Food seems to taste better when you’re eating al-fresco, but not all motorhomes come with removable camping tables that you can set up outside. So we decided to run a group test to find out which are the best folding tables for holidays.

All the biggest outdoor accessory manufacturers make folding tables, so which should you choose for your motorhome touring? We considered many tables, including the Outwell Custer Large camping table, a beautiful bamboo-topped design costing £109.99 and the Outwell Penticton aluminium camping table costing £53.99. We tried out the Coleman 6 in 1 Camping Table at £70, which is actually a set of two tables that you can join together. Then we tried the Kampa Element Waterproof Table Medium at £54.99, the Kampa Prestige Camping Table at £59.99 and the Quest Elite Packaway Slatted Table at just £44.99.

So, what’s the secret of making really great camping tables? Having tested all the above and more, we think we know. We’ve been looking for folding tables that are lightweight, yet strong, made of materials that should stand the test of time.

We liked camping tables with adjustable legs, because we want to use them on uneven soft ground as well as firm, level camping pitches and various motorhome parking places, such as Practical Motorhome‘s Nightstops. We’re also happier eating from tables that are not too low or too high compared to our camping chairs, so again adjustable legs and feet on your camping chairs can make a world of difference.

We want our folding tables to be lightweight yet strong and stable. They should be weatherproof, just in case they get left out in the rain. And we want them to be easy to keep clean, with few crevices and grooves that could possibly trap spilt food inside. It has to pack down small for storage in the motorhome, and we’d like it to be quick and easy to put up and pack down.

We reviewers are of course the most demanding and contrary customers, so although we want compact lightweight tables, we have no shame about saying that we also want plenty of elbow-room and enough space for dinner plates and unobstructed legroom for everyone sitting at the camping tables. We’d quite like it to resemble domestic dining tables in terms of attractiveness, and we want our ideal camping tables to be the right height for eating full meals, relative to our camping chairs. On the other hand, there are times when we need to chill out with drinks and snacks on a coffee table, so we’re thrilled when we come across camping chairs with adjustable legs and feet!

In this review we focus on the Kampa Prestige Double Slat camping table, priced at £59.99. It’ll surprise no one that this aluminium-slatted design packs down compactly into a 106cm x 22cm x 13cm bag, or that it weighs just 5kg despite a generous 110cm x 71cm top surface. But we didn’t expect the erected Kampa Prestige Double Slat table to be as uncompromisingly stable as this one is. The perfectly flat expanse looks surprisingly good, too, in a techno-chic sort of way.

The Kampa Prestige Double Slat camping table’s 69cm height means that it’s a comfortable table and there’s plenty of room for two adults on each long side — even if having legs positioned close to the edges rule out using the two ends. Points were lost for a more time-consuming, if straightforward, build process.