Are you a sports fan? Do you attend your kids school sporting events and end up sitting on hard, cold bleachers? If you answered yes to that question, I have the answer for you! My husband and I are big sports fans, and we attend junior ice hockey games (post high school and pre college age), but the arena has bleacher style seating, and the benches are made of metal.
What were they thinking putting in metal stadium style seating in a cold ice hockey arena? It only took attending one game to know we needed to buy a couple portable seats. Not only were our bums very cold, but our backs were killing us without the support of a seat back.
Our local Walmart store distributes sporting goods products made by Ozark Trail, and we saw our Ozark Trail Portable Seats on an end of the aisle display near their sporting goods department. They retailed for $18.00 each, which was a good buy. We had previously used other similar style seating, but the backs consisted of nylon fabric, and the stabilizing clips broke on my husbands chair. The Ozark Trail Portable Seats looked different right from the start, and are superior in many ways.
First, the Ozark Trail Portable Seats are made with a solid metal frame covered in a thick cotton fabric. The fabric is strung tightly across the frame, and the top back of the seat is slanted backwards, making these even more comfortable. The seating pad is much thicker than our old pads, and neither of us got one bit cold in the chilly ice arena.
There is an adjustable strap that connects the back to the bottom of the seat, and this allows us to fold the seat in half for transporting, but keeps the back steady when we are seated. Under the seat are two silver, metal organizer clips. These contain heavy duty springs, and you fold then and clip them onto the edge of your bleachers or other bench seats, and they hold the seats in place.
Last, the Ozark Trail Portable Seats have a nice large organizer pocket. This is the same size as the seat, and it connects to the bottom of the seat with Velcro. You simply pull the pocket off and let it hang straight down from the seat, behind the legs. It has two pockets, a large solid pocket, and a smaller mesh pocket that is perfect for holding a water bottle.
The Ozark Trail Portable Seats are built to hold a maximum of 225 pounds, and there is a warning that the fingers can be pinched if the stabilizing clips are not properly utilized. The hang tag also states that the Ozark Trail Portable Seats are intended to be used on a “flat and even surface, preferably at ground level”. I am sure this is stated to eliminate any litigious actions against them. I can see how someone could be injured if they were using this seat on a high stadium bleachers seat, so I would not recommend these be used by children.
In comparison to our previous portable seats, also purchased at Walmart, the Ozark Trail Portable Seats are superior. I can sit through a three hour ice hockey game without my back hurting, and they keep me insulated from the cold metal seats. For the price, these are a fantastic find.
