A Buyer's Guide to Fishing Chairs & Seatboxes

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

Cushioned Lid: The lid of the box is used as a seat, leaving you needing something with some padding to sit on for however long your sessions last. These ensure that you’re comfortable throughout your angling session, allowing you to focus on what really matters (the match at hand) rather than your aching spine or numb bum. These seat boxes tend to be favoured by beach fishing sea anglers rather than match anglers.

Multi-compartmental options: The drawers and trays in a match fishing seat box can often be accessed whilst you’re still sat on the box. This means that you don’t have to readjust your pole fishing setup simply because you want to prepare your next rig, offering a huge benefit for the match angler who wants to make the most of each ship-out.

Trays & Tray Attachments: Having a range of trays all within your peripheral vision ensures that you’re able to prepare gear whilst also keeping an eye out for the slightest movement at the end of your pole.

Pole & Rod Holder Attachment: These support your angling device and are ideal for anglers who want to ensure that their gear is perfectly positioned. They are also useful for any hands-free angling scenarios, allowing you to prepare rigs, catapult out bait, or make other adjustments without disrupting the precision of your setup. 

Adjustable Legs: Although most pegs will feature flat platforms, you may want to modify the height of your seat box in order to suit your own needs. What’s more, many anglers have their own preference for the angle at which they are sat – with most preferring to angle their seat box so that it tips them slightly forward. This puts some of their weight through their feet, giving additional stability to their set-up and preventing much of the backache which can trouble match anglers (especially those fishing with long poles).

Mud Feet: More often than not, a top-quality seat box will feature mud feet on the end of each of its legs. These ensure that you’ve always got a flat and stable base on which to set your seat box – even if you are not afforded the luxury of a solid platform at your peg.

Footplate or Footrest: Also able to be purchased separately, these allow you to get closer to the water without getting your feet wet. This is ideal if you’re on a waterlogged peg or you’re dealing with high water levels, as you can target the water as effectively as you’d like whilst remaining comfortable and dry. 

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Drawbacks of a Seatbox

The obvious downside of this method of storage is that you have to stand up off your seat in order to access your tackle, as well as the fact that all your gear is in a single compartment. You may have to get up off the seat a few times when wanting to retrieve anything you have stored inside it. 

For the angler who likes to be extremely organised this could be a small issue – although by investing in smaller tackle boxes and rig wallets you’ll be able to personalise your tackle storage in a way that is impossible with a seat box which has inbuilt compartments.

The downside of the drawers of many seat boxes is that they will come in a set size, potentially limiting the type of tackle you can store – although most will come with a variety of drawer size options. You’ll find that most of the top end seat boxes that we stock will offer a variety of compartment options, from those which can be accessed whilst you’re sat on the box to those which can only be accessed whilst you’re off the box. This gives you a complete range of storage options for all the different terminal tackle items that you might like to have with you on the bank – perfect for the angler who likes to be prepared for all scenarios when match fishing.

What seating solution do you prefer? Let us know via social media!

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Do your body a favour and invest in a chair or seatbox, you'll enjoy your fishing sessions more, and the nature that comes with it.

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