If you are relatively new to angling, you might be starting to consider buying something more comfortable than an old camping chair to sit in for a session.
Whether you have found a love for carping or match angling, this guide will cover the benefits and downfalls of both fishing chairs and seatboxes, the best features to look out for when shopping for them as well as some examples of some of the top choices from our current catalogue.
What Does a Fishing Chair Offer?
You may ask, what is the difference between this and a regular garden or camping chair? Is it really worth investing money in just a chair? As anglers, here at Angling Direct, we can assure you that yes. A fishing chair makes the world of difference when you are out for even just a few hours. Let us share some of the reasons why.
Comfort: You may find yourself sitting at the bankside for hours on end with little movement and activity in between and so for the waiting game, why not wait in something that does not give you stiff joints or pins and needles at the end of the session?
Support: A major upside to a fishing chair is the back support it can offer you. Many chairs offer not only good padding around the back, hips and neck but also the structure of the chair frame is made to best support a comfortable posture. Some chairs also come with adjustable back support, height adjustment and armrests.
Colour: Most fishing chairs are dark greens, browns or greys. All these muted tones are for a reason and that is to keep you as hidden as possible from the fish. This is less of a concern in match and sea angling but for carp, predators and specialist anglers, a bright blue or red camping chair is a problem.
What Features To Look For in a Fishing Chair
Padding: Some of the more pricer chairs will offer deluxe padding of the neck, back, hip and legs making you sit in memory foam heaven. You can find reasonably priced chairs with some great padding options but if you are not sure, why not pop to your local Angling Direct and test a few of our display chairs out.
Material: The construction materials of the chair itself are very important. Some chairs have a lovely soft fleecy material for boosted comfort on its padded areas but consider the easy or cleaning down your chair after fish slime or general bankside dirt getting into it. A chair fitted with mostly hard-wearing, water-resistant material will work wonders for your sessions.
Frame Quality: Some of the cheaper chairs on the market are great for when on a budget and can weigh very little if its used low-grade metal for its chair structure. The frame is just as important as the padding as it has to support all of your weight. The last thing you want is for your chair frame to bend or snap when out at the bank.
Chair Dimensions: The height of the chair is worth considering if you are sitting under a narrow bivvy or brolly and the width is worth considering too if you are a slightly larger angler or just desire extra space on your chair.
Adjustable Back Support: This is great if you want to recline your chair so that you can relax more when at the bankside.
Adjustable Leg / Height: For taller anglers or for those wanting to set up a chair under a low hanging shelter, being about to adjust the height of the chair via leg adjustments is a godsend.
Mud feet: Usually come with the ability to adjust the angle, these are a must on fishing chairs and they prevent the leg of the chair from sinking into the softer terrain of banksides.
Travel Strap: To help you carry the chair from A to B or to attach to your barrow, a strap on the chair is a big thumbs up for many anglers.
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The Negatives of Buying a Fishing Chair
There is not much to really put beginners off of buying a fishing chair, other than perhaps price points and the extra weight and space a chair may take up in your car's boot!
Luckily many of the chairs in our collection boasts a folding mechanism and travel straps to help with either holding them in place in the car or to throw over your shoulder and carry with you to the bankside.
If a fishing chair just does not justify the cost or needs of your style of angling, you should consider a seatbox.
What is a Seat Box?
Many dedicated match anglers on the bank will opt for these space-saving seating solutions that combine comfortable bankside seating with a tackle box/ storage.
What are the Benefits of Having a Seatbox?
Although a chair and tackle box combination might be perfectly suitable for coarse, river, carp, and predator fishing with a rod and reel combination when it comes to match fishing with a pole you simply cannot beat a seat box.
One of the main benefits of a seatbox is that it is luggage for your other tackle. This allows you to hugely consolidate the amount of gear you have to lug to the bank each time and it ensures that you never have to worry about accidentally leaving vital gear behind. Many of the seat boxes that we stock use a combination of drawers and trays for the storage of gear, although the amount of storage space that you’ll find varies seat box to seat box.
Features to Look for When Buying a Seatbox
