Camping trips tend to come with a lot of gear. While arguably not as important as a quality tent or cushy sleeping pad, it’s amazing how often a simple side table comes in handy time and time again. Portable and compact, the REI Co-op Outward Side Table is a coffee table made for the great outdoors.
Unfold it next to a chair and it’s ideal for enjoying a morning cup of coffee or tea. Set it up in your tent next to your sleeping pad and it becomes a bedside table handy for holding glasses, a light, and your favorite book. Need extra space to prep dinner or hold s’mores fixings? No problem.
Weighing in at just over 5 pounds, you likely won’t be carrying this along on a hike, but when you don’t have to travel very far, it’s a useful portable table to pull out of the car and use at the beach or park. During a recent trip to the Yosemite National Park area, I used it for a few impromptu picnic stops when no picnic tables available.
Learning how to open and close the table was initially a bit tricky, but after a few times, I got the hang of it. Directions are on the underside of the table in case you ever need a reminder.
It folds up flat, (19.5 x 11.8 x 1.6 inches) making it easy to throw into the mix when packing the car. Maximum weight capacity for the table is 50 pounds.
The REI Co-op Outward Side Table has a celery colored top and black legs. Cost is $69.95 on the Rei Co-op website.