I, like many, feverishly guard my Yeti gear. My water bottle cabinet is stacked with Ramblers and my garage has four different-sized coolers neatly stacked and waiting for my family’s next adventure. The cooler and drinkware brand’s stuff is so good that it’s found a permanent place in my rather large but ever-rotating gear collection that’s fed by my job as a gear tester.
That said, there’s one piece of Yeti gear that I was rather happy to give away to friends. After lugging the Yeti Trailhead Camp Chairs on several camping trips, I decided that I wanted them gone and gladly shuffled them off to other garages. Those chairs, I will admit, are more comfortable than any other camp chair on the market. But they’re also the heaviest and bulkiest camp chairs I’ve ever tested and were a royal pain in the ass to lug around. Their bulk took up an absurd amount of space in my truck bed, and hauling two around a campsite felt like lugging sacks of stones. Bottom line: The comfort was not worth the effort.
Given that experience, I was curious—and skeptically hopeful—about Yeti’s new beach chair. I’ve now been testing the Hondo Beach Chair for a few weeks, and, thankfully, it is exactly what I’ve been hoping for and will absolutely become part of my permanent Yeti gear collection.
Made from a powder-coated aluminum and slung with a breathable and UV-resistant mesh, the Hondo is rated to hold 350 pounds. Weighing 11 pounds, it’s not Helinox-chair light (their Chair One comes in at 2.25 pounds), but it is two pounds lighter than the Trailhead, which is noticeable when walking around a campsite or from your car to your kid’s soccer game. It also comes with a removable padded shoulder strap that makes carrying two or three at a time a total breeze.
The biggest difference, however, is in the bulk. Like most beach chairs, Yeti’s version folds flat and, packed down, is only about 2.5 feet on its longest side. You can stack two or three into your car and only take up a few cubic feet of space. In my truck, the chair disappeared against the side of my bed, unlike the Trailhead, which squeezes down into an awkward cylindrical shape that never fits anywhere well because of its girth.
Like all beach chairs, the Hondo sits closer to the ground on two lengthwise braces instead of four individual feet so that it’s more stable in sand. People accustomed to taller camp chairs might balk at the lower-to-the-ground design, but I’ve found it to be an advantage. By sitting closer to the ground, I’m actually closer to the coals of the campfire, which is where the heat is. The chair doesn’t sit so low that it feels awkward to get out of, at least for someone like me, still relatively young and spry. In terms of seating height, the Hondo feels similar to the Helinox Chair One, so you won’t be a total outlier. When I hauled the chair to my son’s soccer game, I found that I had to scoot a little forward to not be blocked out by other spectators in taller chairs, but that was no big deal.
Beach chairs are also built to recline so you can sunbathe, and I’ve found this to be an advantage for camping as well. When the stars come out at night, it’s been fun to haul the chair to a dark spot, recline it as far as it will go and stare up at the constellations. During the day, leaning the chair back has also facilitated great naps.
I have yet to take the chair to the beach, but it will obviously do its job well when placed in the sand and next to the water. There’s a sturdy cup holder, and plastic tabs on both arms are designed to integrate with other Yeti products like the SideKick Dry one-liter gear case that will hold daily items like sunscreen and car keys.
Like all Yeti products, the Hondo is pricey at $300, but as we always say about the brand, the investment is worth the initial pain. I know that I’ll gladly haul this chair around to camping trips and beach outings for the next 10 years, toss it around in my truck, leave it out in the sun, and generally abuse it without ever worrying that it will break or not be the most comfy seating option during every adventure.
See our full gear guide to 2025 camp chairs.
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