It is the first properly hot Saturday in December, the esky is packed, and you are 200 metres down the sand looking for a spot. Then comes the moment that decides the whole afternoon: what you sit on. A damp towel over lumpy sand gets old fast, and the bent camp chair from the garage sits so high you spend the day talking to the back of everyone's head. Choosing the right beach chair is a small decision that quietly makes or breaks an Australian summer.
This guide covers the two shapes worth owning: low sand chairs and upright folding chairs. It also runs through what to look for in the frame and fabric, how to pair a chair with a beach umbrella, and the two-minute rinse that stops salt shortening its life. Every chair mentioned here sits in our outdoor chairs and benches range.
What a beach chair needs that a backyard chair doesn't
Sand is not a floor. It shifts, it slopes towards the water, and it swallows anything with narrow feet. A chair built for a paved alfresco area will sink one leg at a time until you are sitting on a tilt. A proper beach chair spreads its weight across wide feet or a continuous rail rather than four small points.
Then there is everything the coast throws at it. Salt spray, wet sand grinding into the joints, and UV that is at its harshest between 10am and 3pm through an Australian summer. Frames in powder-coated aluminium or coated steel handle that far better than bare metal, and quick-drying sling or mesh fabric beats thick foam padding that holds water for two days.
The third factor is easy to overlook until you are halfway across the car park: weight. A chair that is awkward to carry alongside a towel and an esky simply stays in the boot. Look for a folded shape you can sling over one shoulder.
Low beach chairs or upright folding chairs?
Low chairs are the classic beach shape. They sit close to the sand, so getting in and out at the waterline is easy. The centre of gravity is low enough that a gust will not tip you over, and you end up at eye level with the kids digging next to you. The Lesands Beach Chair ($69.95) is the straightforward version of this: light, foldable, and priced so that buying a few for the family does not sting.
Upright folding chairs solve a different problem. They sit at normal seat height, which suits anyone with dodgy knees, and they are far more comfortable for eating, reading or a long chat. They also travel well beyond the beach — the campsite, the park, a crowded balcony on Australia Day. The Teak Folding Chair ($149) earns its keep both ways: it folds flat for the boot, and it looks at home on the deck the rest of the year.
Plenty of households end up owning both, and that is not indulgent. Two low chairs for the sand and two upright chairs for everything else covers most of an Australian summer.
Beach chair styles compared
| Style | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Low sand chair | Soft sand, the waterline, families with young kids | Harder to get out of if your knees complain |
| Upright folding chair | Grass, campsites, decks, long lunches | Narrow legs can sink in dry, soft sand |
| Timber folding chair | Doubling as everyday outdoor seating at home | Wants a rinse and a proper dry, not storage while damp |
| Padded camp chair | Cooler-weather camping and sideline sport | Foam holds water and sand, and dries slowly |
Pair the chair with a beach umbrella
Shade is the other half of the setup, and it is the half most people improvise badly. A beach umbrella that packs down small and goes up in under a minute gets used every trip. A heavy market umbrella borrowed from the backyard never leaves the house. The Noosa Beach Umbrella ($71.99) is built around that idea, and it comes with a carry bag so it travels alongside the chairs rather than instead of them.
Anchoring matters more than the canopy. Dig a hole rather than pushing the pole straight down, tilt the umbrella into the wind, and pack wet sand hard around the base. A sand auger or screw-in base is worth having on an exposed beach. An umbrella that lifts out of the sand is genuinely dangerous, so never walk away from one when the breeze is building.
Our full outdoor umbrellas range runs from packable beach umbrellas through to cantilever models for the alfresco area, so be clear about which job you are solving.
Sand, salt and the two-minute rinse
Salt is patient. It does not ruin a chair on the drive home; it works into hinges, rivets and stitching across a season and seizes them up the following summer. The fix takes two minutes. Rinse the chair with fresh water at the beach shower or the hose in the driveway, open it out fully, and let it dry before it is packed away.
Dry it in the shade, not the sun. Drying a wet sling in full summer sun fades the colour faster than anything else you will do to it. And never fold a damp chair into a cupboard or leave it in the boot, because that is how mildew and that musty smell start.
If you live within a few kilometres of the water, the same salt is working on everything else outside. Our guide to outdoor furniture and salt air in coastal homes covers which materials shrug it off and which quietly corrode, and that routine applies to beach gear just as neatly.
One last Australian detail: beach rules are set locally. Some councils restrict gazebos, cabanas or shade structures above a certain size on busy beaches, and dog and vehicle access varies from one stretch of sand to the next. Rules differ by state and council, so check your local council's page before turning up with a full setup.
Beach chairs — frequently asked questions
How low should a beach chair sit?
Low enough that your seat is close to the sand and your knees sit above your hips. That is what makes a low chair feel relaxed rather than cramped, and it keeps things stable when the breeze picks up. If rising from that position is hard on your knees, an upright folding chair is the better buy.
Will a beach chair sink into soft sand?
Any chair sinks a little in dry sand, so the trick is spreading the load. Wide feet, flat rails or a broad frame footprint stay put far better than four narrow tube ends. Setting up on damp, firmer sand closer to the water helps as well.
Can I use a beach chair on grass or a deck?
Yes, and an upright folding chair is the more versatile option for it. Low sand chairs work fine on grass but feel awkwardly low on a hard deck. If the chair will spend more days at home than at the beach, buy the upright one.
How do I get sand out of a folding chair?
Rinse it with fresh water while the chair is fully open, then shake it out before it dries. Sand left sitting in a hinge acts like grinding paste every time you fold the chair.
Do beach umbrellas need a base?
On sand, a pole dug in properly is usually enough, but an auger or screw-in base makes it far more secure. Anchor it deep, angle it into the wind and pack the sand down hard. On grass or a deck you will need a weighted base instead.
Shop the range
If you would rather stretch out than sit up, our sun lounges and bean bags range covers the pool deck side of summer. For more shade choice at the beach, the Cottesloe Beach Umbrella ($120) comes in a spread of colours, which also makes your spot easy to pick out from the water. We deliver Australia-wide, delivery is free on orders over $100, and returns run for 30 days with no restocking fee.
