Sarah Williams, Author at Bean Bags Expert

Cheap bean bag chairs are like the abominable snowman. Everybody’s heard about it but few have found it. Let’s face it folks. Bean bag chairs in most brick and mortar establishments are overpriced. And unless you are willing to wait until Black Friday, chances are slim that you’ll ever find a great deal. And when it comes to online shopping, it’s pig in a poke. Isn’t it? You might just find a really good quality bean bag. But you might also end up with an Asian made gimcrack that starts to rip at the seams and goes flat in weeks even with minimal usage. As always, we are here to help. These are our picks for the best cheap bean bag chairs for 2020. Reviews of the Top Picks Having lived more than half of our life on a bean bag chair in a dorm room and the other half on our favorite gaming bean bag, we can vouch for the fact that finding a good quality one for cheap is an art. An art that not many have mastered. Here’s what separates our selection from the rest. #1 - Big Joe 98-Inch Big Joe is one of our favorite brands and this 98-Inch chair has been a permanent fixture in our home and now in the office. It is so comfortable that you’ll want to spend your entire day in the chair. Don’t be surprised at all if you find yourself being dragged away from it after a while. Jokes apart, it is made of heavy-duty Smartmax ballistic nylon fabric and features double-stitches on the seams. In other words, it can take an absolute beating, it’s waterproof and incredibly easy to clean. We have spilled soda, beer, wine, water and milk. Coco, our border collie mix has taken a million leaks on it before she was toilet trained. There are no stains on it yet. All that it takes is a wipe with a damp cloth. (Do it as soon as its humanly possible after you notice the spill). That speaks for itself about the quality. It features Big Joe’s Ultimax series that are 20% smaller and denser. Unlike stock beans that come with bean bags bought off the shelves, it adheres to your body contours rather than forming pressure points. Overall, at this price point, the features and the quality is unbeatable. Why, we wouldn’t mind paying double the price for this. It is available in an assortment of colors, both light and dark. We own the Limo black at home and the Zebra at the workplace. Highly recommended! Pros American made Reputed brand Ballistic Nylon fabric Double stitched at the seams Ultimax series of beans 20% denser than normal beans Available in an assortment of colors Cons The return policy is only for 30 days. That’s not a deal breaker for us because this have performed phenomenally well over the years. View Price #2 - Big Joe Duo Chair, Zebra We told you that we love Big Joe. This is an absolute beauty. We bought it for our 11-year old son a couple of years ago. He’s overgrown the chair and now our 7-year-old daughter won’t be parted from it. We also use it occasionally. But the backrest isn’t as high as we like. Both of us are 6 feet plus. That doesn’t help either. It is really firm though. A shorter adult can easily use it. It is about 33 inches wide and 32-inches tall. Weighs just 4 pounds without the bean filling and close to 8 pounds with about 200L of beans in it. So, you can easily move it around home if need be. It can be used as an accent chair or just as an armchair for your private cozy nook at home. The Zebra printed fabric creates an excellent focal point and irrespective of your décor theme, it blends right in with the rest of the furniture. We had it in our study that was otherwise dominated by dark wooden furniture pieces. Stood out like a flame in the forest. The only possible niggle that we have with it is that the cover is not removable and it’s not ballistic nylon like the rest of Big Joe’s product range. It is some kind of fabric. So, food and beverages are off limits on this. Pros Stylish piece of furniture Perfect for use as an accent chair Ideal for children Attractive fabric Lightweight Comes with Big Joe’s Ultimax Filling Cons Fabric cover is not removable and it isn’t ballistic nylon. So, stains might be a concern. It comes only about 1/3rd You will have to order some extra beans to fill it to capacity. View Price #3 - Posh for Children, Teens & Adults We first saw the Posh at a Furniture Fair two years ago and we instantly fell in love with it. The fact that it’s for adults that’s priced at less than half of what the nearest competition costs was an additional motivation. It is available in two sizes. A 27-inch one for kids and teens and a 35-inch one for adults. Both are comfortable and soft and can be used for gaming, reading or just sinking in after a weary day. You can choose from a variety of designs in an assortment of 20 colors and patterns. There’s the classic bean bag, a slightly rectangular one and an oval one. The external, removable cover is made from PVC polyester. So, it is as durable as they come. One of our friends used this outdoor in their covered patio and it held up like a charm for years. It is 100% waterproof and can be machine washed in case of an accidental spill or two. The filling is recyclable virgin polystyrene beads and it lasted for about a year after which the chair sunk a little. We refilled it once with Big Joe Ultimax beans once and with recycled shredded memory foam on one occasion. Lasted for a year and a half without any problems whatsoever. If you are shopping for affordable bean bag for adults, it’s impossible to find a better option at a cheaper price. Highly recommended! Pros 35-inch for adults Available in 20 colors and patterns Removable and washable polyester cover Waterproof and stain-resistant Extremely durable 100% virgin polystyrene beans Perfect for gaming, reading or casual reclining Cons It has a slight chemical odor when you unbox it. Allow it to air dry for a day or two and the smell dissipates completely. View Price #4 - Intex Beanless Bag Club Chair The Intex Beanless bag club chair is a perfect pick for homeowners who like to entertain. As implied by the name, this is an inflatable bean less bag chair that inflates in a jiffy and folds away into a corner when deflated. Perfect for impromptu parties and travel. No recurrent costs of replacement beans, no messy refills and doesn’t go flat after a few months of use. You can fill it as much as you want to, depending on your comfort level. Thanks to the combo valve, air can be filled or removed easily. The material is tough polyester and can easily be used outdoors without the risk of the seams ripping or fraying. Unlike normal chairs, this is styled like a club chair and has a roomy seating surface and comfortable high backrest. It is 49 inches in length and 47 inches in width. So, ensure that you have enough room to prop it. On a positive note, this makes it ideal for long sitting periods. Also, being an air cushion, it adheres to your body naturally devoid of any stubborn pressure points. P.S. Some of intex’s earlier inflatable chairs had questionable quality, especially the seams and the material. This is the newer, upgraded model that has all the issues ironed out. Pros High quality inflatable chair Styled like a club chair Roomy, comfortable sitting surface High backrest 49 (L) x 47 (W) Air cushion can be customized Combo valve allows quick and easy inflation and deflation Perfect for parties, travel and casual home use Cons Despite what the manufacturer cites, you will need an electric pump to inflate this. It’s a very large inflatable and will take forever to inflate with a manual pump. View Price #5 - Big Joe Dorm Last but not the least, we have the Big Joe Dorm Bean bag chair. This one is a perfect blend of form and function. A SmartMax Fabric exterior that’s impervious to spills and stains is perfectly complimented by an extremely comfortable, almost ergonomic design. It is 32-inches wide, 25-inches above the ground and almost 33-inches deep. That’s the perfect size for an adult to sit comfortably. The backrest is mid-sized. How we’d have loved a high backrest on this one. But we guess we can’t have everything, can we? Nevertheless, you can sit on this for hours without your back creaking or your arms going sore. Two built-in pockets on either side allow you to stash your book or smartphone as you catch some shuteye and conveniently reach out to it whenever you need. In addition to this, there’s a stretchable bottle holder for beverages. The covers are double stitched and can withstand the abuse that these typically undergo. You can be rest assured that this one isn’t going to rip at the seams. We also love the integrated handle that allows you to drag it easily to any part of the home if need be. Last but not the least, it features zippers with an integrated safety lock to prevent curious kids from finding their way to an endless stash of polystyrene beans. By the way, this comes pre-filled with Big Joe’s UltimaX beans. But you have the option to use any aftermarket beans or shredded memory foam for that matter. Pros American made Adult sized Mid-sized backrest Two pockets on either sides Bottle holder Double stitched covers Integrated handle Safety lock zippers Cons The backrest tends to sag after a few months of use. To prevent this from happening, ensure that you keep checking on the quality of the beans inside. If the beans go flat, the backrest will sag, especially with heavy usage. View Price How we selected the best cheap bean bag chairs The very term ‘Cheap’ is a misnomer. ‘Affordable’ sounds so much better. Bean bag chairs are bare bone furniture pieces that shouldn’t cost and arm and a leg. So, we have selected $70 as the upper price limit while selecting for our reviews. And we have been doubly diligent about our choices because the quality of most products in this price bracket is nothing to write home about. We based our selections on a handful of key variables. Here they are. The fabric The outer fabric will determine how long it lasts or how soon it starts to stain or tear. Barring one Big Joe Zebra chair, all the others have a polyester or Nylon exterior and are extremely durable. Stitching All the chairs in this list have double stitching at the seams. This is a bare minimum requirement that will prevent the seams from ripping open. If you have kids, don’t even bother buying anything that doesn’t have double stitches. Dimensions Pictures can be misleading. Many a time, a user orders a bean bag chair online only to discover that it’s much smaller than what it appeared like in the pictures. So, we have carefully selected these chairs based on the dimensions. Also, we have separated the adult chairs from the teen/child ones. Removable cover A removable cover will allow you to tackle those nasty stains that refuse to go away with a simple wipe down. Consider it a must-have if there are kids or pets in the house. To sum it up That’s it folks. We hope you enjoyed reading through our selection of cheap bean bag chairs and we’d love to hear about your personal favorite one from the list.