Verdict
The cheerfully striped and colourful Easy Camp Tera reclining chair is ideal if you need a cheap, versatile lightweight camping chair that packs down small to fit in your motorhome.
Sadly it’s not the most comfortable reclining camping chair we’ve tested, though, and we’ve given it a three-star rating.
Pros
Compact for storage
Lightweight
Colourful
Cheap
Cons
17 stone 4lbs maximum load is lower than some
There’s a knack to using it
Much as we love the joys of bowling along the open road in our motorhomes, it’s also fun to stop, put the kettle on for a brew and get out the sun loungers for a bit of a snooze, in a beautiful location.
You do have relaxing camping chairs on board, don’t you? If not, or if they somehow got left out in the rain last year, why not check out our latest sun lounger reviews to find the best, most comfortable recliners you can buy.
The more camping chairs we tested, the more we realised that comfy recliners with multiple positions are the best sun loungers for most occasions. Traditional sun loungers were enough for us in the past, but now many of us are built for comfort, not speed, and we like chairs to match.
They’re perfect used in semi-reclined positions for reading and sunbathing, as well as lying flat out, whether you face the sky or the ground.
We find it handy to put recliner chairs into upright positions before getting into them and out of them. And after striding out along the cliffs, picnicking in the dunes or exploring stately homes and gardens, how lovely it would be to get back to the motorhome and then sink into a recliner with plenty of comfy padding and contours in all the right places.
We often want upright camping chairs for dining al-fresco, but then we also want recliners for proper relaxation. So it’s not really surprising that there’s a new trend for two-part recliner chairs with footstools.
To find out what all these reclining chairs are actually like, we tested the Easy Camp Tera at £39.99, and the Quest Elite Riviera Lounger at £76.99, a traditional sunbed with a difference. It’s up against the Outwell Victoria at £85.99, a sunbed with desirable extra features such as a sunshade and comfy padding. The unusual-looking Easy Camp Pier at £39.99 gave us a surprise on first glance, but could its intriguing design prove to be the shape of sun loungers to come? We liked the look of another novel design, too, the Argos Malibu Rolling Recliner at £34.99, which turns itself from chair to hammock!
The Outwell Merlo costing £67.99 had us chuckling at the sound of its name – is it (red) wine o’clock already? But best of all we liked the Kampa Opulence Amalfi, a bargain at £74.99, our sun lounger test winner.
Every product we tested was checked against the same criteria. We looked at chair comfort, trying each one in all its various modes, and checked the maximum load weights. Most reclining camping chairs can hold people up to 100kg to 120kg (15 stone 7lbs to 19 stone) as a maximum weight limit. Some go further, supporting heavier people, up to 150kg (almost 24 stone). It’s a good indication of the chair’s strength, even if you and your partner together are so slim that you don’t add up to the maximum load stated.
Bearing the modest payloads available in some motorhomes and limited storage space in mind, we checked each chair’s total weight and folded size and shape. Chairs with aluminium frames tended to be lighter than the powder-coated steel-framed sun loungers.
The shape of the armrests can make quite a difference to your comfort and we also loved spotting extra features like headrests, lumbar support padding and somewhere to put your coffee or your glass of wine.
Value for money is the final measuring stick we applied to all our sun lounger tests.
In this review we’ll focus on the Easy Camp Tera reclining chair costing £39.99. Essentially a large camping chair with a detachable leg-rest, this is very much a product of contrasts.
For instance, the 20cm x 22cm x 97cm pack-down size and low, 4.2kg weight make it excellent from a storage point of view. But be warned: the overly snug storage bag will test your patience.
In terms of comfort, this is almost as hammock-like as a relaxer; however, it doesn’t work brilliantly well as a chair thanks to the ‘sitting in a hole’ style of support. Getting on and off can be tricky, too, with the leg rest in place. It will actually fold together, allowing you to position your legs normally prior to getting up, but this is a technique that has to be learned.
The maximum load capacity of 110kg (17 stone 4lbs) could also be a deal-breaker for some.
On the plus side, it has a padded back, a detachable pillow and mesh cup holders.
In terms of comfort, this is almost as hammock-like as a relaxer
Technical Specifications
Size | 100cm wide x 134cm deep x 94cm high |
Folded size | 20cm x 22cm x 97cm |
Maximum load capacity | 110kg (17 stone 4lb 8oz approx) |
Chair fabric | Polyester PU coated/ Diamond ripstop polyester, 100% polyester |
Frame material | Steel |
Seat height | 47cm |
Weight | 4.2kg |