Reviews > Cook Gear > Cooking Accessories > Coleman Exponent Backpacker Table > Jodi Cornelius > Field Report

Date: December 10, 2005

My Background: I have been backpacking for 3 years now and before that I car camped quite a bit. I consider myself somewhat new to backpacking and am on my way towards becoming a lightweight packer. I tend to use a Hennessey Hammock since my only tent is a bivy tent. I prefer the hammock to a tent as the hammock leaves me swinging gently in the breeze with no hard spot from rocks on the ground. Nor do I need to dig troughs for my hips and shoulders (side sleeper) so I can practice LNT (Leave No Trace) much better.

For a more in-depth description, please check out my Initial Report .

I haven't been able to use this too much yet as hunting season came upon us and I've been hunting every weekend instead of hiking/backpacking. However, I did take it on one hunt as I expected to be out all day and wanted to be able to relax when I stopped to eat and figured this would be a good time to test the table. It is rather bulky for carrying when hunting and unless I am going to be gone more than just during the day, it just isn't something that I will carry.

However, it IS wonderful for my backpacking trips! Although I haven't been out hiking, I have taken it up in my woods and had dinner on it a couple of times. I am finding that there is no difficulty in setting it up, regardless of the bark type. I have attached the Exponent Backpacker Table and Gear system to "smooth" poplar trees and the rougher oaks and maples with no problems. I have noticed, though, that it helps to have a larger diameter tree than a smaller one. If the tree is less than 5 in (12.7 cm)  in diameter it tends to wobble a little bit. But there has been no problem with wet trees nor snow covered bark. The strap works fine at gripping the tree even if the strap is not totally tight.

Temperatures so far have been in the 30's F (-1 C) with snow and sun on the different days that I went out. Something I would like to experiment with, if I can do this without hurting the table, is figuring out a way to use my cook stove on the table. At this time, I am concerned about melting the table so I'm not cooking on it. But I'd like to find something that I can set on the table that will be used as a hot pad that will keep the heat from the table but will let me cook on it. I "think" that I could use the Jetboil on it without worrying about melting the table, but I don't want to take the chance. So I'm going to be doing some experimenting with that.

Continuing Test Plan: I will continue to use this table and gear system on every trip I go on, regardless of whether it is a day trip or a weekender. I look forward to setting this up at "sit on the ground to eat" height and then moving it up later to hang my pack on along with my lantern in the evening. I will be experimenting to find creative ways to use the gear hooks even though I'm blonde and tend to not be too creative. This test will take place outside - in the cold, in the warmth, in the snow, in the rain, in the sunshine. From now on, temperatures should range anywhere from 30 F/-1 C to possible lows of -5 F/-21 C. I will be trying to find a way to cook on the table without melting it.

Reviews > Cook Gear > Cooking Accessories > Coleman Exponent Backpacker Table > Jodi Cornelius > Field Report