairs here too, but if you're after a quality reclining chair that will last, we'd suggest spending a bit more.
Over £100 - You'll get a high-quality, durable reclining chair with lots of features. In most cases, we don't think you should be spending over 150 pounds on a beach chair.
Purpose of Use
Think about how you will use your beach chair. Is it just for you or will you be sharing it with the family? Will you be buying multiple? Do you prefer reclining or reading a book more upright or do you bring a lot of items with you to the beach that you need to store somewhere? Consider these questions when choosing a beach chair as they will determine the type of chair you buy and how simple the design is.
Ratings By Category
Method
We selected the top beach chair in each category after evaluating the chairs currently on the market and each chair instantly earned 50 points just for being chosen. To then rank them out of 10 in Construction/Design, Setup/Pack Down, Portability, Comfort and Durability, we conducted field tests and in-person evaluations.
Rankings are modified or weighted according to their significance and degree of variation, for example, certain categories will be rated from 1 to 10, while others will be rated from 4 to 9, etc. However, there are occasionally outliers. We have done our best to accurately depict how each beach chair ranks overall and why.
Our aim is to give you all the information you need to find the best beach chair in the UK. At The Equipment Guide, we believe that thorough reviews of beach chairs should give you all the information you need to choose one.
Construction/Design
Construction and Design looks at how well the beach chair is made and the quality of the fabrics and frame. It also looks at how well the chair is designed for use.
The difference here does tend to be in line with the price: cheaper chairs will be less well-constructed, except for our top pick. The Kampa Sandy High Back came out on top as it's a great combination of lightweight, durable materials, thoughtful design and comfort, especially for the price. The Tommy Bahama Deluxe and Rio Beach Folding chairs both have features like reclinable backs, armrests, pockets and drink holders. The second cheapest of our picks, the Homecall Beach Folding, does have durable fabric, but its metal frame is low quality and it has no extras.
The Tommy Bahama has a wide seat with armrests
Low armrests can be uncomfortable for tall people
Setup/Pack Down
Setup/Pack Down focuses on how easy it is to set up a beach chair, how large it opens to, then how easy it is to pack away and how small its packed size is.
Most chairs are really simple to set up, so there's not a huge amount of difference here between the ratings. Usually non-reclining chairs are slightly easier to set up. It’s best to get a reclinable chair that has something to keep it in place, as with the Homecall Beach Folding chair, it needs your weight to fully keep it open. The SONGMICS Portable Beach Chair requires a simple opening and placing it on the sand, although you must make sure to fold out the support stand first, which is easy to forget. The Tommy Bahama is quite complex to set up for a beach chair, requiring different stages of clips and openings which can be annoying. The Kampa Sandy High Back ranks highest here, with a smooth open and close with its folding design.
Consider how you will store and transport the chair, as this can help you make your purchasing decision
Many of the chairs on our list have a simple 'open/close' design
Portability
Portability looks at the important mix of weight, packed size and ease of carrying a chair. In selecting the most portable beach chair, also consider its carry style — does it have in-built backpack straps or come in a carry bag with a shoulder strap?
There are two clear styles here: chairs that fold in half and chairs that fold more into a tube shape. Smaller chairs will obviously tend to be lighter, but the key thing for us is to think about how you want to use it. If it's just a chair for you then backpack chairs are great, whereas if you're a family of four carting a lot of stuff down to the sea then you might want several smaller chairs that you can fit in a cart. The SONGMICS Portable Beach Chair has the word in its name, it’s light — the second lightest of our picks — and comfortable to carry on your back. The lightest on our list, the Kampa Sandy High Back, packs into a small tube, so it’s easy to carry, although the carry back could be better quality. The RIO Beach Folding Chair has a carry strap to sling over your shoulder, although the single strap may not suit some people.
Some chairs compact into a tube with a bag and carrying strap, others fold in half
The Tommy Bahama chair is equipped with backpack straps for transport
Comfort
Comfort considers the size of the sitting area, how high the back rest is, how the material and frame feels when sitting and how its design comes into play when sitting, such as accessibility to pockets and cup holders.
Make sure chairs have a deep and wide-enough seat to accommodate you. Low-backed, non-reclining chairs can definitely be comfortable, just make sure that's what you want, and if you're after a high-backed chair, also make sure the back will be high enough to rest your head against. Something with armrests, or at least places to rest your arms, is key. Finally, make sure you choose a chair without an obvious frame that's going to dig into you while you're sitting. The Homevative Folding Backpack chair has quite a short back so it can dig into your back if you’re taller, although it does fully recline for lounging. The front edge of the frame of the SONGMICS chair can dig into your legs when sitting and reclining and it’s quite small. Like most low-back chairs, the Tommy Bahama can be a pain when upright, especially with the pillow hitting you under your neck, but it’s fine when reclining.
Some chairs are quite low to the ground
Tall people should opt for a high-backed chair
Durability
Durability looks at how well a chair is made compared to how well it will last. There's not always a clear correlation here between price and durability, so you need to know what to look for.
We'd recommend chairs using at least 300 denier polyester, which will last well over time. Aluminium frames are much lighter-weight than steel but not quite as strong, so choose based on what you prioritise, and make sure everything metal is rust-treated as repeated exposure to salty air will cause the joints in the metal frame to corrode and weaken over time. The sunshade and attachments of the GCI Outdoors feel easy to bend or break, especially during transport, and while the fabric of the Homecall Beach Folding is great, the carry bag is not so much and the metal frame is very flimsy. The SONGMICS Beach Chair, while it has an aluminium rather than steel frame, feels as though it will last a while.
Look for a durable polyester fabric
Steel frames can rust if exposed to salty air or moisture for too long
Overall Ratings
Learn what to look for in a beach chair in our video review
Learn what to look for in a beach chair in our video review
About Our Testing Process
Here at The Equipment Guide we write reviews for the UK with the goal of providing a genuine personal assessment of the best products on the market right here at home.
All products are reviewed and ranked in a methodical and careful manner and we assess them on relevant key features. We do not accept free products from manufacturers.
Our mission is simple: To create the UK’s best outdoor gear reviews.
Afterword
We hope you liked our reviews of the best beach chairs available in the UK.
There really is a lot of similarity between beach chairs and to be honest, the biggest factor in determining what the best beach chair is for you will come down to your personal preference. If you would like us to review a product or have any feedback we’d love to hear from you, feel free to drop us a note.
If you do purchase and are out in your beach chair please share some pics with us, we’d love to see you in action.