This year, we'll make our debut at mountain and camping meals! I tried using all the outdoor cutlery.
Written by Mioko Matsubara
table of contents
- Attention to detail changes the taste
- table of contents
- Recommended cutlery for mountain meals
- Lightweight and tougher than it looks, yet affordable MSR spokes
- Lightweight 3 Brothers GSI Stackable Cutlery Set with Great Knives
- Keep Light My Fire Titanium Spokes in your backpack and enjoy hiking
- GoBite DUO: More convenient than a spoke?
- UNIFLAME FD Silicone Spoon, a Sub-Posi Spoon that is Gentle on Metal
- Kill five birds with one stone with this powerful transformer Forpoon -outdoor-
- UNIFLAME FD Spoon & Fork Set, Titanium, for everyday mountain meals
- Recommended cutlery for camping meals
- summary
- Looking for reviewers
Attention to detail changes the taste
"The mood and taste change when you eat with different utensils..." I muttered to myself as I stuffed my face with meat being grilled one after another under the sunset sky of Akita Prefecture. After all, meat, vegetables, and rice are delicious, but when you use cutlery, which in mountaineering lingo is considered a "weapon," it's different. You may have some comments like "Of course," or "Why are you saying this now..." but please continue to listen to what I have to say
To begin with, I'm not particularly picky about tableware itself, and any tableware or cutlery is fine as long as I can eat with it. This applies to everyday life as well as outdoors. Basically, disposable chopsticks, paper plates, plastic cups, plastic forks, etc. are fine (how un-eco-friendly that is). Even when hiking, they're light and can be reused after wiping them down
However, that all changed last summer when I went camping with a friend's family on the shores of Lake Tazawa in Akita Prefecture. My friend is what you would call a "camper." He's particular about his cooking and the tools he uses, and he efficiently prepared his food using familiar tools. As I was a guest from afar, I gratefully accepted the food that was served and was in complete relaxation mode
So I thought, what is it that makes this place so comfortable? ...the family's thoughtfulness, ...the setting by Lake Tazawa, ...the delicious food, ...the camping equipment provided by my camper friends. I suddenly realized, "Yes, that's it!" It was the camping equipment that really made it feel like camping. For example, a gas lantern instead of a flashlight, a hot sandwich maker instead of a frying pan, and enamel, wood, and bamboo dishes and cutlery instead of disposable ones
It depends on the time and situation, but it wasn't just "anything goes," and it was the summer I turned 37 when I finally realized that my attention to detail deepened the enjoyment of my cooking and camping
That was a long introduction, but this time I'll be comparing various cutlery items, focusing on getting rid of disposable items and starting to cook in the mountains and camping. The cutlery items have been selected based on my own arbitrary and biased opinions and loose criteria (though I have covered a certain number of key points), so please read on with a light heart and just think, "Oh, so there's a product like this."
table of contents
Recommended cutlery for mountain meals
- light
- compact
- It is functional
- tough
I chose my spoon based on the above criteria. It's better to take luggage to the mountains light and small, and fewer items are better, so if one item can serve multiple purposes, that's even better. Also, since you basically can't do the dishes in the mountains, it needs to be tough enough to withstand scrubbing away stubborn dirt at home. Of course, it's also important that it's strong enough to prevent situations like "the spoon broke..."
Lightweight and tougher than it looks, yet affordable
MSR spokes
Weight: Approx. 12g
Material: Nylon
It's incredibly light, as you'd expect from MSR. When extended, it's about 22cm long, so it can be used with deep cookware up to 900ml
It looks like this when folded. Squeeze the middle to fold it, and when you stretch it out, it clicks into place
Sorry for the sudden food photos, but to compare usability, I made rice and dry curry in the cooker, and on the left I made chicken breast wrapped in aluminum foil and grilled it
I tried using quite a bit of force, but it looked like it was going to break, but it didn't. Looking at the photo, you can see that the spokes are bent, so it's tougher than it looks. In the first place, you don't need to forcefully cut hard things with a fork... Even so, it's gentle on the palate, and for a price of around 600 yen, MSR does a good job. However, it was difficult to cut chicken
GSI 3 Brothers Stackable Cutlery Set with Great Knives
Weight: Approx. 19g
Material: Polyester
By pressing the grooved parts of the left handle (the oval part and the small hole) together, you can stack the spoon, fork, and knife together to make it more compact
Yes, it's compact. The knife is easy to use and can even cut chicken. It's about 15cm long, so I didn't have any problems using it in a deep cooker
The pop design makes me feel excited. It's also great that it weighs just 19g, despite being a complete set of three: spoon, fork, and knife. When I was cutting chicken, I wondered if it would break, but I was worried that it would snap if I applied too much pressure
Keep
Light My Fire Titanium Spokes
Weight: Approx. 21g
Material: Titanium
Here it is. It's the familiar spork. This one is made of titanium, which is stronger than steel (meaning it won't break), and it's also light. It's so strong that you can use the knife part quite roughly
It may be hard to tell from the photo, but it cuts chicken quite easily. The knife part is about 3cm long, so you can also use it to peel vegetables or remove fish scales. I haven't tried that yet, though
The spoon is large and easy to use, allowing you to scoop up a lot of ingredients at once. However, if you are using a deep cooker, you have to hold the top of the handle (the fork part) to scoop up ingredients from the back, which can get your hands dirty
If you use the whole spork, as shown in the photo, cooking ingredients and juices will get on both sides, and even if you try to hold it by the handle, your hands will get dirty. If it gets dirty, you can just wipe your hand or the spork, so it's not a big deal. Even a little effort is one of the joys of mountain cooking. Even if your hands get a little dirty, titanium sporks are light, won't break, and can even be used for simple cooking, so it's worth keeping one in your backpack
GoBite DUO: More convenient than a spoke?
Weight: Approx. 22g
Material: Nylon
It looks like a normal spoon and fork..
Yes, when you stack them they become one. The round appearance is cute
Turn it over and you'll see that the spoon slides onto the fork for compact storage
By joining the handles of the spoon and fork together, the handle becomes longer (about 23cm), which is very convenient. It can be used in deep cookers. The Go Bite manual states that it is strong enough and can withstand temperatures up to 200°C. It also says that you can cut food with the fork, so I tried cutting some chicken and it cut through easily. It can be used without a knife, which is also convenient
Looking at these features, it seems more convenient than a regular spork. At around 900 yen, it's also a wallet-friendly cutlery item you'll want to keep in your backpack
UNIFLAME FD Silicone Spoon, a Sub-Posi Spoon that is gentle on metal
Weight: Approx. 22g
Material: Nylon, silicone rubber
This is what it looks like when folded. As you can see, it comes with a storage case, but it's bulky so I don't think I need it
I extended it. It's about 23cm long. It's about the same length as the MSR, so it can be easily used in deep cookware. It can be fixed by sliding the metal part on the right side toward the spoon
The part that touches the mouth is made of silicone, so it feels gentle on the mouth. It doesn't make any metallic clanking noises when it touches the cooker or dishes, meaning it won't scratch the cooker. It's also gentle on the cooker, as it can easily scoop out liquid food and eat it, reducing the amount of dirt on the cooker
However, since it is made of a soft material, it cannot cut hard objects, so I think it would be better to have a separate main one and use it as a secondary tool.It is light, so it might be good to have one for cleaning purposes as well
Kill five birds with one stone with this powerful transformer,
Forpoon -outdoor-
Weight: Approx. 24g
Material: Nylon
This spoon
Become a folk
It became a knife and tongs. This cutlery has four functions: spoon, fork, knife, and tongs, and it looks a bit like a transformer. At first, I was confused about how to use it, but once I read the instructions carefully and got used to using it, it was no problem
Here it is being used as a spoon. However, according to the official website, "it cannot be used to scoop highly fluid liquids such as soup." If you turn the part that says "xing" on the top right corner over,
It becomes a fork. You can stab it into chicken with all your might without any problems
Using tongs and a knife, I was able to easily cut through chicken. The website states, "It's strong, so it won't break even if a certain amount of pressure is applied. It also won't break even if you handle it roughly when assembling and disassembling." Rough! At first, I didn't know how to use it, so I did disassemble it roughly, but it was fine. Incidentally, the video on the website shows them forcing it to bend using pliers (!), but of course, it doesn't break
As you can see, I was able to grab the beans with the tongs. This means that if used properly, the tongs could be used as chopsticks. It's an item that will bring back memories of the crafts you did as a child as you disassemble and reassemble the cutlery
UNIFLAME FD Spoon & Fork Set (Titanium) for everyday mountain cooking
Weight: Approx. 35g
Material: Body: Titanium, Handle: Stainless steel
This is when folded. Like the silicone spoon shown above, it comes with a storage case, but I don't think I need it after all
This too is secured by sliding the metal part on the right towards the spoon/fork
The handle is not straight but slightly curved so it fits comfortably in your hand
I tried using a spoon instead of a knife to cut chicken. It doesn't cut as well as a knife, but since it's made of titanium, I can use it roughly without worrying about it breaking
The spoon and fork weigh about 35g, the titanium spork 21g, and the MSR spork 12g. Comparing these, the difference is only 10-20g, but it feels a little heavy. Once you put it in your backpack, you probably won't notice the weight, but it's also compact and is probably more suited to everyday cutlery. For example, if you want to have the feel of mountain food in your lunch box, this might be perfect for you
Recommended cutlery for camping meals
- Make camping meals even more delicious
These are the standards. The environment is different from when you're mountain climbing, so don't overthink it, as long as you think, "The food tastes good," that's fine. If the ingredients are tough, that's even better. These days, solo camping is popular, not just family camping. But are there cutlery that will make you think, "The food tastes good..." when you're alone?
The first step to camping meals is this
Snow Peak Whopper weapon
Weight: Approx. 43g
Material: Titanium
When it comes to camping, Snow Peak is the go-to brand. So, let's compare Snow Peak cutlery. It may be a bit of a fad, but the moment I see "Snow Peak" engraved on the cutlery, I get excited
It comes with a storage case that can hold a spoon, fork, and knife all in one
The cutlery is impeccably comfortable to use. Made of titanium, it's guaranteed to be tough. With this, you'll "never have trouble eating anything" (according to the official website). As you can see, it's just a simple dish, but somehow it feels like you're eating high-quality food. The price is a little high at around 3,000 yen, but the material is long-lasting and the design is simple, so it's recommended as an entry model for camping meals
Natural materials are kind to both the environment and you.
To Go Ware Classic Bamboo Cutlery Set
Weight: Approx. 45g
Material: Bamboo
Cutlery made from natural materials has finally arrived. Just using cutlery made from natural materials will make your camping meal feel even more special. The "To Go Ware" engraving on the handle is just as exciting as the "snow peak" engraving
It also comes with a storage case. The case is spacious, so you can easily store everything together. It also comes with a detachable carabiner. It's nice to be able to hang it somewhere and carry it around with you at all times
Made from durable bamboo, it slices chicken easily, is gentle on the tongue, and won't scratch your cookware
It's comforting to have chopsticks. A rice and chopsticks set is a timeless classic. The texture of the chopsticks is finished to show the natural feel of the bamboo, making the rice taste even more delicious. This is especially true when used in nature. We recommend using them on a daily basis to enjoy the feeling of camping meals
summary
I quickly tried out nine different types of cutlery. I go hiking and camping, so picking out my favorite cutlery is quite a difficult task. There are many types of cutlery, and unlike other tools, it allows for a lot of personal preference. The long-awaited hiking season is about to begin, so I'm off to look for cutlery for mountain meals!
Matsubara Mitsuoko
These days, I'm still curious about the northern world, such as Iceland and Alaska. However, if possible, I would also like to dive into the seas of the Galapagos Islands. This is the sixth year since I started to explore Japan's 100 most famous mountains, visiting places I want to see before I die. I climb mountains all over the country using Hiraide model shoes (shoes chosen by alpine climber Hiraide Kazuya). I'm an Osakan who loves craft beer and yogurt.
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