Folding Seat / Recliner?

I wonder if anyone has come across really comfortable folding seats ?

Our back deck is almost 15 ft square so we spend good time there under a sun cover.

RV folding seats are cheap and quick, but not for a long after noon with a good book, and a brew.

Any Ideas??

I like the folding Air Chairs for comfort but most are steel and rust in no time if left out. They are big but fold fsirly flat compared to many chairs. Comfy sitting upright to all the way reclined.

Would love to find one in an aluminum and /or stainless version for less than a fortune.

Because we have the room on the flybridge, the 2 most comfy style chairs I have tried in a long time, cushions or not, were the basic stacking plastic ones and a pmastic adirondak version at Home Depot. Probably a summer buy , maybe 2 of each as they last for years, are versitile, and wont break the bank.

We had some Garelick folding chairs, aluminum frame with white seat and back pads. The seat back angle was good, the padding was good, and they actually lasted a bazillion years or so. (or maybe about 15)

Replaced those with a West Marine chair that I thought was a stainless version of the previous... but the seat back angle is different, not as comfortable, at least for me. Not bad, just not as good, not quite what I expected. So far, not much apparent wear, and it's out in the cockpit 24/7 during our "season."

Anyway, not recliners, but you might find those worth a look.

-Chris

Kettler makes great resin folding chairs. Price is from about $100 to $350 for top of the line. I have two Kettler Nizza on the boat and two Kettler Tiffany at home.

seasalt007 said:

Kettler makes great resin folding chairs. Price is from about $100 to $350 for top of the line. I have two Kettler Nizza on the boat and two Kettler Tiffany at home.

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I second the Kettler motion. I have two of the Roma model. 149/each. They are nicely shaped to the body; for extended sitting, you may want a seat cushion. I have a couple REI inflatables.

I’ve heard sailors rave about these things. Kind of want to try one.

https://www.sportaseat.com

West marine makes a great “zero gravity” full reclining chair. $99 when on sale

cardude01 said:

I’ve heard sailors rave about these things. Kind of want to try one.

https://www.sportaseat.com

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We have had them for years for our sailboats. They are much more comfortable than sitting on the fiberglass bench seats in a cockpit but... I moved to a trawler for more comfort.

cardude01 said:

I’ve heard sailors rave about these things. Kind of want to try one.

https://www.sportaseat.com

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We have 2 of these, came with the boat. Use them on top of the flybridge bench cushions to lean against the side rather than face fore or aft. Take them down on foredeck, aft, wherever they will fit. Very comfortable and the two we have did the loop with the PO and show no wear. Adding on two more.

firstbase said:

We have 2 of these, came with the boat. Use them on top of the flybridge bench cushions to lean against the side rather than face fore or aft. Take them down on foredeck, aft, wherever they will fit. Very comfortable and the two we have did the loop with the PO and show no wear. Adding on two more.

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Are they heavy enough to not blow off the boat when underway?

I haven't had any issues with that happening. I guess if you put them upright without anything preventing them from blowing over they would but they aren't really meant to be used as a stand alone (sit alone?) seat. Meaning they are always up against something. Hope that makes sense. We have leaned them up against the windshield and no blow overs when left there.

We have this front seating area and I thought those seats might work there. We need a back rest.


We also have these small steps/seating areas in our very small cockpit that I thought might be a good spot for a “sport a seat”. They would be in the way when using the step to get to the side deck, but I guess I could just move it over. When underway we usually aren’t using those steps that much. My wife keeps putting little cushions on the steps to sit on and they always blow off.

ranger42c said:

We had some Garelick folding chairs, aluminum frame with white seat and back pads. The seat back angle was good, the padding was good, and they actually lasted a bazillion years or so. (or maybe about 15)
-Chris

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I second those.

out of 100 comfortable chairs.....I hate to say it because they look like they belong....

but the white folding marine chairs whether Garleick, West, Defender, etc...etc are way overpriced for comfort and longevity.

And please, comments on this subject are only opinion so sit your own butt in whatever and enjoy....

I have the white padded vinyl Garelick on the boat and like them, but they're heavy and bulky. The only compact fabric folding chair I've found that's comfortable is the Strongback Chair.

Several friends like mine so much they've bought their own.

The strong back is in the ballpark , only wish I could find one that offered different positions , like reclining!

psneeld said:

out of 100 comfortable chairs.....I hate to say it because they look like they belong....

but the white folding marine chairs whether Garleick, West, Defender, etc...etc are way overpriced for comfort and longevity.

And please, comments on this subject are only opinion so sit your own butt in whatever and enjoy....

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I did actually get about 15 years service from our previous pair, though... out in the cockpit, rain or shine... so at least the per annum expense was semi-reasonable.

FlyWright said:

I have the white padded vinyl Garelick on the boat and like them, but they're heavy and bulky.

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Yeah. not easy to schlepp around... which is why ours lived in the cockpit all the time... only very occasionally even folded up for space considerations.

-Chris

Yeah Chris, I hate it that I really do think that one of the chrapest outdoor chair designs is so dang durable and comfortable to me....

I bet many others of different sizes and shapes disagree....but what's a guy to do?

Unlike a patio where you can have a variety of outdoor seating...or pull nice expensive ones under protection from the elements and they dont endure salt spray.....

Yep, tough call, but thankfully not losing sleep over it until I do stumble over the perfect chair, and it costs half of what my boat does...

We had some of the plastic stacking ones at one time too. I thought they were comfortable enough angles, but would have benefited from a seat cushion -- which we never bothered to add. I think we finally bagged those partly because they took up slightly more space than the folders, even when stacked... and partly because we got the bigger boat with it's own seating on the flying bridge...

We've got a couple sets of folding camping chairs on board now, too... partly to replace the stackers, since they really can be stuffed away into various storage spaces. Haven't had to really use them on the boat; they get more use on the dock when the party crowd is there yucking it up. Mixed feelings about comfort; one set is better than the other, and that's mostly about seating angles and so forth. Helps to have built-in drink holders in the arms, though.

-Chris

psneeld said:

out of 100 comfortable chairs.....I hate to say it because they look like they belong....

but the white folding marine chairs whether Garleick, West, Defender, etc...etc are way overpriced for comfort and longevity.

And please, comments on this subject are only opinion so sit your own butt in whatever and enjoy....

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I agree on price also we got 4 of them on craigslist a few years ago kept them for a few years and then gave them away because the space they took up

Not trawler based yet, but I have 2 very comfortable options I use for the camper or sailboat.
My favorite (w/ ottoman) is: Brown Club Chair - Mac Sports C932S-100 - Folding Chairs - Camping World
For the boat: https://www.westmarine.com/beanbag-chairs

I have spent many days lounging in both including a 7 hour delivery on the bean bag, and both with be on the trawler.

BJ's has an aluminum frame folding recliner beach chair with a padded headrest for $40 in their stores. It was a little short for me, but I'm too tall (6' 3") so when you recline in it, my feet stick out from the ankles on. Looked and felt solid, and fairly light weight, folds flat. If anyone is interested, I'll get a photo and ordering #.

Folding chairs sold by Costco for maybe $25-30 are actually pretty comfortable. Most have a little folding side table/drink holder and are made of Aluminum. They stow in the lazerette on our GB 32.
Oldersalt

The best thing about the StrongBack chairs is the lower lumbar support. Most of those sling and fabric director's chairs leave a hollow space where I need support. StrongBack works well for me, but they're heavier than your typical folding chair. The chair comes with a sling bag that has shoulder straps that help if hoofing it with a chair in hand.

second the Garelick chairs. Ihave an almost new one for sale if you want to pick it up in fort Myers