Our Long-Term Stratus Outdoors Review | 2+ Years of Full-Time Use
- 5 days ago
- 8 min read
After more than two years of full-time travel around Australia, our Stratus Outdoors setup has become far more than just camping furniture. This guide shares why we chose Stratus Outdoors, how the products have held up after everyday use, and whether we'd buy them again.
Before We Get Started
Living in a caravan full-time changes the way you look at camping gear.
The products you use for an hour on a weekend camping trip become the products you rely on every single day.
When you head away for a long weekend, almost any chair or table will probably do the job. Comfort is nice to have, but if you're only using it for a couple of days, it's usually not something you think too much about.
For us, it's different.
Our outdoor setup isn't just where we sit for happy hour. It's where we eat breakfast, enjoy our morning coffee, edit YouTube videos, answer emails, relax after a day of driving and spend time with friends around the campfire.
Quite simply, it's our outdoor living room.
That's why we eventually decided to invest in better outdoor furniture.
At a Glance
Time Owned | More than 2 years |
Products Reviewed | |
Would We Buy Again? | Absolutely |
How Often Do We Use? | Almost every single day |
ExploreOz Discount Code | EXPLOREOZ (Save 10%) |
Thinking about upgrading your outdoor setup?If you decide Stratus Outdoors is right for your style of travel, don't forget to use our code EXPLOREOZ to save 10% on your order. We'll include links to every product featured throughout this guide.
Why We Chose Stratus Outdoors
Like most travellers, we didn't start with premium outdoor furniture.
Jess had a Coleman chair she'd owned since she was 21, while I'd already worked my way through several camp chairs over the years. None of them were terrible, but they all had the same problem, they simply weren't designed to be used every single day.
The same applied to our old folding table. It did the job, but it was bulky, awkward to store and we always had to think twice before putting anything hot on it.
Eventually we stopped asking ourselves which products were the cheapest and started asking a much more important question.
"What would we actually enjoy using every day?"
That simple shift completely changed the way we looked at outdoor furniture.
What We Were Looking For
Comfortable enough to spend hours sitting in.
Compact enough to pack away quickly.
Built to handle full-time travel.
High-quality materials that would last.
Products we'd still be happy using years from now.
Why We Feel Qualified To Review It
One thing we've learnt over the years is that first impressions don't tell you much about camping gear.
Almost everything looks good when it's brand new.
The real test comes after months of travelling, hundreds of setups and thousands of kilometres on Australian roads.
That's why we deliberately waited before writing this guide.
By the time we sat down to put this review together, our Stratus setup had travelled through dusty inland Australia, tropical humidity, coastal camps, heavy rain and everything in between. It had become part of our everyday routine, which meant we could talk about long-term ownership rather than first impressions.
We think that's far more valuable for anyone considering investing in premium outdoor furniture.
After More Than Two Years
✓ Still our everyday setup
✓ Used almost daily
✓ Nothing we'd hesitate to buy again
The Products We Use Every Day
Once we'd made the decision to invest in better outdoor furniture, it didn't take long for it to become part of our everyday routine.
Rather than reviewing each product separately, we thought it would be more useful to explain how each one fits into the way we actually travel.
These are the four Stratus products that have become permanent fixtures in our campsite.
If there's one product we'd struggle to travel without now, it's the All-Day Chairs.
They're where we start most mornings with a coffee, where we edit YouTube videos throughout the day and where we usually finish the evening around the campfire.
The biggest surprise hasn't been how comfortable they are, it's how little we think about them now. After more than two years of almost daily use, they've simply become part of our routine.
They're comfortable enough to spend hours in, pack away quickly and have held up incredibly well despite travelling thousands of kilometres across Australia.
The only small downside? Folding them is quick, but getting them neatly back into the carry bag can occasionally take a little patience.
When we bought the Derek Camp Table, we expected it to be somewhere to prepare meals and eat dinner.
Instead, it's become the centre of our everyday routine. Most mornings start with coffee at the Derek Table while we plan the day ahead. By lunchtime it's where we prepare meals, in the afternoon it often becomes our editing desk, and by evening it's holding dinner while we relax around the campsite.
Looking back, it's probably the product that surprised us the most.
One feature we've really come to appreciate is the aluminium tabletop. Even sitting in full sun it never becomes too hot to use, and we regularly place hot pots, pans and our COBB Cooker straight onto it without worrying about damaging the surface.
When we first ordered the Chair Buddy, we honestly thought it would just be a handy little accessory.
Now we wouldn't buy the chairs without them.
Ours permanently stay attached, even when the chairs are packed away, so every time we set up camp everything we normally use is already within reach.
Phones, sunglasses, charging cables, notebooks, keys and water bottles all end up in there.
It's one of those products you don't realise you'll appreciate until you've lived with it.
The Camp Stool followed a very similar path.
Originally, it was bought as an extra seat for visitors.
These days it's constantly moving around the campsite. One minute it's a footrest while we're relaxing, then it's holding camera gear during filming, before ending up beside the fire as somewhere to sit while cooking dinner. It's even become an extra dining chair whenever friends drop in.
It's never the star of the campsite, but somehow it's always being used.
Things We'd Change (If We're Being Picky)
After more than two years of almost daily use, there honestly isn't much we'd change. But no product is perfect.
Folding the All-Day Chairs back into their carry bags still takes a little patience until you get the hang of it.
We've both managed to clip a toe on the Derek Camp Table legs more than once.
Premium outdoor furniture isn't cheap, so it's only worth the investment if you're going to use it regularly.
None of those things would stop us buying the same setup again, but they're worth mentioning if you're considering it.
Looking back over more than two years of full-time travel, the thing that's impressed us most isn't any one individual product.
It's how well they all work together.
Rather than feeling like a collection of camping furniture, they've become our outdoor living room, a space where we work, cook, relax and spend countless hours every single week.
After travelling Australia full-time, that's probably the biggest compliment we can give them.
Why these products work so well together
Comfortable enough to spend hours outside.
Strong enough for everyday use.
Compact enough to pack away quickly.
Practical without overcomplicating things.
Has It Been Worth It?
When we first started looking at Stratus Outdoors, we questioned whether premium outdoor furniture was really worth the extra investment.
It's a fair question, and one we're regularly asked whenever people see our campsite.
Looking back now, our answer is simple.
Without hesitation.
Yes.
Neither of us has ever looked at our Stratus setup and thought, "I wish we'd bought something cheaper."
Not because the furniture looks good.
Not because it's a premium brand.
But because it has genuinely improved the way we live on the road.
The longer we've travelled, the more we've realised that the gear you use every single day is often the gear that's worth investing in. When something becomes part of your morning routine, your workspace, your dinner table and your evenings around the campfire, quality starts to matter.
For us, that's exactly what Stratus Outdoors has become.
Even after more than two years, neither of us would change our setup.
Looking Back
✓ Packed away hundreds of times
✓ Used almost every single day
✓ Still part of our everyday campsite
✓ Nothing we'd rush to replace
Who Is Stratus Outdoors For?
One thing we've tried to do throughout this guide is be honest about who these products are best suited to.
We don't think premium outdoor furniture is the right choice for everyone, and that's perfectly okay.
If you're heading away once or twice a year for a weekend, there are plenty of more affordable options that will get you outdoors and enjoying camping.
Our situation is different.
We live in our caravan full-time, which means our outdoor furniture gets used almost every day. It's where we eat, work, relax and spend most of our waking hours whenever the weather allows.
That's why investing in quality made sense for us.
We'd Recommend Stratus If You...
Travel regularly or full-time.
Are planning the Big Lap.
Spend hours around your campsite.
Work remotely while travelling.
Prefer buying quality gear that lasts.
Around Our Campsite
One of the things we enjoy most about travelling Australia is chatting with other travellers. Whenever our chairs are out and camp is set up, it's not unusual for someone to wander over and ask about our outdoor setup.
These are the questions we get asked most often.
Are the chairs really that comfortable?
Yes—and that's usually the first thing people notice.
Rather than trying to explain it, we normally tell people to sit down and try them for themselves. Between the reclining backrest and matching footstool, most people don't want to get back up again.
Does the table get hot sitting in the sun?
This is probably the question we're asked the most about the Derek Camp Table.
The answer is no.
Even sitting in direct sunlight, the aluminium tabletop stays surprisingly comfortable to use. It's also one of the reasons we chose it in the first place, because we can put hot saucepans, camp ovens and the COBB straight onto the surface without worrying about damaging it.
Has anything broken?
Considering how often this gear gets used, that's probably the biggest compliment we can give it.
Nothing has broken.
The only maintenance we've done has been tightening the bolts on the chair armrests every now and then, which is hardly surprising after thousands of kilometres travelling Australian roads.
If you were buying again, would you choose the same setup?
Absolutely.
The only thing we'd probably change is upgrading to the larger Big Derek table, simply because it wasn't available when we bought ours.
Everything else?
We'd buy exactly the same products again.
Our Verdict
One thing we've learnt after five years of travelling Australia is that the gear you rely on every single day quickly becomes the gear you appreciate the most.
That's exactly what Stratus Outdoors has become for us.
They're no longer just chairs, a table and a few accessories.
They're where we drink our morning coffee, edit videos, cook dinner, catch up with friends and unwind after another day on the road.
Somewhere along the way they stopped feeling like camping furniture and simply became part of our home.
If we lost everything tomorrow, we'd buy exactly the same setup again.
To us, that's probably the strongest recommendation we can give.
Our Current Stratus Outdoors Setup
This is the exact Stratus setup we currently travel with.
2 × All-Day Chairs
2 × Chair Buddy organisers
2 × Camp Stool
Derek Camp Table
Thinking About Upgrading Your Outdoor Setup?
If you're planning the Big Lap, travelling regularly or simply want outdoor furniture that's built for everyday use, we genuinely think Stratus Outdoors is worth considering.
If you decide to purchase any of the products we've mentioned throughout this guide, don't forget to use our ExploreOz discount code.
EXPLOREOZ
It'll save you 10% on your order.
Using our code also helps support ExploreOz through a small commission at no extra cost to you. That support helps us continue producing free travel guides, YouTube videos and honest gear reviews like this one.
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