If you are preparing for a day at the beach, you will need an awesome beach chair. Sure, you could just take along your favorite beach towel and hope the sand isn't so hot that it scorches you through the fabric. And you could worry about constantly washing your towels and dragging two or three along so you can lay on one, dry off with the other, and possibly take along a spare in case of disaster. You could do all of that, or you could invest in a quality beach chair to keep you and your belongings off of the hot sand. A good beach chair allows you to lounge in a reclined position while you read your favorite book, or lays flat so you can work on your summer tan. Some beach chairs come with amenities such as an attached pillow that flips to the back of the chair when not in use, pockets or slings for your drinks, books, or cell phone, and even small attached coolers for snacks and quick access to drinking water. The right beach chair will fold and be easily portable. Many come with attached straps that make them easy to carry on your shoulder so you can carry your beach bag as well and still have your hands free to wrangle the kids.
You might even choose to invest in a beach chair that has a built-in canopy to shade you from the sun and protect your skin. This is great for people who plan to be outside for hours on end or who have fair skin and are especially prone to sunburn. There are multiple benefits to taking a trip to the beach with your brand new beach chair in tow. Besides the obvious excitement of getting away from work and spending time with sand and ocean, your mind and body can tangibly benefit. Whether you are splashing in the water, running along the shore, or simply kicking back in the sunshine to enjoy your favorite book, music, or get a tan, a day on the beach will wear you out. The great thing about this is that you will sleep like a baby when you get to your bed. You will get your daily allotment of Vitamin D just by hanging out on the beach for ten minutes. Be careful not to spend too much time in the direct sunlight. Bring a form of shade and always use sunscreen! If you're hesitant about jumping into the water, don't be!
The iodine in salt water is a great way to boost your immune system. So wade up to your knees or waist and splash around with the kids or your significant other. You will start feeling rejuvenated in no time. This one might seem obvious, but you tend to get more exercise when you're outdoors. Don't spend your entire time sitting around on your beach chair. Get up, splash around in the water, or take a stroll along the sand. You will feel better if you do. Your skin will thank you for your beach trip. The sand exfoliates, while the sun detoxifies, and the salt water has antibacterial properties. If you have trouble breathing, ocean air can do wonders for your lungs. You naturally breath deeper when you're outside in fresh air. A day at the beach can exercise your lungs and increase the amount of oxygen you get. Finally, time at the beach is great for your mind. You practically have no choice but to relax and enjoy yourself. This can be replenishing and restful for your mind and help your focus when you finally do have to get back to the regular grind.
The modern beach chair most closely resembles the butterfly chair which was invented in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1938. It was designed by three architects named Antonia Bonet, Jorge Ferrari Hardoy, and Juan Kurchan. It was originally made from two steel rods that bent to hold a large leather sling, creating a chair that could be folded and carried anywhere. The butterfly chair is a version of the Paragon chair that was invented in the 1870s to create seating for campaigns. It appears that this design was expanded on to eventually create modern day portable camping chairs and beach chairs. The original beach chair was also known as the Strandkorb. It was invented in 1882 by Wilhelm Bartelmann who was a German basket maker. They were designed to shield beach patrons from the elements by providing surrounding protection on the sides and top. It kept people dry in the event of rain and also provided shade when the sun became too hot. The original Strandkorb design only seated one person, but it was eventually expanded to seat two or more people.
They were considered comfortable and luxurious and were often lined with fabric for maximum comfort. The Strandkorb is still used today in Germany.CCBCC in the Press Greatest beach chairs ever! Don't just take our word for it... see what others are saying. Workshop and Company Store A must-see destination on Cape Cod! Add embroidered names, monograms, and more! Personalized chairs make a great gift.Nature is, among other things, uncomfortable. This is a fact often overlooked by chroniclers of the outdoors. They are too busy remarking on its alleged beauty and so-called charm to notice that there's nowhere to sit. And so God, in His infinite wisdom, gave us lawn chairs. But old-fashioned lawn chairs, with their flimsy aluminum frames and fraying, crisscross mesh, leave much to be desired. Fortunately, these days there are innumerable options when it comes to alfresco seating—so many choices, in fact, that you might feel overwhelmed. Take heart, however: Slate, in the form of me, has invested considerable time and significant effort evaluating portable outdoor chairs in order to find you the best one.
This has meant hour upon hour, day after day, of sophisticated, scientific testing that would be, even if I had room to explain it here, incomprehensible to the layman. OK, mostly I sat in them. But I did enlist the assistance of several family members, including my mom, dad, and sister. They sat in them, too. We Bartletts have long been known as judicious sitters. It's a point of family pride: We don't put our butts in just any old place. Portability (10 possible points): An outdoor chair must be portable. If portability weren't a factor, you'd take your Barcalounger to the beach. It should be relatively light and not cumbersome. A carrying strap is nice, too. Ease of setup (10 possible points): If a chair takes more than, say, eight seconds to set up, I want no part of it. Also, it shouldn't require instructions. It's a chair, that's why. Comfort (10 possible points): No bar should hit me in the back of the neck or knee. While I don't expect it to be as comfy as my couch, I don't want to feel like I'm being tortured, either.
Design (10 possible points): A catch-all for attractiveness and features, with an emphasis on simplicity. I like a nifty cup holder as much as the next guy, but let's not get too fancy. The results, from crappy to cushy: Office To Go Ergolounger, $59.95 First, some faint praise: The Office To Go Ergolounger is ambitious. Other chairs are happy just being chairs. The Office To Go has a detachable laptop table, an ottoman, a large side pouch for books, and an adjustable lumbar support. A definite A for effort. But an F for execution. While the laptop table holds a laptop, it's difficult to attach; I'd rather use my lap. The ottoman fell apart every time I used it. The lumbar support did nothing for me. And heaven help you if you forget to lock the legs in place before sitting down. On the upside it's … uh. Did I say ambitious already? Portability: 4 (out of 10)Ease of Use: 3 (out of 10)Comfort: 4 (out of 10)Design: 2 (out of 10)Total: 13 (out of 40) Travel Chair Teddy, $31.50 Eh.
That pretty much sums it up. But for your benefit, I'll pad this out a bit. It's hard to get out of the Travel Chair. And once you're in it, you'll want to get out, because it's not very comfortable. For example, it has these little plastic things at the edge of the seat that will scratch the underside of your legs. What's more, your rear end will hang low, causing you to scrunch over like you're prematurely old. If you already are old, it will make matters worse. Portability: 6 Ease of Use: 6 Comfort: 4 Design: 5 Total: 21 The Wilderness Recliner, $49.99 The Wilderness Recliner is classy. The armrests are made of fine mahogany, for goodness' sake. All right, that's probably not real mahogany. Unfortunately, the insulated cup holder doesn't quite fit a can of Coke—or at least not my can of Coke. The straps that connect the seat to the back make it hard to rest your arms on those "mahogany" arm rests. Everyone who tried this chair had the same complaint. While this may not sound like a big deal, it is.
If you don't believe me, come to my house and I'll show you what I mean. On second thought, don't come to my house. I don't know you. Portability: 6Ease of Use: 8Comfort: 5Design: 5Total: 24 Kelsyus Backpack Beach Chair, $44.95 The packaging shows a shirtless, vaguely European dude reclining beneath the chair's broad, sun-reflecting canopy. He has that no-expression expression that models must spend hours perfecting. But I know what he's thinking: "Please, please let me out of this awful chair!" Well, maybe it's not that bad. The canopy, while a tad dorky, is effective and packs down to an easy-to-carry size. The chair itself is surprisingly lightweight. Yet the head cushion is too low, making it uncomfortable to lean back. The arm rests are flimsy and annoying (one of my arm rests was broken when it arrived—which may not speak well of quality control). Unlike some of the other reclining beach chairs, it's not adjustable. And the canopy is a chore to set up. Portability: 8Ease of Use: 5Comfort: 6Design: 6Total: 25
Everywhere Chair, $39.99 The Everywhere Chair is just like me: simple, easy, and cheap. This is the chair you want to bring to a hillside concert. Or to watch fireworks. It's extremely easy to set up (unfold it) and has a useful shoulder strap and a padded backrest. It's surprisingly comfortable as well. You could fall asleep in this chair. It does not have an armrest, headrest, cup holder, or sun shade. But what it lacks in features it makes up for in utility. "To Maximum The Ultimate In Comfort!" declares an ad for the Everywhere Chair. I don't know what that means, but I couldn't agree more. Portability: 7Ease of Use: 8Comfort: 7Design: 6Total: 28 Rio Brands Backpack Beach Chair, $40.00 The perfect beach chair—almost. The only thing the Rio lacks is a built-in sun shade. If you can get by without one of those, then you're golden. Or perhaps golden brown. It has four—count 'em!—four positions. You can go from more or less upright to lazily reclined simply by lifting the arm rests.
It has straps so you can wear it like a backpack. It has a roomy compartment for your beach essentials. The cupholder isn't too bad, either. But what I like best about this chair is the headrest. On two of the other chairs (the Wilderness and the Kelsyus), the headrests do little to protect your head. The fine people at Rio Brands realize that not all of us are the same height, and so their headrest is adjustable. Portability: 7Ease of Use: 8Comfort: 8Design: 7Total: 30 Renetto Canopy Chair, $ 49.99 * I'm writing this sentence while sitting outside in my Renetto. A guy just drove by and yelled something incomprehensible in my direction. Same to you, buddy. He's probably just jealous of my chair. And why wouldn't he be? I like the Renetto so much I'm at a loss for words. It's the most portable chair I tested, folding up niftily into a non-goofy-looking backpack (go to the Renetto Web site to see a movie of the chair folding in action). It's solid, stable, and comfortable. And the retractable, ingenious sun canopy turns into the chair's carrying case.