Rating

Durability: 7

Comfort: 8

Portability: 8

Features: 8

Setup/Packdown: 5

OVERALL: 7.2

Live everyone else's relaxation dreams.

When your chair comes from a brand synonymous with easy beach luxury, you know you're probably going to be ok. The Tommy Bahama backpack beach chair is a cute little option, lightweight and easy to carry. It has all the pockets you would want, and made a very comfortable chair to lounge in. The downside? There's a lower back on this than on other chairs, so if you want to sit upright at the beach (and, uh, who would?) this isn't the chair for you.

Comparison

Rank: #1

Open Size: Comfortably wide

Packed Size: Compact and light

Weight: Lightweight

Capacity: High

Pros: Adjustable to five positions including lay flat, thoughtfully positioned pockets, lightweight.

Cons: Flimsier backpack straps, and that lower back we mentioned.

Verdict: As the name suggests, a chair suitable for lazing in a Bahaman dream.

Skip ahead to First Impressions, Transportability, Sitting, or the Final Verdict, or check out how the Tommy Bahama Beach Chair compares to others in our list of the Top Ten Beach Chairs.

Specs:

Open Size: 61 x 81 x 71cm

Packed Size: 68 x 10 x 68cm

Weight: 3.18kg

Capacity: 113kg

Approx Price: $160

It’s clear from the outset that the Tommy Bahama Beach Chair is a considerately designed, high-quality chair. The materials used are appropriately sturdy, the chair folds nicely flat and buckles firmly closed, and the opening/closing mechanisms operate smoothly.

It’s also attractive to look at, available in a variety of beachy colours and patterns (we went with blue), and with a smooth wood finish on the armrests. We liked that the roomy side pouch and built-in cooler bag on the back also fold in well so even these extra additions aren’t bulky when packed down.

Transport of this chair has been really well thought out. It folds down square and flat, and includes backpack straps that are built into the design. We liked the positioning of the straps but thought they were a slightly flimsier build than the chair, though this didn’t impact on our ability to carry it. There’s also a small handle included hanging off the top back of the chair, which is appreciated for an extra carrying option.

At 3.18kg it’s really light for a chair of this size and design, which adds to its ease of transport.

Let’s start with comfort level - we really enjoyed sitting in this chair. The material is nicely supportive on the frame, and the five recline positions really well placed to suit various uses. The headrest provided a nice amount of padding when reclined, though because the chair has a shorter back, if we sat up nice and tall the headrest was located awkwardly at our neck. In most other positions though, it was great.

The one small issue we had with the chair is that the design has a metal bar integrated into the fabric along the front of the seat. While this provides a nice rigidity and durability, it can dig in a little if you stretch your legs out straight with feet resting on the sand.

We really appreciated the features of this chair, with an inbuilt drink holder/side storage pouch, cooler bag on the back for easy access for more drinks or snacks, and a support for the chair when in full recline that can double as a towel rack.

We found it really hard to find fault with the Tommy Bahama Beach Chair, and that’s why it made number one on our list of Top Ten Beach Chairs of 2024. We’d make a couple of tiny design tweaks if we could, but for style, comfort, portability and price, it’s a near-perfect beach chair.

Water & Outdoors reviews are written by our staff writers, who combined have over fifty years of experience on the water and outdoors. We may earn commissions if you choose to buy through a link you’ve clicked on our website, however this does not influence our reviews. For more information, please see our Editorial Policies.