How Strict Are Weight Limits On Chairs?

In this industry, (ie. folding chairs, folding tables), there seems to be some confusion when it comes to the weight rating, load capacity, load rating, whatever you want to call the amount of pressure that can be put on to your chair before collapsing on itself. When searching for which chair is right for your venue, there are so many different types, materials, and colors to choose from. It can become a little overwhelming. However, if you're either in the rental business or need chairs for mass seating, you're probably already aiming to pay around $10 - $12 per chair. You can still get commercial grade seating at a relatively low cost by sticking to plastic folding chairs. These chairs flood the internet with websites marketing different prices, frame materials, and the almighty "weight rating". The majority of our customers who browse the market for plastic folding chairs typically end up settling with our cheapest commercial grade chair, and the low cost tends to make people ask about the weight capacity of these poly chairs. Anytime anyone ever asks about weight rating, we typically respond the same way each time:

Most plastic folding chairs will be advertised with a weight capacity of 800 pounds, but that doesn't mean an 800 pound person or anything close to that weight should be anywhere near these chairs. After testing our folding chairs against competitors (both rated at an 800 pound capacity), our chairs collapsed at a weight of 720 pounds. Our competitors...560 pounds. Now these are still both acceptable weight limits for what the majority of our customers need a basic plastic folding chair to do. However, these weights are considered "static" weight. Meaning the weight stays the same and doesn't move. 

A dynamic weight is someone who plops down, re-adjusts to feel more comfortable, or leans back on the two back legs like they're waiting for class to end. The amount of weight these chairs can hold drastically changes when an actual person sits down. We recommend at most a 350 pound person. Instead of worrying about weight capacity, try finding a folding chair that's meant for commercial use and is cheap to get to your doorstep. Feel free to watch our video below as we stack bags of concrete on our plastic folding chairs against our competitors. If you would like more information on the different testing standards our products go through click here.