Coleman Camp Chair With Cooler Review: A Season of Family Camping Trips

The first time I took the Coleman camp chair with cooler out of the back of our Ford Expedition, our youngest climbed into it before I could even unfold it. That is the thing about a chair with a cooler built into the arm. It does not need an explanation. The kids see it, they sit in it, and they immediately start asking what is in the armrest.

I bought this chair before our summer trips started, mostly because I was tired of walking back to the car every time somebody wanted a drink. Before that, I used a plain folding chair with a soft cooler bag clipped to the side, and the bag tipped over every single time somebody sat down. Six months and eleven campgrounds later, the Coleman has become the chair everyone fights over. This is the long-term review I wish I had read before I bought it.

How I've Used It

We are a family of seven, so we do not do ultralight anything. We drive up to state parks and national forest campgrounds in Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming, pop the rooftop cargo box, and set up camp for two or three nights at a time. Chairs get dragged across gravel, left in the rain, sat in by wet kids, and loaded and unloaded a dozen times a season.

I used the Coleman chair as my main camp chair for about six months. That covered a long weekend in March at a state park in northern Utah, a week-long road trip in July that took us up through Idaho and into Wyoming, and a string of shorter trips through the fall. The March trip was the coldest test. Saturday night the temperature dropped below freezing, and the chair sat by the fire ring until almost midnight while the kids roasted marshmallows in coats and gloves. The next morning the drinks in the cooler arm were still cold and the lid had kept the frost out. The July trip was the opposite problem, seven days of heat and dust. The chair lived on the tailgate and got folded and unfolded at least twice a day, and by the end of the week it was covered in dust but nothing was loose and the cooler lid still clicked shut.

The cooler arm held four cans of soda or three cans and a water bottle. On a warm afternoon, drinks stayed cold for a good three to four hours. By evening, the ice was mostly gone, but the drinks were still cooler than the air. For a day at camp, that is exactly what I needed. I also learned the right way to pack the chair in the Expedition. It folds flat enough to slide behind the third row, which is where it lived for most of the season. That meant I did not have to dig it out from under the tent and the sleeping bags every time we stopped.

What the Cooler Arm Actually Does

The built-in cooler is the reason this chair exists, so let me be specific about how it works. The armrest opens up and inside there is a lined compartment that fits four standard 12-ounce cans. You add ice, close the lid, and the armrest becomes a cooler you are already sitting next to.

I tested it with a bag of ice on a 90-degree afternoon at a campground in Idaho. The first can came out cold two hours in. The fourth can, four hours in, was still noticeably cold. The ice had melted by then, but the water in the bottom of the compartment kept working. If you are the kind of person who drinks one can an hour, this chair will keep your drinks cold all afternoon.

The first time I used it, I made the mistake of filling the compartment with a full bag of ice. The first can was buried, I had to dig for it, and by the time I got it out my hand was numb and the can was dripping wet. After that I used about half a bag, just enough to cover the bottom. Four cans sat on top of the ice, and the cold water underneath did the work. At the end of the day I tipped the chair sideways and dumped the water out in two seconds.

One more thing I did not expect. The cooler lid is sturdy enough to work as a side table. The kids used it as a place to rest paper plates during dinner, and it held a plate of hot dogs and a bag of chips without flexing. I would not set a cast iron skillet on it, but for everyday camp meals it is handier than I thought it would be.

The lid closes with a solid click and stays closed when the chair tips or gets bumped. That matters with kids around. I never once had the lid pop open on its own, even when the chair got knocked sideways by one of the kids running past.

Comfort and Build Over a Full Season

The seat is wider than the average camp chair and the back is tall enough that my head rests against it instead of hanging over the top. I am 5-foot-11 and about 210 pounds, and I never felt like I was spilling over the edges. The cushioned seat pad is not thick, but it is enough to keep the frame from digging into your legs during a long evening by the fire.

The frame is steel, and it shows. The chair feels solid when you sit down, with none of the wobble you get from cheaper folding chairs. The fabric is a polyester that has held up to a season of sun, rain, and the occasional spilled drink. I wiped it down with a damp cloth a few times and it still looks close to new.

The longest single sit of the season was a Friday night in October at a national forest campground in Wyoming. We stayed up until the fire burned down, which was close to midnight, and I was in the chair the whole time. My back was fine. That is more than I can say for the cheap folding chair I used the year before, which had a bar that pressed into the back of my thighs and had me standing up every twenty minutes.

The frame also survived the dumbest thing I did all season. I set the chair on the tailgate while I unloaded the rest of the gear, and it slid off onto the gravel. It hit hard and bounced once. I was sure the armrest would be cracked or the frame would be bent. When I picked it up, the frame was still square, it opened without a hitch, and the only mark was a scuff on one arm. That is the kind of abuse a camp chair actually has to survive, and this one did.

The cup holder on the other arm is deep enough for a standard water bottle, and the side pocket holds a phone, a book, or a bag of marshmallows. The carrying bag is basic but functional. The chair fits in it without a fight, which is more than I can say for some chairs I have owned.

The seat height suits me. At 5-foot-11, my feet sit flat on the ground when I am in the chair, and the armrests come up to a comfortable height for resting a plate or a book. That sounds like a small thing, but I have spent evenings in chairs that sat too low, and by the time the fire burned down my knees ached.

What the Kids Did to It

Five kids between the ages of 4 and 15 is a brutal testing lab for any piece of camping gear. The Coleman chair survived all of it. The 12-year-old used it as a reading chair, the teenagers used it as a place to sit while they scrolled their phones, and our youngest used it as a climbing structure.

The worst single incident happened in July. Our youngest climbed onto the seat, stood up to reach for a s'more on the table, and the whole chair tipped backward onto the gravel. I was sure that was the end of it. But the frame locked back open like nothing had happened, and the only damage was a scuff on the armrest. The same weekend, the 12-year-old claimed the chair for an entire afternoon and read a book in it while the rest of us set up camp. When I finally got it back, there was a half-melted can of soda in the cooler arm, and the lid had kept it from spilling onto the seat.

The only damage after six months is a small scuff on one of the armrests where the chair got dragged across a gravel pad. The cooler lid still closes tight, the frame still locks open, and the fabric has no tears or loose seams. For a chair that costs what this one costs, that is the kind of durability I did not expect.

After six months and eleven campgrounds, the only damage is a scuff on one armrest where the chair got dragged across gravel.

Where It Falls Short

The Coleman chair is not perfect, and I would not want you to buy it expecting it to be. It weighs about 12 pounds, which is fine for carrying from the car to the fire ring but not something you want to hike with. If you need a chair for backpacking, this is not it.

The cooler arm is also not a replacement for a real cooler. Four cans is enough for one person for an afternoon, but not for a family. I still kept a bigger cooler in the car for the kids. The chair cooler is for the person sitting in the chair, and that is the right way to think about it.

The armrest cooler also means the chair is wider than a standard camp chair. It fits through a standard campsite picnic table, but it is not a chair you want to pack tightly. And if you are the kind of person who likes to lean the chair back, the fixed position takes a little getting used to.

The width took some getting used to. Because the cooler arm sticks out farther than a normal armrest, the chair does not fit as snugly at a picnic table as a standard camp chair. At one campground in Utah, I had to pull the chair out a few inches so the bench would clear the armrest. It is a small thing, but it came up on almost every trip.

Who This Is For

This chair is for the person who camps out of a car, not out of a backpack. If you drive to a state park, set up camp, and spend the weekend sitting by the fire, the Coleman camp chair with cooler is about as good as it gets. It is also a great chair for tailgating, for sitting on the patio, or for the parent who wants a cold drink within reach without walking back to the car.

It is especially good for families. The cooler arm is a natural magnet for kids, and the chair is sturdy enough to survive them. If you have one chair that everyone fights over, this is the one you want it to be.

If you are the parent who ends up being the family drink runner, this chair will save you a surprising number of trips. I counted a dozen walks back to the cooler on a single afternoon before I bought this chair. Afterward, I made that walk about twice.

Who Should Skip It

If you are a backpacker, a motorcycle camper, or anyone who counts ounces, skip this chair. At about 12 pounds, it is too heavy to carry any real distance. If you need a chair that packs down to the size of a water bottle, there are better options.

If you camp with a big group and expect one chair to supply drinks for everyone, skip it. The cooler holds four cans, not a case. And if you prefer a chair that reclines, the fixed back on this one will not give you that.

A friend of mine brought one to a music festival and loved it for the same reason I do, but he also said he would not want to carry it from a distant parking lot. He was right. I carry it maybe 60 yards from the car to the fire ring, and that is about the limit.