Biographical Information
Name	Jennifer Pope
Age	25
Gender	Female
Height	5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)
Weight	140 lb (64 kg)
Email address	Jennifer dot Pope at gmail dot com
Location	Los Angeles, CA
Backpacking Background Newbie. I’ve been a car-camper as long as I can remember and started backpacking in Northern California when I was 16. I'm just getting back into backpacking after a hiatus during college. I backpack in the Sierras as well as other National Forests closer to Los Angeles. I also spend time in the California deserts and the mountains and coast of Northern California. I'm a tent camper leaning towards lightweight; but I am a fan of gadgets and I like being comfortable. I also do a mix of short and long day hikes in and around Los Angeles.

Product Information (back to top)
Manufacturer	Coleman
Manufacturer URL	http://www.coleman.com/
Year of Manufacture	2005
Contents	table, 2 metal supports for table, 2 thin ropes to hang table, 4 table/gear hooks, & a drawstring bag to hold it all
Maximum weight capacity gear hooks table	50 lbs (23 kg) 25 lbs (11 kg)
Listed Weight	1.25 lbs (.5 kg)
Actual Weights strap & ropes tabletop metal table supports lantern hook hooks drawstring bag	2.7 oz (75 g) 16.9 oz (480 g) 4 oz (115 g) 1.7 oz (50 g) .7 oz (20 g) each 1.3 oz (35 g)
Tree strap length	7 ft (2.15 m) which means the table should accommodate trees up to slightly less than that
MSRP	$14.99 US

For more details on this item please see my Initial Report.

Field Conditions (back to top)

Thus far the table has been used for day hikes in the Los Angeles area in elevations from sea level to 500 ft (150 m). Temperatures were mild ranging in the 60s and 70s F (15 to 25 C). The table was also used on a two-night car camping trip at an elevation of just over 6,000 ft (1,800 m). Temperatures there were chilly in the 30s and 40s (15 to 25 C) while the table was in use. Precipitation was nonexistent on all trips.

Field Test (back to top)

Day Hikes

So far the backpacking table has accompanied me on a couple day hikes. Its purpose on these day hikes is much like an end table or bedside table would be used. I set up backpacking chair on the ground next to a tree and then I use the table to set my book, Nalgene, or other miscellaneous gear on. This provides me with a clean, flat surface, but it’s by no means necessary.

Table being used as a sidetable on a camping trip.

The table and gear system is easy to set up in mild conditions when I don’t need to wear gloves. The rope used to support the system takes a little bit of fiddling with, but it’s basically doable.

Car Camping Trip

Setting up table

Me struggling to get the table set up.

I also brought the table and gear system along on a two-night car camping trip. This trip was cold so I was setting up the system with my slightly too big fleece gloves on. This proved to be annoying and difficult to do. For some reason I was having a very difficult time keeping the table up when I was setting it up. The table is held up by two metal rods that go through each end of the table. On the end of each of these rods is a keyhole-type opening. There are also two thin ropes with a knot on each end that are designed to slide through the large part of the keyhole and then slide it over to the thin part where it cannot slide back out. My problem was that the knots would keep sliding back to the larger part of the opening and then fall off. This happened several times before I got the table to stay up. I have a feeling that my troubles where partly due to the design of the system and partly due to it being cold so I was trying to go fast and my large gloves (although part-way through I gave up on the gloves and settled for cold hands). Once completely set up the table seems to be fairly stable, although once I put gear on it I was treating it gingerly.

Table in Use

Table being used to hold gear on a camping trip.

The biggest added use that I’ve gotten out of the gear system is its hanging capabilities. This is a feature that I love and will definitely continue using even after the test period is over. I haven’t used the lantern hanging feature, but I have used the lantern hook to hang other items from and that works well. There are enough hooks that I can hang quite a bit of gear from them. It’s nice to have a place to hang items so they don’t have to be on the ground or crowding up my tent.

Summary (back to top)

So far the backpacking table and gear system as a whole seems to be a luxury item that I won’t need on every trip. It’s nice to have, but for backpacking I really don’t have the weight to spare. It’s a nice addition to car camping and some day hikes where weight isn’t as much of an issue. The gear system minus the table is very beneficial and I will likely continue to bring these items with me on all my trips (even backpacking) after the test period is over. This system by itself is also fairly lightweight (7.3 oz/207 g excluding the bag, which is overkill if you're not carrying the table).

Thank you to BackpackGearTest.org and Coleman for letting me test this item.

Read more reviews of Coleman gear
Read more gear reviews by Jennifer Pope

Field Report

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