Coleman Pack-Away Portable Kitchen

I bought this kitchen specifically for the convenience to my trip to Minnesota to camp. With that said, every camping trip is different and so is the weather. To put it in perspective, we camped in an Oak Grove adjacent to a lake. You didn't park where you camped, so you basically walked close to a quarter of a mile to your campsite.I read the reviews regarding the "bubbling" of the particle board by the following morning. I bought a 6x8 tarp and bungee cords so that when we set it up during the day, we could create a cover for the entire top of the kitchen at night (stove, utensils, spice, etc). After the stove cooled off after dinner we pulled the tarp from behind the kitchen and draped it over the top and front and bungeed the front to the aluminum legs. In the morning, not a drop of dew or moister underneath this and the aluminum legs held up just fine.Let me put it this way: would you want to buy a "pack-away kitchen" known for how light and convenient it is (particle board and aluminum), but expect it to be constructed of wood and steel? The weight is perfect, so you can't complain about what they used to make it with. Not to mention, it fit great in the packed trunk of the car. This isn't a product you can manhandle, but it can hold up fine if you use it properly.Also, I've seen complaints regarding the propane tank not having a rest. I normally take a storage box/bin when I go camping (waterproof and holds all your random stuff) so it worked out to rest the tank on that when we cooked since it sat to the right of the whole kitchen anyway. We disconnect our propane after every use, so it doesn't get in the way of getting into the bin.We set up camp during the day and the first night camping we had thunderstorms all night. Woke up the next morning and took the tarp off...and not one "bubble" on/underneath the table. The second night there was a wind storm, and the lake didn't help cut down the 50+mph winds. Our campsite ended up losing a total of one very large canopy and 1.5 gazebos (it didn't COMPLETELY destroy the one the kitchen was in)from snapping poles. Our kitchen didn't fall over and the tarp held up yet again. Not a spot on my whole kitchen other than some mud.True, this can be flimsy and dent a bit because it stands on aluminum legs and has a laminated-like particle board table. However, it was one of the lightest things I had to carry to camp AND it had handles...my air mattress is decently lightweight but doesn't have handles. :)I would recommend this product if you have the patience to take care of it. It's simple to set up and take down, but you have to take a couple extra minutes to protect it.

I was skeptical that I would actually like this purchase, especially for the price. But I was pleasantly surprised! All the extra pieces are stored in the folded-up table, and it's easy to put together. Very helpful to have in my overall camp setup. My grill didn't quite sit right on the grill side, as there is a grease-catching tray that makes it uneven on the table bars - but I just took that off since we weren't cooking anything too greasy. And if needed I could just prop up the other end so it sat evenly even with the grease tray on it.

The media could not be loaded. The table was put into a good use over Labor Day weekend camping trip for my son and his friends. Obviously, the kitchen gets annoyingly busy when you have to feed 5 people and a dog, 3 meals per day, for 3+ days. It felt more like outdoor cook off than camping to be honest. But having a dedicated extra space for food prep next to my chuck box was a huge help. It also free up some space of picnic table so that kids can get to sit down and eat. Having said that, it’s no doubt that overall quality of the table is, somewhat, flimsy. No one will bet this table’s gonna last lifetime. You will have to baby it a little when you put it in and out of your car because it’s likely to get damaged during transportation than while you’re using it. Coleman doesn’t even make bags/cases for this neither (I should’ve kept the box). It’s a compromise because it is lighter and smaller than the deluxe version when you fold everything down. Just try not to put anything heavy on top when you stack it with other camping gears. It’s very likely to crack or bend somewhere if you do. We’ll see how long it will last.(TIP: You can slide in a roll of paper towel to the bar in front of where a stove sits just like in the video. You can do this before snapping in the stove holder.)

Folds up nicely into a relatively small size. Easy to transport and set up. Takes care of all your grilling needs at one table. Even a net below for softer items. The utensil hooks are great too. Not too heavy and everything stores inside the folded table. I use it all the time. Durable and easy to clean.

I am glad I listened to another reviewer who said they are shipping the new model of this (and they provided pictures), as I got the updated version as well and it is terrific so far. Without referring to the instructions (except for one part for the stove support section) I was able to set it up without any problems. It goes up really quickly and easily as well, first time it took me maybe five minutes (again, that was without even reading the instructions), I'd imagine now that I know how it is setup I can probably do it in a couple minutes or less easily. Take down is super fast as well. I also really like that everything fits inside the main table when it's folded with room to spare. You could easily store some of your kitchen items in there like utensils and spices or what have you.The main table portion is pretty much all aluminum, while the stove portion is steel, but since it needs to hold far more weight that is understandable. It's still pretty light all together though, and it folds up nice and compact which will make stowing it nice when car camping or overlanding. It's also plenty sturdy I think given the cost and the construction.The only thing I can find fault with so far is that the legs are not adjustable to compensate for uneven ground. It'd add to the cost, but it'd be really nice. As it stands, you either need to get a fairly flat and level bit of ground, or shim the legs with something. I'll probably go to the hardware store and pick up some plastic framing shims (used to shim door frames and walls while you're building) to throw in there so that when I need to level it I have something on hand. They are cheap enough and one pack will be more than enough unless it's horribly bumpy land you're on.Other than that I am looking forward to using this on our next camping trip.