This Stylish $40 Foldable Camping Table is My Best Amazon Purchase of All Time
I have only been camping twice in my life. The bugs, sleeping on the ground, and lack of air conditioning make it a hard pass for me—picture me as Meredith Blake in “The Parent Trap” remake. Surprisingly, however, my favorite Amazon purchase of all time is a stylish camping table.
Rather than using it to clean freshly caught fish by the fire or to hold a lantern, I break my TREKOLOGY table out for park and backyard picnics to prevent ants from infiltrating the food. It’s also come in handy for entertaining in my studio apartment (and I’m hopeful it will again one day). This lightweight aluminum table collapses into a small bag that’s about the size of two average umbrellas—plus, it assembles in 15 seconds flat and is super easy to store.
There are only two pieces: a pop-up frame with textured, anti-slip leg caps so the table doesn’t slide around on the ground and a fold-up, waterproof metal tabletop (which looks like an accordion in the bag) that snaps on securely. As far as collapsible tables go, this one’s certainly a looker. The slatted top and metal legs are more chic bistro than campground, especially when topped with a bottle of wine, a plate of charcuterie, and wine glasses.
This table is best used if you sit in foldable camping chairs or on the ground at a picnic, as the small size stands at merely 13 inches high and 15.6 inches wide—about knee height for most adults. You can go bigger if you want, but I’ve found this version, which weighs just under two pounds, to be just right in most cases. Throughout the summer, I’ll throw it in a tote bag with a big blanket to go to the park and shock people when they don’t have to carefully balance their drinks on the ground. At parties, I do a similar setup. When both of my couches and folding chairs are full of people at my annual all-dips Christmas party, Dipmas, I set up a portion of my studio apartment as a casual sitting area with a blanket, floor cushions, and this table in the middle for people to graze. I also have the larger size table, too, for bigger gatherings.
The color I have is listed as “brown,” but it’s actually more of a shiny copper-plated look. This brand sells a blue version, and other similar models come in silver, black, and yellow, so there’s an option that will go with any color scheme. Any of these styles would fit easily in your picnic bag or basket and will make sitting on the ground feel a little more luxurious—all while saving you from major spills and helping you and your friends to maintain a safe distance from each other. Better yet, if you need to break one of these guys out at home once entertaining indoors comes back, it’ll hold its own with the rest of your decor—and won’t look or feel like a sad card table that’s seen better days.