Please find me the perfect backyard lounging chair

April 23, 2020 9:26 PM

I do not want a lounging chair with a laptop tray that makes it easy for me to work from my backyard. I do not want a gorgeous Adirondack chair. I do not want a beautiful vintage work of art of a chair that I can take pictures of for Instagram but that I do not want to actually lounge in. I want a comfy lounging chair.

Please help me find the best, most comfortable ,modern version of one of those 60s-80s folding lounge chair thingies. You know, the ones that were made of either strips of vinyl tubing wrapped around metal that got burning-hot in the sun, or strips of like plastic-woven-into-canvas-like-material that always fell apart after a year or two, also wrapped around metal that got burning-hot in the sun. And also the metal rusted after you accidentally left it out in the yard like two times in the rain.

Surely there is a new or better version of this chair. I want to put it out in my backyard and fall asleep in it with a beer in my hand and a dog snoozing in the grass in the shade I create, just like my dad used to do. But more comfy.

posted by erst to Home & Garden (8 answers total)

Best answer: How about a zero gravity chair? https://www.thespruce.com/best-zero-gravity-chairs-4173637
posted by Juniper Toast at 9:46 PM on April 23, 2020 [8 favorites]

I was going to suggest the same. ‘Zero gravity’ is the code word for that kind of lounge type now. You’ll find the modern version of strips is now one big mesh panel, usually. Dealbreaker?
posted by bartleby at 1:11 AM on April 24, 2020

Came in here to say zero gravity chair. Look for one with really strong material that won't rip.
posted by girlpublisher at 5:21 AM on April 24, 2020

Totally agree that zero gravity chairs have all the good parts of those old loungers minus the burning and the bar digging into your back. If you don't like the mesh backs, they make them with nylon backs or even padded nylon backs. Ours is from Costco and not currently on their web site. I love the degree of adjustment and ease of adjustment. Want to be up reading, easy. Lay back and snooze, simple. Sit up to get out of the chair without floundering like a fish out of water? Sure.
posted by advicepig at 6:30 AM on April 24, 2020

Those zero-gravity loungers are nice.

Alternatively, what about a hammock?
posted by ArgentCorvid at 6:53 AM on April 24, 2020 [3 favorites]

I had a zero-gravity chair, and it was comfortable while it lasted, which was about a year. The mechanical setup was not rugged, and failed precipitously in a way I did not anticipate. They're very expensive for the category. I replaced it with one similar to this, which has lasted like 6 years so far. The only problem with it was that the plastic back rest adjusters broke after a couple of years. I bought and installed replacements, and they've held up fine. The chair frame is aluminum, lightweight and sturdy. The mesh fabric is still tight. Mine is painted white, so it doesn't heat up much in the sun. I have a pad for it that I use in cooler weather. When it's hot, the chair is comfortable without the pad, since the mesh breathes.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 7:18 AM on April 24, 2020

fyi... If you're a Costco member, they have zero gravity chairs every year about this time.
posted by jimmereeno at 11:24 AM on April 24, 2020

I got this a few weeks back and it is an awesome chair, actually very sturdy in addition to comfortable. But unfortunately they are already sold out? Maybe you could check eBay. But they do still make these types of chairs. Like also here for example.
posted by aiglet at 3:44 PM on April 24, 2020 [1 favorite]