Thoughts
I have not bought the item but have seen it set up in stores. This is more a critic about the product itself compared to the one from last year.Last year's model was great and I should have gotten it when I had the chance but was waiting for the price to go down and by the time I remembered to get it too late. Last year's model had another table to the right which underneath had a sturdy fabric made cabinet which you could use to store all foods, dishware, pots & pans; and best part the cabinet was removable so at the end of the day or if you were leaving camp you could place it in your car so no animals could get to it. Something very important since this model does not have that so buying an item that does not have a feature to keep the animal away from your goods is a step back. And yes the cabinet had a fabric door you could zip open or close and had a sturdy shelf in it to keep things organized. The cabinet design was much better and I think, that this is was missing in this model. It looks more compact, I diffintly approve about that. But the shelf on the left makes no sense because it is a flimsy piece of fabric. I think that if REI takes away the fabric shelf on the left and instead places in the cabinet with a towel holder on the left of the table it would make it the best Kitchen ever! I do have the REI Camp Table with the storage unit on the bottom and that does have a towel rack and it makes it so convienant for spills in the tent! I do love the improvement on this REI Camp Kitchen, the improvements being the trash bin on the right side and the fact that it is portable. REI almost has the concept but not quite there. I say keep the packability, keep the trash bin and lantern holder, loose the shelf on the left and replace it with last years removable cabinet and towel rack, keep the shelves in the main table where the lantern holder is, keep the storage bag to plavce the table in, and it would be the best REI Camp Kitchen ever! And, I agree you do not need another table, two is fine. That way when I camp I can place all my food, pots & pans in the cabinet, lantern on lantern holder, paper towel on paper towel rack, garbage bag on garbage holder, firewood and other items kept all dry on the shelves, and when I store it I can just keep all my pots, pans, and MRE's in the shelf stored in the closet with the rest of the kitchen packed up on top taking up minimal storage space. Or just sell the towel rack and cabinet separatly, would be great too.
AcadiaWendigo at
REI on
02/02/2013