Store a folding sun lounger: plan the shed first

The mower is already in the shed, the door swings inward, and the lounger is still on the grass. You need to store a folding sun lounger before a wet week presses the fabric into the frame. The number that decides the space is the folded size in centimetres, and only when the listing prints one. A title that says folding, flat, or beach is a label. It is not a tape measure.

Which?'s sun lounger buying guide is written around about six months of comfortable sitting, so winter storage belongs in the same buy. We read the seven amazon.co.uk listings in the aluminium sun lounger comparison on 16 October 2026. Weights and sizes below are those pages. We did not fold a sample in a lab. A qualifying purchase through our amazon.co.uk links can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

In short

Use a folded size only when the listing prints one. In this set the Lichfield Deluxe bullets give 80 × 61 × 16 cm. If a tube starts to kink, stop and treat that as a fault. Dry the fabric before a cover goes on, which is Harbour Lifestyle's care point for aluminium garden furniture. A recliner that does not fold, and a zero-gravity pair that is not a sunbed, need a different patch of floor.

Measure the folded sun lounger size before you buy

A folded sun lounger size is three numbers. The two larger ones are the floor. The smallest is the stack, if the bed lies flat. The Lichfield Deluxe (B004M17FXI) bullets give 80 × 61 × 16 cm: 80 cm one way, 61 cm the other, about 16 cm thick. The open bed is 180 × 60 × 30 cm.

Lead with the 16 cm edge through the door, and keep the 80 cm edge within the clear height or the depth. Carrying that 80 cm edge square-on is how a door nearer 70 cm of clear timber stops you. Then check the floor the door sweeps. An inward-opening door that meets the frame puts the bed in the swing, however slim 16 cm looks on the page.

Two times 16 cm is 32 cm of stack only when both beds lie flat and the rack does not hold them apart. Measure the first one before you promise the second a slot beside the mower. Item weight is 4.5 kg, so one person can lift it. A maximum-weight field of 4.6 kg matches the item. It is not a person. Check the live page, because a spec field says this bed is not foldable.

Listings that print a size, and listings that do not

In this set of seven, the Lichfield is the row that prints a folded pack. It is £46.39, with 4.6 from 1,475 reviews, an aluminium tube, 600D polyester, and five positions, including flat. The included line is the lounger, with no cushion and no carry bag.

The Homecall 30039 does not print the cube. It states powder-coated aluminium, textilene with quick-dry foam, five positions, a stated 150 kg, and 200 × 70 × 36 cm, at £124.81 and 9.2 kg, with 4.5 from 1,162 reviews. UK reviews praise the width and describe bars that buckle when folded, plus colour fade, a rusty bracket, and parts coming off. The folded saving is unknown until that first fold.

VOUNOT's sunshade lounger is £29.99 and 4.75 kg, and the frame field says metal. Amazon Basics is £44.45 and 5.5 kg, with a carry strap and no folded centimetres. The textilene pair is £74.99 and 12.4 kg, also with no folded size, so a pair is two footprints after you unpack. Boot carry sits on aluminium sun lounger for the beach.

How to fold a sunbed, then dry it

Fold once, on a dry day, before you need the shed in a hurry. Brush grit out of the hinges and off the feet. If the catch will not move, stop and look at it. Lichfield reviews often praise a toothed-rack headrest. That is not a reason to stand on the rail.

Harbour Lifestyle's care guide for aluminium garden furniture tells you to dry the furniture before you cover it. Water in 600D polyester, or in Homecall's foam, stays against the powder coat. A UK review of a rusty Homecall bracket shows a fitting can rust while the tube looks sound. Fold the dew in, and the cover is a wet pocket.

1. Stand the bed on a hard surface and fold it once without standing on the rails.
2. Watch the tubes. A bow, a flat spot, or a kink means you stop and leave the repair to the retailer.
3. If the fold is clean, leave the bed open until the fabric, any foam, and the underside are dry.
4. Take any cushion indoors, then cover the dry frame or stand it in the shed, clear of the door swing.

The Lichfield box is the lounger, so a pad on it is yours to dry. Homecall includes a head cushion, a strap, and a sun visor. Foam holds rain that mesh lets through. The rest of the cover routine is on how to look after an aluminium sun lounger. A dry shed suits a dry frame. A leaking corner is still rain, so move the cube or leave it open.

Stop if the tube buckles

A bar that bends as you fold is the moment to stop. Homecall's UK reviews include bars that buckle when the bed is folded. That listing is the wide aluminium bed here, 200 × 70 cm, at 9.2 kg and £124.81, and it prints no folded size. A kink, a flat, or a rail that stays bowed is a fault.

Forcing the rail is how storage becomes a cracked frame. Photograph the buckle in the position that caused it, and use the retailer. This page will not describe a home bend. A line of 4.5 from 1,162 reviews does not mean your carton has the fault. It means a first fold that bows is a reason to pause.

The Lichfield bullets print 80 × 61 × 16 cm. A spec field says the bed is not foldable. If yours will not close, that bullet is not an instruction to lean harder. Check the catch and the rack for grit, and stop if the tube is deforming.

What does not fold at all

The ATR aluminium garden recliner does not fold. Listing B07CWJPXJL is £189.00, with 4.5 from 145 reviews, an aluminium frame in HDPE wicker, three positions, a stated 150 kg, and a size of about 78 × 80 × 101 cm. Amazon ranks it with reclining patio chairs. You keep an open chair, with a claimed 15 cm cushion, on that footprint all year. The file lists 1.47 kg, and reviews call the built chair heavy, so plan the open footprint rather than a one-hand lift.

A zero-gravity pair does fold, and it is not a sunbed. VOUNOT's set of two (B0D95YQ2DX) is £59.99, 3.6 from 21 reviews, and 12 kg, with a table and a lock between 90° and 127°. Open size is 165 × 65 × 112 cm. Folded size is blank. The frame field says metal. You may fit two chairs after a real fold. You cannot quote a cube the page never printed, and you cannot lie flat. UK comments include a broken delivery and a pair that looked used.

Choose the Lichfield for one light bed at 80 × 61 × 16 cm, with a 60 cm width and no usable user load. Choose the Homecall for 70 cm, foam, and a roof, and watch the bars, because the shed size stays unknown until the fold works. Leave the ATR open on the patio when you wanted a seat.