Last Updated on June 30, 2023
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We like having outdoor seating options.
It seems like a given, but it’s nice to have different places to sit, especially when the weather is cooperative. We think it’s nice to have a patio table and chairs for the occasional meal outside. We think it’s worthwhile to have Adirondack chairs for sitting around the fire ring. We think it’s cool to have a hanging chair or hammock where we can read. These can be nice just with the immediate family, but when extended family or friends come over, it offers an array of options where people can hang out outside.
Not long ago, we noticed that Aldi was selling a hammock chair. This was its own self-contained thing, a portable device that might be usable in the backyard or, if one has enough cargo space, on a camping trip. We decided to try out this hammock chair to see what we thought.
The Adventuridge Hammock Chair (Product Code: 16271) is an Aldi Find, meaning it’s only in stores for a limited time. Once it’s sold out, you won’t be able to find it in stores until it comes back, whenever that might be. Aldi doesn’t offer online ordering for products that are sold out at your local store.
At the time of this post, the chair cost $49.99. (Note: our store had the right price on the sticker but the wrong –higher — price in the register, which we were able to get corrected. We don’t know if that was local or more widespread.) The chairs I was able to find like this one on Amazon price between $75 and $125, so from a price point, this looks like a great price.
The chair comes in a carry bag. Folded, the package is 11.81″ x 9.84″ x 38.19″.
In the bag.
It comes out of the box with the frame, the seat, and instructions. It’s also backed by a 2-year warranty, serviced by Westfield Outdoors, which has serviced other Aldi outdoor products.
Assembly is easy, especially if you take a couple of minutes and read the instructions. You just have to click the frame into place — a process that takes about 30 seconds — and then hook the chair onto the frame. Make sure the duck feet are flush to the ground, and you’re done.
Unfolded, the chair measures 39.21″ x 33.46″ x 37.80″ and has a weight capacity of 300 pounds, thanks to a steel frame and a polyester fabric seat.
We had mixed feelings about this chair. Assembly is easy, the frame feels grounded and stable, and the fabric is reasonably comfortable; that is, it’s a more padded version of a portable lawn chair or foldable lawn chair. The build quality feels good.
On the other hand, it’s part chair and part hammock, but not quite as good as either. For one thing, it lacks armrests like a chair does, so when you sit you’re sort of enveloped in this padding with your arms in front of you. Some people might even feel a little claustrophobic. If you want to rest your arms on the chair, you have to put them way up at the top edges, which doesn’t feel quite natural. You also have to reach way over the high sides to get to the built-in cup holder attached to the outside of the chair.
In addition, this doesn’t lounge the way a hammock or even a hanging chair does. The backrest is very straight, so you’re sitting up stiff rather than leaning back into the chair. If the backrest could allow you to lean back even just a few inches more, it would make a big difference.
Also, this chair doesn’t have the degree of swing that a glider would. You don’t get as much rocking or swinging motion as you might prefer, and the seat also feels a little too close to the ground, so you have to work your legs more to get it swinging and keep it swinging.
I think these things are mostly the rule rather than the exception for chairs of this exact style, but these issues are worth noting at the outset.
The Verdict:
Whether or not this is for you depends on what you’re looking for. If you need a portable hammock chair for camping, maybe as an extra place to read or sit, this checks a lot of boxes. It’s portable, easy to assemble and take down, and has all the appearances of good build quality.
Where it lacks is in the areas of comfort. The chair is padded, but it feels a bit restrictive, doesn’t lean back all that comfortably, lacks armrests, and doesn’t swing a lot. That said, I don’t think those drawbacks are a design flaw so much as how portable chairs like these are built. To make a portable hammock chair, there have to be tradeoffs, and in exchange for making it portable, it also isn’t quite as comfortable and doesn’t move as much as I might have hoped. Just keep that in mind if weighing this as a purchase.
