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Reviews > Cook Gear > Cooking Accessories > Coleman Exponent Backpacker Table > Jennifer Pope > Initial Report

Coleman Exponent Backpacker Table
& Gear System

Initial Report
October 5, 2005

Biographical Information Product Information Initial Impressions Summary Field Test

Table set up


Biographical Information
Name Jennifer Pope
Age 24
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

Packaging

Initial Impressions (back to top)

When I first picked up the box I was a little surprised by the weight. It was a little heavier than I was expecting (the weight was listed on the website; I guess I just didn't think about how much that actually was). Other than that the table was exactly what I was expecting based in what I saw on the website. I was a little unclear how it would actually hang from the tree, but once I started putting it together, it was perfectly clear.

Product Description (back to top)

The table consists of a tabletop that folds up accordion style (see below), two metal pieces that slide into the unfolded table to keep it flat, two thin ropes that the table hangs from, a strap that wraps around the tree, four gear hooks that the table also hangs from, and a metal rod with a hook on the end that an lantern can hang from.

folding table
When I first took everything out of the box I tried to guess at how to set it up. It wasn't immediately clear to me, so I opened the instruction booklet. Honestly, the instructions weren't all that helpful. Instead of trying to figure out what the instructions were trying to tell me, I decided to try to figure it out on my own. After only a couple minutes of fiddling (and realizing where the metal supports slid in) I put the table together. Then next time it was really simple to put it together and probably took about two minutes.

The tabletop unfolds and the metal supports slide in through little slots on each side. The thin ropes have knots pre-tide on each end which slide into the metal supports and then hang from the gear hooks. The strap slides around the tree and then through a metal clasp that can easily be tighten and loosened by pushing on a tab. The gear hooks hang from this strap on the tree. Attaching the table to the tree was rather intuitive.

strap clasp
One thing that surprised me about the table setup was how unstable it was. I'm pretty certain that I won't be cooking on the table. Only true testing in the field will tell, but it seems like it wouldn't be stable enough to hold a lit stove. The workspace on the table isn't too large, but it should hold all of my kitchen items.

As far as the weight is concerned, I think this can be trimmed in some areas. For example, I may not need all four gear hooks on every trip I take. Also, the drawstring bag could probably be eliminated for a sturdy rubber band or two.

Summary (back to top)

So far the table is a little heavier than I imagined and it's a little less stable than I imagined. But overall it's a nice table and something I've never tried before. I'll have to see if it's worth the weight.

Field Testing Information (back to top)

During the late summer and fall I will be taking trips into the San Bernardino and Angeles National Forests (other areas in Southern CA aren't off limits either). These generally aren't planned far in advance, but I'll likely be out a weekend each month. Temperatures on all these trips should be fairly mild ranging from the 30s to 90 F (0 – 30 C). Weather should be fairly mild as well with an always-looming possibility of rain (which in turn leads to mud). Elevations range from 4,000 to over 10,000 feet (1,200 – 3,000 m). Day hiking in and around Los Angeles is always a given pretty much every weekend. The terrain of the trails near Los Angeles is mainly rocky, chaparral-covered hills. The deserts in South-Eastern California are also a frequent destination for the fall and winter months (as long as the rain isn't as bad as last year). I also have a goal of taking one snow trip this year, but that depends on me learning more about snow camping and getting up the guts to do it (I'm kind of a wimp in the cold).

This table will accompany me on all my backpacking and camping adventures over the next four months. As mentioned above, I like to get away camping or backpacking about a weekend per month with 2 nights per weekend.

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

Reviews > Cook Gear > Cooking Accessories > Coleman Exponent Backpacker Table > Jennifer Pope > Initial Report



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