The Kermit Chair and Table (Gear Review)

The Kermit Chair (Left), The Kermit Wide Table, & The Kermit Chair Wide (Right)

The Kermit Chair, originally designed in 1984 by a BMW Motorcycle enthusiast appropriately named, well, Kermit. His vision was a chair that was lightweight and portable enough to carry on his motorcycle, yet sturdy and comfortable enough to spend long nights around the campfire. After exhausting his options, Kermit took matters into his own hands and built one for himself. Quickly garnering attention from his fellow bikers, The Kermit Chair was born. In 2003 Tom Sherrill, along with his wife Prudence, purchased the company from Kermit and continued the legacy! After graduating college in 2011, Miller, Tom and Prudence’s son, joined the team and they have since been focused on quality and family while working to provide campers and travelers everywhere with the best chairs on the market.

 The illustrious Kermit Chair is hand made in Tennessee from a hardwood base. The support brackets are air-dried oak, all of the wood is double-dipped in marine-grade polyurethane, and all of the hardware is aluminum or stainless steel to prevent rusting. All of the cloth is made from 1,000-denier treated nylon and is double stitched in the areas where most of the body weight falls to prevent unraveling. What’s even better is the chair has a 350lb (pound) weight limit and comes in an optional "Wide" version to give a bit more sitting area. CA-CHING!!

 Being 6’7” & about 300lbs, finding the perfect chair has been a life-long search full of compromises on quality, comfort, or both. When I first got the Kermit Chairs in the mail, I was a bit skeptical because of their compact nature and seemingly light-weight assembly (about 5lbs total in the bag). The initial set-up took about 5-10 minutes as I was being careful to follow the instructions to the letter, but once you’ve done it a couple times it takes under about a minute to get into action.



It was time for the moment of truth, the sit-down. The chair is pretty low to the ground and with my larger than normal stature I was extremely cautious finagling my arse into the seat. Next thing you know, I’m in the most comfortable portable/folding chair I have ever sat in. Ever. I was shocked, I didn’t want to get up! (so I yelled for my girlfriend to get me a beer) and the next thing you know I’ve been hanging out in the chair in my living room for almost 2 hours. Needless to say I was excited to get these bad boys out on the road and into the wilderness.


The chairs pack up nicely in small black canvas carrying bags that fit in the side bags of my Harley Road King without issue. My girlfriend and I loaded up the bike and set off for a weekend in Door County. Never before had I found chairs that I was able to easily and safely pack onto my bike along with all my other camping gear, I was floored with these chairs and I hadn’t even gotten any good use out of them yet!

You can tell quite a bit of thought went into the design of the chair.. The front of the chair is slightly taller than the back and have a distinct curvature so you’re sitting in a nice relaxed position, and not straight up, so once you sit down you’ll find yourself wanting to stay put. The recognizable curved handles serve as a carrying mechanism, a great blend of aesthetic and utility. They also offer leg extensions to raise the chair higher from the ground and even an attachable cup holder. In addition to the Kermit Chair, they also offer highly portable heavy duty tables appropriately dubbed “The Kermit Table” – they also offer a wide version that offers considerably more surface area. The perfect companion to the chairs, the table is equally as easy to assemble and disassemble and is also handmade in Tennessee.

"Sleeping Beauty and the Magical Chairs" (Girlfiend is asleep in the hammock)

All in all, I wish I had two more thumbs so I could give The Kermit Chair and Kermit Tables Four Thumbs Up! While the price tag might scare some people away, they offer a 5 Year Warranty against any defects in workmanship and materials. What’s even better? It covers regular wear-and-tear (within reason) as well! The second you set one of these chairs up and plop your jolly butt in it you can immediately tell it was made to last a life-time. Get rid of the hesitancy, and pick up a chair and table for your next trip – you won’t regret it.

Check out the full line of their product offerings on their website: http://www.kermitchair.com/


- Troy Manley