Camp Kitchen

What a camp kitchen is, and how it differs from a camping table

A camp kitchen is a camping table rebuilt around a stove. The frame is taller, the countertop is metal so it can take heat, and the rest of the frame grows shelves, hooks and racks. On the ones this page covers, a sink comes built in.

Here's what one maker lists as the shared parts of its two folding cook stations: a heat-resistant aluminum countertop, fold-out plastic side tables with drink holders, hooks for garbage bags and utensils, a lower storage rack and a powder-coated steel frame that folds flat in one piece. Its larger model adds a telescoping lantern pole and a collapsible soft-shell sink with a drain.

That's the difference in one line. A camping table holds things. A camp kitchen holds the cooking, and with a sink it holds the cleanup too.

The product table on this page lists only camp kitchen stations and tables with a sink that the maker or the listing states. It shows the sink, style, top size, height, load capacity, top material, folded size, shelves and weight as the makers or listings give them. When nobody published a value, you get a dash. Weight is always the maker's own figure. Right now the list may be short or empty while we collect maker data; the rule stays the same as it fills.

What to look at in a camp kitchen with a sink

I'd check these in the order you'd use them: cook, prep, wash, pack.

Start with a countertop built for heat

The countertop is the part the stove sits on, so it decides whether this is a kitchen or a buffet. The Top column says what each maker calls the surface.

Makers that build for cooking use metal there. One maker calls its cook station top "heat-resistant aluminum" for stoves, griddles and hot cookware. Another maker's cook table pairs a plastic surface with a perforated steel top; its FAQ says the holes keep liquid and grease from pooling and let heat and air escape so the surface doesn't overheat.

The stove has its own rules for that countertop. One camp stove manual says to adjust the leveling feet, check stability and always place the stove on a horizontal, stable, heat-resistant surface. It also says not to use pans that hang out over the fuel canister compartment. So the countertop has to be big enough that the stove sits whole on it, with room to spare around the pot.

Read the sink for what it does, and what it doesn't

The Sink column is the rule for this page: a yes means the maker or the listing states a built-in sink. That's a narrow group, and it's worth knowing what you're getting.

On the cook stations we read about, the sink is a soft-shell basin with a drain that collapses flat when the kitchen folds. One maker says it's good for light rinsing, washing dishes or food prep, and on its comparison page, for washing produce, dishes or fish.

Here's the thing a lot of people miss. A sink with a drain is a bowl with a hole in it. It holds water. It doesn't make any. You still bring the water and you still catch what comes out the bottom.

My one opinion on this page: buy the water jug and the drain bucket before you buy the sink. The reason is the plumbing. The makers describe a basin and a drain, not a supply, and the Minnesota Department of Health's camping fact sheet says to bring your water with you when you're going where running water isn't available. A kitchen with a sink and no jug is a kitchen with a decorative sink.

Read every load rating on the frame separately

A camp kitchen is several small tables bolted to one frame, and each one gets its own number. One maker rates its cook station countertop at 48 lb, each fold-out side table at 30 lb and the lower rack at 35 lb.

So do the math by surface, not by the whole station. A two-burner stove, a full pot and a cast iron pan add up quicker than you'd think. Use the bathroom scale at home: weigh yourself, then weigh yourself holding the stove. The difference is the stove. Same for the water jug.

Rule of thumb: the cooler and the water jug live on the ground or on the rack, never on a side table. A side table rated for a coffee mug and a bottle of ketchup is honest about that. Believe it.

Pick a working height you can stand at

Camp kitchens stand taller than most camping tables because you cook standing. One maker's two cook stations stand 28 inches and 32.3 inches open. Another maker sells an aluminum camp table with legs that adjust for sitting or standing.

The Height column shows each station's number. Stand at your kitchen counter at home and measure it. That's a height your back already knows. A cook station a few inches lower than that is fine for a weekend. A lot lower and the cook spends the evening bent like a question mark.

Look at top size as three zones, not one surface

Top size is the main countertop, length by width. On a camp kitchen it's only part of the story, because the side tables add surface that's rated lighter.

Think of it in zones. The stove gets the main top. Prep goes on one side, with the cutting board and the food you're about to cook. Washing goes on the other side, at the sink. Keep raw food on the prep side and dirty dishes on the wash side, and the stove stays in the middle where it belongs.

Jess's take, from her camp grocery spreadsheet: "If the stove and the cutting board are fighting over the same 2 feet, the stove wins and supper loses." She's right, and she has the tab to prove it.

Count the hooks, rack and lantern pole as part of the kitchen

The Shelf/storage column says whether the maker lists shelves, mesh storage or organizers. On a camp kitchen this is not decoration. It's where the paper towels, garbage bag and spatula go, so they're not on the countertop next to the burner.

The extras that matter are the ones that keep the countertop clear. A hook for the trash bag, so it isn't a lump on the counter. A rack low down for the cooler or a bin of pots. A telescoping lantern pole, so you can cook after dark.

The lantern pole is the one I'd look for. Supper at deer camp in November gets cooked in the dark more often than not. A camping lantern hung over the stove beats a headlamp that blinds whoever you turn to talk to.

Check folded size and weight against your cargo

A camp kitchen folds into a tall, flat slab. One maker's larger station folds to about 21.7 by 5.9 by 34.8 inches and weighs 22.4 lb. Its smaller one folds under 4 inches thick and weighs 18.9 lb.

That's heavier than most camping tables, and it rides best standing on edge against the side of the truck bed or behind a seat. The Folded size and Weight columns show each station's numbers. Measure the slot before you shop. A camp kitchen that doesn't fit is a very nice garage shelf.

Camp kitchen styles, and when to choose which

Cook stations with a built-in sink

A one-piece folding frame, heat-resistant countertop, side tables, a rack and a collapsible sink. Choose one if you cook every meal at camp and want the cleanup in the same place as the cooking. This is the style the page's product list is built on.

Cook stations without a sink

Same frame, no basin. One maker sells both: the model without the sink has more side tables, the model with it adds the sink and the lantern pole. Choose the one without a sink if you wash dishes at a campground sink station, or you already own a separate wash basin. Those stations aren't in this page's list, because the rule here is a sink.

Prep tables with rails and accessories

A camp table with a cook-ready top and a rail system you clip accessories to. One maker's rail system takes clip-on accessories such as a bamboo cutting board and a lantern holder, and its tables adjust height with one hand. Choose one if you want to build your kitchen piece by piece. More on plain tables at the camping table page.

Setting up a camp kitchen at the campsite

A good camp kitchen layout is the one where nobody walks through the cooking to get to the water. Here's how I'd lay it out.

1. Pick level, open ground outdoors, downwind of the tents and as far from them as the site allows. That's the BearWise advice from state wildlife agencies.
2. Unfold the frame and make sure every lock is set before anything goes on it.
3. Put the stove on the countertop, set its leveling feet and check that it sits steady.
4. Water jug on one side of the sink, a bucket or tub under the drain.
5. Cooler in the shade, on the ground near the prep side. Raw meat in its own cooler or sealed at the bottom.
6. Hang the lantern, the paper towels and the trash bag before you light anything.

Keeping the camp kitchen clean while you cook

The sink earns its keep here. A few rules from the public health folks are worth taping inside the lid of the food box.

• Hands: CDC says to scrub for 20 seconds; when soap and water aren't handy, use a sanitizer with at least 60 percent alcohol, as long as hands aren't visibly dirty or greasy
• Raw meat: the Minnesota health department says don't use the same platter and utensils for raw and cooked meat
• Packages: double wrap or bag raw meat so its juices can't drip on other food, per the same fact sheet
• Thermometer: the same sheet says color is not a reliable sign of doneness; use a meat thermometer
• Leftovers: only safe if the cooler still has ice in it, per the same sheet

The cooler side of this is on the coolers page.

Cleaning up and packing the camp kitchen

When supper's done, wash, wipe and pack food away before you sit down by the fire. A camp kitchen covered in grease at 10 p.m. is an open invitation to anything with a nose.

The BearWise tips from Washington's wildlife agency are short and plain: keep a clean camp, don't burn food scraps or trash in the fire ring or grill, and don't store food, trash, clothes you cooked in or toiletries in your tent. Store them in a bear-resistant container, out of sight in a locked vehicle, or hung at least 10 feet up and 10 feet from the tree. The same sheet notes that leftover scraps, even an apple core, teach bears to link campsites with food. Bear storage rules vary by place, so check your state wildlife agency or the campground before the trip.

Let the soft sink dry open before you fold the kitchen. A basin folded wet is a smell you'll meet again at the next campsite. Wipe the countertop, dump the drain bucket where the campground tells you to, and stand the station on edge in the truck.

Stove safety on a camp kitchen

One stove maker's manual says its stove can produce carbon monoxide, which has no odor, and that using it in an enclosed space can kill you. Cook in the open air only. Keep 3 feet between the stove and anything that can burn, per that manual, and give the stove 10 to 15 minutes to cool before the canister comes out and the kitchen folds.

Who should skip a camp kitchen with a sink

If your campground has a dish station with running water, a sink on your kitchen is extra weight; a cook station without a sink, or a plain camping table with a metal top, does the job. If you cook one meal a day on a backpacking stove, a camp kitchen is more frame than you need. And if your truck has no room for a tall flat slab, measure before you fall in love.

Everybody else, set the water jug out first. The rest of the kitchen will follow it.