Source of the article: Best Camping Tables of 2024, Tested & Reviewed | CleverHiker

By Heather Eldridge

A good camping table provides a comfortable and convenient place to cook, eat, and play games when there’s no picnic table in sight. We researched 30 models and then hit up our favorite car camping sites to test the top contenders side by side. Over 100 nights of cooking and camping, we looked at durability and weight capacity, ease of setup, portability, and other features to figure out which ones are the best of the best.

If you like the idea of having a table in camp, but you want to keep the bulk and cost to a minimum, the Portal Quick Adjust Roll-Up Table is an excellent option. We like having the ability to adjust the height for standing or sitting, and this is one of the few tables that has independently-adjustable legs so you can level it on uneven terrain. The Portal’s medium size works well as a low side table between chairs for coffee or a game of dice. It’s also good for cooking if you don’t mind waiting to set up your stove until you’re done with food prep. We choose the Portal for trips where portability is important and we want a single table that can adapt to serve multiple purposes.

What’s Most Important to You in a Camping Table?

Camping table prices vary widely depending on their size, build quality, and brand. We’ve found that many budget-friendly tables perform just as well as high-end tables, and we recommend options that’re a great value at a variety of price points.

Weight and folded size aren’t as big a concern for car camping as they are for backpacking, but it’s still good to consider portability when you’re choosing a table. If you’ll be carrying your table any significant distance to reach your destination, you’ll be much happier with one that’s lightweight and packable. If you’ll be camping in car-accessible sites, you may want a table that’s larger and more heavy-duty.

Any table is helpful to keep your stuff up out of the dirt and sand, but a table that’s 30 inches or higher will be much more ergonomic to stand at if you’ll be doing any serious food prep. Shorter tables are typically better if you’ll be sitting around them with chairs; the average dining table height is 28-30 inches. Tables 19 inches high or less will feel more like a coffee table.

Generally, the sturdier the table, the heavier and bulkier it will be. Heavy-duty tables can be worth the tradeoff in portability if you care more about long-term durability and stability than having a lightweight, compact package.

1. Our recommendations are completely independent and based on hands-on experience.
2. We test outdoor gear for a living – we’ve logged over 20,000 trail miles and 1,000 nights in the wilderness.
3. Our team has thru-hiked some of the most iconic long trails, including the Continental Divide Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, Appalachian Trail, Colorado Trail, Long Trail, Oregon Coast Trail, Arizona Trail, Pinhoti Trail, Superior Hiking Trail, as well as extensive peak bagging, and international treks.
4. We field test every product we recommend, which is sadly not the norm.
5. We travel to industry trade shows to stay up-to-date on product innovations.
6. We continuously update our guides throughout the year and when new products launch.
7. We treat recommendations to our readers as if they were for our family and friends.
8. We’re lifelong learners and we’re always open to feedback. If you think we’ve missed a worthy product or got something wrong, we’d love to know about it.