The Outwell Marilla: At last, a decent folding picnic table.

Review Score

Our Score: 9/10

We've given the The Outwell Marilla: At last, a decent folding picnic table. the Thumbs Up award.

QualityFamily FriendlyValue for Money

The good

• Folds up to an easy size to fit in the back of your car.
• Four stools included that fold up inside the table.
• The bamboo finish looks stunning and is very durable.
• Easy to set-up and adjust leg sizes.

The not so good

• The stools are rather small, but great for kids.

This was a hands-on product review. The product was supplied to us to test and conduct the review.

Price Guide

The Outwell Marilla: At last, a decent folding picnic table. Photos

Our Review

For years, we've not had a decent table for the kids to eat at when camping. But have we found the solution at last?

As any parent knows, a small kid with a plate of food on their lap is usually only going to end with some or all of it on them or on the floor.

When we first started family camping many years ago, we bought one of those folding picnic tables.

What a disaster.

We got through three of them in the end, all from different brands.

All of them broke in the same way: their legs buckled, twisted, and collapsed in on themselves. (And no, I'm not that heavy!).

The idea is great: a table that folds into a small lightweight carry case that contains chairs too. Unfortunately, too many of these are just rubbish.

So for the last decade we've been sitting with food on laps, on floor, or on tables we use for cooking where the large camping chairs don't fit properly.

In a word: awkward. Or another word: lots of mess.

However, I think we've at long last found the right folding picnic table: the Outwell Marilla.

Outwell Marilla

This year Outwell brought out a range of furniture with bamboo tops, which look absolutely stunning.

It makes a nice change from all the aluminium and plastic. Plus, unlike many other types of wood, bamboo is lightweight and very hard wearing and doesn't go all funny as soon as you splash it with water. Perfect.

One of these new items they introduced is the Outwell Marilla folding picnic table set.

It does exactly what we originally wanted: a nice folding table to eat at that includes seats. Plus it is well made. Plus it's bigger than the old plastic folding picnic tables. Plus it looks great. :-D

(You may tell I really like this table)

The stools are quite small. They're actually perfect for kids (which is what family camping is about), and the table's legs can be extended to make the table higher.

We've been leaving the table at the height it came in as it's great for the kids, and still works well for adults.

The table comes with four stools. There's five of us but that's not a problem as I like my Outwell Bredon Hills chair, which has a table of its own!

A useful addition is the storage pockets. We're finding these pockets on Outwell's furniture useful places to store all sorts of things, including hand towels, wet wipes, and more cutlery.

The Marilla fits nicely in the tent as well (in this case, an Outwell Hornet XL).

And being lightweight, it's easy to move if you have to 'eat indoors'.

Folding the Outwell Marilla Picnic Table Set

Below is a little sequence of pictures showing how the table folds up (click the picture for a larger photo).

The stools fold underneath the table and are secured in place with large velcro straps. It reminds me of folding a away a decorator's pasting board.

When it's folded up it's actually the same size as our folding Outwell Lucia cupboard, and they both sit flat in the boot of the car.

Remember though, you don't have to use this just for camping. You'll find it useful for going to picnics with the car, or even BBQs in the back garden.

Dimensions and Details

So if you're thinking of getting one of these, here's some of the details:

• Packed size is 61cm x 60 cm x 80 cm, and weighs only just over 8kg (including with the stools inside).
• Unpacked the Outwell Marilla's table area is 60cm x 120 cm.
• The table's height is adjustable from between 62cm and 70cm.
• Stools are 41 cm x 28 cm x 36 cm, and can take a maximum load of 100 kg.

P.S. The breakfast view was at Celtic Camping.

Details