I bought two of these for a recent camping trip. They come very compact - so much so that I would able to fit both of them into a collapsible tote along with several other items. Once removed from their carrying sleeves, they popped right open, and it takes just a few seconds to pull the tension straps located in each corner to braces the side and flatten the top.These little guys are pretty sturdy and surprisingly stable given the amount of weight we set on them off and on during our trip. I used one to hold a large and rather heavy tote full of our cooking gear at a height that really saved my back.Most of the time we had them positioned near or in between our pop-up chairs to add table space for food and gadgets, cellphones and all manner of misc items. Their height is excellent for this purpose.Overall, I really happy with the quality, weight, and usefulness. I would recommend these to anyone for both your back patio or for those away tricks to the beach or mountains...