It may seem like kids have endless energy, but even they need a place to relax and take a breather occasionally, especially when they are enjoying the outdoors. A camp chair is an obvious choice, but much like clothes, movies, and beverages, a chair made for an adult is not likely to work well for a smaller child. If you’ve been camping with children (or even attended a parade or sporting event), you’ve probably seen the awkward position they have to take in order to keep an adult chair from folding up on them, and can imagine what happens when they fail. There are a lot of kids chairs out there, but most that I’ve come across aren’t likely to last through any real use (a good rule of thumb: if it has a picture of your favorite cartoon character on it, it’s probably crap). Luckily, Kelsyus has got your little one covered with their Kids Original Canopy Chair.
A while back, Brian was able to get some “seat-time” with the Original Canopy Chair, which is the adult version of this chair, and our group of testers had some positive things to say. While the Kids Canopy is very similar, it is not identical. This smaller version weighs in at an easily managed 6-pounds and boasts an amply sufficient 75-pound capacity. A rounded mesh pocket on the right armrest is perfect for smaller drinks and sippy cups, and newer versions include mesh pockets along the forward lip of the overhead canopy (make sure you know which version you’re getting if you shop around). Speaking of which, the canopy provides an impressive 50+ SPF protection, which is especially important for young and sensitive skin. Kelsyus also made the chair a little wider and with a lower center of gravity than was completely necessary, making it much more difficult to tip over. And when everything is folded down, the canopy turns into a handy case, complete with shoulder-straps, to turn your child’s resting place into a super-portable, back-packable chair.
When something is designed specifically for a child, it either needs to be easy enough for parents to pack, or the child needs to be able to handle it themselves. With that in mind, Kelysus made the shoulder-straps just the right size for anything from a 3-year-old up to a small teenager, although I would have preferred if they had added just a bit more webbing so that it could be adjusted to fit adults in a pinch. Other than that, the Kids Original Canopy Chair is a great way to give your kids a place to rest between outdoor adventures. It’s easy to put up, takes down quickly, and is portable, with the added benefits of being comfortable and pretty difficult to tip over (my son did manage it once or twice, but he probably would have tipped over any kind of chair with what he was doing). Also, the fact that you can keep the sun off of children that aren’t prone to keeping hats on or holding still long enough to apply sunscreen is a major plus.
Having the right gear for kids makes the outdoors more enjoyable for the entire family, and it’s hard to imagine a camp chair that gets more right than this one. Sun protection, ease of use, compact, mobile, comfortable, stable… You name it, the Kids Original Canopy has it. Check out the Kelsyus website for more info on this product, as well as some of the others they offer (the Go With Me chair deserves special mention, as it will serve your child from infancy through much of elementary school).
– David