Utensils

Recent Utensil Reviews

Sea to Summit AlphaLight Long Spoon

One of my favorite pieces of kit. Everything positive thing that other reviewers have noted still holds true. I've had mine for something like six(?) years now, and have converted all of my hiking buddies from any other utensil. The ability to dig into the bottom of the ubiquitous freeze-dried bag without coating one's fingers, hand, and sleeve is just lovely. My only quibble has nothing really to do with the spoon, but rather with its response to my own clumsiness and inattention. I mean, it's… Full review

Morsel Spork XL

Really gets to the food in those backpacking meals without getting your hands messy. We have been using the Morsel XL spork with our Scouts on several backpacking trips this summer and the unanimous opinion is a big thumbs-up. We have used our Morsels with MRE's, and they truly outperform compared to the plastic spoon those meals provide. With backpacking dehydrated meals we are able to get out every little bit out of the corners of the bag without getting our hands messy. Bowls, cups, and plates—no… Full review

Morsel Spork XL

Fork it, Spoon it, Scrape it...is what you can do with Morsel Long Handle Sporks. Like many camping sporks the Morsel product has a fork end and a spoon end. The fork end also has a slightly serrated edge to help slice pieces of your meal. A proper knife would work better on meat. The spoon end also has a uniquely shaped rubber or silicon edge that can be used as a spatula. The sporks come in regular and long handle forms. I chose the long handle sporks to make it easier to eat out of my backpacking… Full review

Optimus Titanium Folding Spork

Amazing spork in most regards, some flaws. Still gets five stars because this spork has been with me for so long. I have had this spork for 10 years (no joke), and I love it dearly, but my god does the fold need to go in the other direction. It was perfect for a few years, but I guess with time or just using it as a multi-purpose tool around the camp, the strength of the connection between handle and spork has failed, and it collapses on itself. All the time. I am extremely stubborn so I still use… Full review

Toaks Titanium Long Handle Spoon with Polished Bowl

My trusty Long Handle Titanium spoon is the only eating utensil that I need in the backcountry. It is simple and functional, and does a much better job than any spork. Ease of Use: A good eating utensil should be one of the simplest pieces of gear. Done right, most backpackers will find that they only need one utensil for fast and effective food delivery. But this is a piece of gear that people often get wrong, IMHO. For years I had it wrong too. I fell into the trap of thinking a spork was the… Full review

Morsel Spork XL

This is the eating utensil that saves you from carrying a scraper and getting your hands dirty from reaching into a deep pot or pan—all while providing you with a sturdy fork and spoon combo (with a mild cutting edge, too) to shovel food into your hungry mouth with ease. Perfect for those who often rehydrate food, but not for use as a cooking utensil in hot pans. Morsel (XL) Confession: I probably have enough cooking and eating gear to outfit a small Scout troop. The last thing I need is more… Full review

Soto Pocket Spork

Too small for practical feeding, at least for this this big gai-jin, but at least it doesn't collapse during use. In a companion review to this one, I seriously dissed a similar folding spork from Optimus that I purchased at the same time as this one, one for me and one for my wife. The differences are subtle, but the Soto is somewhat better.Compared to the Optimus: It is a crucial little bit longer, making it more suitable but still less than ideal for stirring food while cooking or eating a freeze-dried… Full review

Optimus Titanium Folding Spork

An overpriced trinket that is too small for practical use and prone to collapse or fall apart with little provocation. I’m not really a gear head. (Cue quiet snickering.) In fact, I like to think I’ve never bought a piece of gear I didn’t need. (Barely contained laughter.) OK so maybe I have bought an item or two on impulse. And regretted it. Case in point: The Optimus Titanium Folding Spork (OTFS). My wife and I were in NYC, of all places, and wandered into a gear store to see what was up—trips… Full review

Paddy Pallin Spondonicles

They truly were a most versatile piece of kit. I second the version name of 'Chinese hoodlum gangs'. It may be apocryphal, but my late father, former tiger-walker and CMW member, Brian Douglas Walker, claimed he'd been calling them that since they were first made. But as he didn't start bushwalking until the early Fifties, I do not know when Paddy first had them made.I certainly have a pair that belonged to my dad and would date from the Sixties at the very least. They are especially useful as others… Full review