Travel Chair Ultimate Recliners

OK, we’ll admit it. We aren’t always on the go. In fact, when the sun’s rays are dancing across the deck of the SNEWS® Sierra Nevada headquarters, we can be found lounging — err, product testing — in our Travel Chair Ultimate Recliners. Lucky we have wireless so we can continue to work, which of course we do! Uh-huh…

The breathable, waterproof, PVC-coated polyester mesh fabric is secured to a steel frame with durable high-tension elastic cord. Talk about comfort! The breathable mesh kept our testers cool even in hot weather and the elastic cord meant the ride was always cushy whether sitting up or whether in a full lounge-lizard recline mode, whether carrying a heavier load (such as a six-pack or, yes, a laptop) or a lighter load. A contoured headrest slides easily up and down the chair back to nestle into your neck as you like it best, or it can be removed entirely if desired. Padded armrests ensure complete relaxation.

We found the 19-pound chairs very easy to fold and unfold, meaning storage or portability was never a problem. (Though they haven’t moved very far from our deck … yet.) In the chair, it is supremely easy to adjust incrementally the recline position; two locking levers — one below each armrest — makes it simple to stay in the selected comfort position.

The SNEWS® official reclining team had one quibble, however, and one that kept the Travel Chair from earning a perfect score. While the length of the leg section means superior comfort when reclining, in the sitting position, the section’s length leaves it in contact with the ground at a slight angle away from the chair (in other words, keeping the chair’s bottom section from entirely folding perpendicular to the ground). As a consequence, getting into and out of the chair is not as easy as it could be. A lounger has to straddle the pipe that is resting on the ground with his or her feet and sorta slide in, and getting out takes a bit of agility (not for older people, and maybe you have to be taller than 5′, 6″). Of course, that can be construed as an advantage once the user is actually in the chair since the bottom is long enough to fully support your feet. We think it shouldn’t be a huge engineering feat to make that bottom section slide shorter when needed.

One of our testers has claimed an inability to get out of the chair numerous times in recent weeks — though the rest of the SNEWS® team is taking an increasingly dim view of his commitment to testing.

SNEWS® Rating: 4 .5 hands clapping (1 to 5 hands clapping possible, with 5 clapping hands representing functional and design perfection)

Suggested Retail: $139

For more information: www.travelchair.com