Kelty Basecamp Kitchen

I will be putting this to use first on fathers day weekend in the Uintas with my family. However I will state this. So far so good. I purchased it yesterday after asking for the "3rd" dimension that even kelty does not mention it on their website. After I took it apart and repacked it, it still measures the same as it did when I pulled it out of the box.... 32x19x6... I was surprized at this... Measured it several times, even placing it against a flat wall and for a reference to make sure, but it is only 6" wide. WOW. Is that nice for packing up. Setup is easy takes just minutes... most of it is attaching the velcro tabs around the cabinet.

As for repacking.... Randy had issues repacking theirs. I always try to pay close attention and usually take photos incase I space it on repacking alot of items like this or my springbar tent. Try this, but if you need, post a question asking for more help and Ill host pictures or do a youtube video or something.... For this, remove the windscreen and cabinet. Then pop off the 3 table surfaces. Slide the legs on the bigger (right, as you stand at it) side table up into the themselves. Then fold them down. Next fold down the small (left as you stand at it) side table. NExt fold the middle section together. Just before it closes up, take the 2 table tops from the middle of the kitchen (the ones NOT marked with the fancy "kelty" logo across the top) and clip the smaller one on the top upright inside on the left (against the folded legs of the larger table extension) and the other on the right (next to the small table extension). fold it up the rest of the way and face the little table up

Take the cabinet and fold it up like a accordian, straight down, as it sat in the kitchen. Tuck it under the small table extension. Flip the unit over and roll the "kelty marked table top" up so that 2 slats are folded over on each side. Then clip it into the upright you see on top. Take the windscreen and fold it up, and lay it on top.... this prevents the last table top from unrolling and curling up in the bag. Then just lay the bag down infornt of it and slide it all in. You have plenty of excess in the bag... atleast I did.

Features I liked. I like how there is a bungy under the small table extension to secure a roll of papertowels. It also presses the roll "up" into the bottom of the table surface to prevent them from unrolling in the breeze, however it may make it a pain to use in the wild. Ill find out soon. Windscreen is nice, but my colemans already have one so it is overkill. But this is for car camping, what is 10 oz more with no "real" extra space requirement? The size.... WOW again. I own a Cables Deluxe camp kitchen and while it is GREAT it is also a dam BEAR. Packed up it is 42x24x14 and weighs more than the canvas on my 7 person springbar... @60lbs or so. So less than 1/4 the weight, and many inches on all 3 axis... WELL worth it to me. Last is Backcountrys AWESOME service. Ordered it yesterday at 3PM it was here this morning at 11AM... @ 20- hours later for free... yes 20. And yes they are local but did not have in the shop/ local warehouse for me to pick up.

Things I do not like... the price. They could cut off a few dozen dollars IMHO. The cabelas kitchen I bought approx 2 years ago for $90, it is now sitting large at 180. But as stated is bigger and "better" in many ways more so on week/ multi week long hunting trips. Wish they would come down on it a bit. The little fishnet cubby between the center table and lower shelf. It is streched to the max. It actually wants to unvelcro itself from the unit. I hope it will strech some overtime, we'll see.

I will repost after the first real use of this kitchen but it appears to be a great item. Watch back for this review in about 4 weeks.

I own a lot of Kelty equipment (tents and sleeping bags)and I have been very satisfied with the quality over the years. So I stuck with Kelty on this item as well.

I set this up in my living room but I haven't used it yet. It sets up easily and is sturdy. The windscreen seems nice too.

Negatives...It seems a bit overpriced for it's size and features. Hopefully the Kelty name will make it last for many years tho.

The really bad news: I didn't pay close enough attention (I guess) when I unpacked it from its storage bag. Getting the frame, windscreen, and food container/binto bag back into the storage bag was very difficult, and the zipper was crying even after multiple repacking attempts. So I am storing the binto separately, which is inviting me to forget it when I go camping. Why can't they make the storage bag one inch wider?

Anyway, happy camping all. I will say that this site's service and delivery rocks. Well done.

I bought this from back country and think this is a really well thought-out unit. Nice balance of features and ease of setup/take-down. Regarding the previous reviewer's complaint about take-down, agree that it would be almost impossible to return it to the as-shipped configuration for storage, but I found with a little patience that once you disassemble and fold up the main unit the table tops can be folded in half and stored inside the frame. This leaves plenty of room for the binto (canvas storage piece) in the bag. I can now assemble and dis-assemble in about 5 minutes, which was a key concern for me. Also, the feet on the 6 table legs do unscrew so you can level the table. I found the wind blocker to be redundant with the built-in features of my coleman stove so I leave that piece behind. Also, I don't use the binto bag ("cabinet") for food storage - bad idea where I camp but it is perfect for storing your pots, plates, pans, silverware - keeps them clean, dry, out of the weather. Very pleased.

I have been both tent and camper camping for years..i have tried several combinations of items to make a good kitchen....this one is great...i do recommend using a clip to hold the two zipper claslp together on the storage unit...the racoons unzipped mine and walked off with a new box of cereal..but with the zippers clipped together..i won the food stealing battle !!!.....all closed up it fits great in my tiny camper and in my tent gear box. happy camping