Fox Compact 2 Tier Bivvy Table

How well is it built?

The table is moulded, with a raised rim round the main top and the upper tier carried on a pair of slim uprights at the back. The clever part is the way the legs fold inwards and sit inside the table's own frame when you pack it away.

That's why it ends up so flat, and at 2.6cm deep it should slide into a bedchair bag, a rucksack or a gap in the car without any fuss.

Its light weight makes it an easy carry for an overnighter, and a moulded top won't dent if it takes a knock on the barrow. It's a neat, tidy-looking table too, with the Fox logo across the main top.

To be fair, a moulding never has quite the solid feel of an all-aluminium table like the Avid Revolve Bivvy Table XL. It doesn't need to for a bedside job, though, and I think the 8.5 is well deserved for a light table that packs this small.

Stability & Footing

Each leg has a spring-loaded quick-action lock, so setting the height is a quick press and slide rather than a fiddle with screw collars.

The 24cm to 50cm range goes much higher than the Trakker Deluxe Bivvy Table or the Avid Revolve Bivvy Table XL, which means you can run it low beside a bedchair or raise it up beside a chair.

So, why does it score a little lower? A 30cm-wide top on legs extended to 50cm makes for a tall, narrow table, and with kit loaded on the raised tier, it won't be as planted as a wider, lower table.

The small feet also suit a groundsheet or a firm bank better than soft mud, where wide mud feet like those on the NGT Dynamic Bivvy Table have the advantage.

At bedside height on a flat floor, it should be perfectly steady. I think the 8.0 reflects how it'll behave at full stretch on soft ground rather than how it'll be for most overnighters.

Storage & Organisation

This is the Compact 2 Tier's big selling point. The 10 x 39cm upper tier gives you a second level for the small things you want clear of everything else, such as a phone, a head torch, a receiver or your keys, while the main top takes a brew, a bait tub or a few rig bits.

Keeping the small items up on the shelf means they're far less likely to get buried or knocked off.

The raised rim round the main top should also help stop leads and loose bits rolling over the edge. Isn't that pretty much all most of us ask of a bivvy table in the middle of the night?

Next to the Trakker Deluxe Bivvy Table, which builds its organisation into one recessed top with set places for rig tools, the Fox gives you two levels but fewer dedicated slots. Both earn a 9.0 for storage, and it really comes down to whether you'd rather have a shelf or a tray.

Is it good value for money?

It sits in the middle of the price range for bivvy tables, costing a little less than the Trakker Deluxe Bivvy Table and a bit more than the Avid Revolve Bivvy Table XL, which has a bigger single-level top.

What you're paying for is the second tier, the slim pack-down and that tall height range, and I think that's a fair trade.

Against a long-session workstation like the Fox XL Bivvy Table, it costs around half as much, but that's a much bigger table for cooking and rig making rather than something to keep beside the bed.

At the other end, the cheaper Trakker Carbon Effect Bivvy Table only adjusts from 20cm to 26cm, so the Fox is far more versatile for the extra.

Overall, I'd recommend the Compact 2 Tier to carp anglers who fish overnighters in smaller bivvies and want their bedside kit organised on two levels, especially if they travel light or pack everything into a small car.