REI Camp Table

Is there anything worse than camping without a table for food prep and sitting at for meal time?  I, myself, have never found it very convenient to sit in a camp chair while balancing a plate of food on my legs.  And food prep without a table can be a separate debacle.

We really needed a table that would provide a good amount of table top space for food prep and sitting around as well as something that would be study in the wilderness and not tip over if bumped into.  And most importantly, we needed a table that would become very compact and relatively light weight for when we are on the move.

We have been using the REI Camp Table for five months now (since December 2013).  This table provides a lot of what we were searching for in a camp table. The overall table top size provides a good area for food prep and also for sitting around.  You can seat six people, that is with two on each side and one person at each end of the table.  The table is also fairly sturdy and collapses down to a perfect size for transporting on our rack that mounts into the Jeep trailer hitch receiver.

The table frame collapses down into a small form.  There are also three individual flat sections that mount first to the frame and then the two roll top sections complete the set up.

Here the three flat sections mount first to the table frame.

Then the two roll top sections mount onto the table via plastic plugs.  So far, the plastic plugs remained in good shape and have not lost their ability to hold tight when mounted into the receiving holes.  One concern for this table can be the exposed metal edges of the roll tops, but this is only an issue when setting up and disassembling.  When assembled, these edges are not exposed.

The REI Camp Table also comes with a transport bag, which can be a little difficult to re-stuff with the frame and roll tops, but it works.  The other nice feature with the roll top is that "spills" will go through the gaps between the slats, however, the gaps also allow for small items that you might not want falling through to, well, fall through the cracks.

If looking for your own camp table, I would recommend a roll top table similar to this REI Camp Table.  There are other table options out there, some with fabric tops (which may not provide the required stability), or others with larger top sections that do not collapse down to a compact size for transport.
Do you have a favorite camp table? Post a comment and tell us what table you are using and why.