When you regularly utilize folding tables and chairs in a public setting - such as in a hotel banquet room, a school, a church, or a community center - they're likely to be subjected to extreme usage. The hinges on folding tables get a workout from being taken up and down regularly, while chairs can be knocked out of shape when they're being stacked up, set up, and dragged around a room. Because folding tables and chairs represent a substantial investment, if you're not careful in selecting the best folding tables and chairs for your purpose, your budgeted one-time expenditure may become a recurring expense.

Whenever you shop for folding tables, you should keep these features in mind:

Leg Design: The legs should be attached through the top of the table, ideally with bolts. Legs that screw into the top will eventually detach.

Top Design: Look for high impact plastic or a polyurethane cast top that will allow the sides and corners of the table to absorb impact. Avoid tops with seamed edging or an attached bumper, as it will eventually detach.

Safety Features: Look for leg mechanisms with automatic, rather than manual, safety locks. Choose folding tables with appropriate weight limits for your intended use.

Guarantee: Choose a seller who will provide you with an unconditional guarantee for your folding tables and chairs for a period of five years. When a company provides that kind of guarantee, you can be sure that it has confidence in the long-term performance of their folding tables and chairs.

When considering the variety of folding tables and chairs in the marketplace, it's important to take into account that they should be light enough to set up and take down on a regular basis, while being durable enough to withstand the use that they'll receive. There are three brands of folding tables that achieve the balance of lightness and durability that are available in today's marketplace:

Commercialite: Commercialite folding tables are mid-priced, and are perfect for function rooms and other heavy duty uses. The rectangular folding tables come in a variety of lengths (four-feet, five-feet, six-feet, and eight- feet), and five-feet and six-feet rounds are also available. This brand works particularly well for hotel banquet rooms and hospitality functions, since the top is made from a high-impact plastic with smooth edges and corners and is easy to keep clean. The Commercialite is built to accommodate up to 2,200 pounds, with a six-foot-long table weighing a mere 44 pounds.

Duralite: Duralite folding tables are economically priced, and are appropriate for schools, churches, and offices. The rectangular tables are six feet long and weigh slightly less than 38 pounds, and the rounds are five feet across. A Duralite table can hold 550 pounds, though the center-folding version has a limit of 220 pounds.

Mity-Lite: Mity-Lite folding tables are premium folding tables that come in over 40 sizes and shapes, with many color options and leg designs. A six-foot trestle table weighs slightly under 40 pounds, and can hold over 1,320 pounds. Its unmatched strength for weight ratio comes from its unique internal wood frame and its legs, which are riveted together and then bolted to the interior wood frame.