There's no one-size-fits-all when it comes to these products making for a number great options depending on your unique cutlery needs. More spoon than fork so works well with soups and other liquids. utensils spork unitedhealthsupply sammons plastisol Even the knife is multifunctional, combining an integrated spreader knife with a strong cutting edge incorporated into the handle. Well, even if you didnt mean it that way, I still cracked myself up! slv spork toaks Ill second this. Theres not much food that can be eaten with a fork but cant be scooped with a spoon. In this category, the top dog was the Snow Peak Titanium, but the Vargo Titanium ULV and the Toaks Titanium (the non-folding model) came in at a close second. The humangear GoBites Uno quickly became a favorite for its price and durability provided. When it comes to stabbing denser food like meat, the metal products with larger tines handle more like a conventional fork. uco fork utensil spork spoon picante utility combo knife Not to mention, the StS Long scooped the most impressively hefty ball of spaghetti and boasted a dandy spoon to fork shape ratio. We also highlight top performers within each metric. I never liked the jaggy edge on most sporks, and most are too short for food in a pouch. Hold it, feel it, identify how much it weighs, how long youll have itand wait to stick it in your mouth until after you buy it. Reproduction without permission is prohibited. Leslie's a doctor and an avid outdoorswoman, both of which require frequent eating on the go. After two thru-hikes (PCT and AT), Im completely enamored with them. When you are on the go, cleaning options are limited, so we tested each product to determine how involved the cleaning process needed to be in order to keep the spork looking spick and span. Still, we like the value of the titanium models. Aluminum offers a happy balance of mid-weight with mid-durability. Theyre not stiff or strong enough. Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best Selling in Camping Cooking Utensils, Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- You may also like, {"modules":["unloadOptimization","bandwidthDetection"],"unloadOptimization":{"browsers":{"Firefox":true,"Chrome":true}},"bandwidthDetection":{"url":"https://ir.ebaystatic.com/cr/v/c1/thirtysevens.jpg","maxViews":4,"imgSize":37,"expiry":300000,"timeout":250}}. With a spoon on one end and a fork on the other, holding it feels far from natural. Just real, honest, side-by-side testing and comparison. All right, ill be the one to say it. The potential to contaminate one end of the spork with your hands prior to turning it around to eat something else is too great so I stick to a spoon. It they work for you, fine, but for me, sporks are up there with drilling holes through toothbrush handles in terms of silly incremental weight reduction while compromising function. Weighing 18 grams, the bowl is polished smooth giving it a pleasant mouth feel. Aluminum and titanium sporks are heavier yet more durable. Wooden and bamboo sporks tend to break down with use, but they are usually biodegradable. Thats a lot of money for something that cant cut through my chicken teriyaki. Your hands only get a little bit sticky when eating out of an MRE, but you will have no problems scooping up the last bits of ooey, gooey goodness before licking it clean. At Expedition Portal, they tested a number of less mainstream sporks that we didnt include in this test and ended up declaring the Sea to Summit AlphaLight Spork the Value Winner. Its a good sturdy spork when open, although it can take a bit of practice to get used to the folding and locking mechanism. The Snow Peak Titanium on a backcountry ski trip. We prepared a pot of mac and cheese, dipped each product into the sauce, and let them sit out until the sauce formed a crust. You can buy and break five Light My Fire Plastic Sporks before youve spent as much money as the price of one Light My Fire Titanium Spork. Preparing soup with the Snow Peak Titanium that easily reaches the bottom of this one liter pot. Youd be surprised. Well be doing more giveaways in the near future, though, so like our Facebook page to be notified of the next one! Plastic sporks are lighter but not as durable. A spork is one of the very few pieces of gear where you can splurge without breaking the bank. It was the only spork that we successfully damaged in some way through our experiments, and reviews elsewhere suggest that this is moderately commonplace. Its 0.1 oz heavier than the Snow Peak and more expensive. An efficient scraping spork will reduce waste and improve the kitchen cleanup process. I just wish the spoon end was bigger. Cutouts in the sporks body help reduce the weight of the 17 gram spork and provide a way for you to attach it to your gear with a cord or biner. The square etching outline collects dirt and old food and is dreadfully hard to clean and keep clean. . The design is actually more impressive than the LMF Plastic but not worth the price difference in my opinion. Plastic is usually the cheapest and lightest. The sides are shaped to make it easy to scrape food out of bowls and bags so you dont miss one calorie of your backpacking meals. https://www.rei.com/product/108030/humangear-gobites-duo-fork-and-spoon-set, Hyperlite Mountain Gear Backpacks: How to Choose, How to Reduce Your Backpacking Water Weight, Backpacking and Fly Fishing the Dry River, How to Stop Your Superfeet Insoles from Squeaking, Bare Boxer Contender Review: A Small 2-3 Day Bear Canister, Nitecore 10000 mAh USB Power Bank (5.9 oz), Feathered Friends Flicker 40 Quilt Sleeping Bag. We scoured the market with a fine-toothed comb before finally selecting the top competitors. It includes a small accessory carabiner so you can clip the spoon (which has an end eyelet hidden above) to a pack, mug or another utensil. Ive had bad experiences with plastic sporks breaking. I just got this and like Ray, found the longer handle really nice when eating out of freezer bags. I personally tend to use numbers 4 and 9 a lot myself, but its good to know about these other ones, I may switch! The most fun, food-portmanteau since brunch, the spork is the fundamental tool for your outdoor cooking and eating requirements. While all of these products were successful at sauteing, we want to note a few caveats. Eggs and other proteins stuck a little more to the plastic models, but the titanium versions looked shiny and new after a thorough wiping. Like Slow Gin Lizz, I also had issues with the bamboo spoons texture after washing it many times. It started out smooth, but ended up as rough as a cats tongue. Shortly after completing this experiment, one of my colleagues asked: Why didnt you just throw the sporks into a backpack and rough up the backpack? The fork is robust enough to cut through soft foods, while the low-curvature spoon edges are designed to scrape the sides of containers. I saw one with a loop handle, but thats not it. Its lighter than the Snow Peak by .2 oz but sacrifices durability a small amount. Thank him for the beautiful detail and his gift for capturing a bounty of facial expressions. We started by rinsing each spork with cold running water and no additional tools other than our fingers. Compact enough to neal in my 850 mug/pot. Despite its minor flaws, this model is undeniably great for the price. The Snow Peak Titanium and Light My Fire Titanium are practically bombproof. Dont try to use them as tent stakes though. The humangear GoBites Uno is inexpensive and scored above average across the board, giving it our best price-to-performance ratio. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. It started out as a spoof on 10 best posts, but turned out quite useful! I dont care for sporks, myself. (We repeated the experiment inside so we could guarantee our pot got extra, extra hot). If youre trying to kick the plastic habit, the bambu Large Spork is for you. The result is a comprehensive review that will help you find the perfect cutlery to match your unconventional eating needs. It needs to be functional and actually perform. After many years of backcountry travel over snow, Trish traded in her splitboard for a traditional climbing rack and has been chasing dry rock ever since. The differences are far more nuanced and defy categorization. Admittedly again, the stats of the StS spork were on par with a few of the others. The Toaks Titanium non-folding model started to flex after just 3 lbs., then fully bent at around 10 lbs., and we were not able to completely bend it back into its original shape by hand. Thanks to everyone who participated and congratulations to the 7 lucky winners! Let us know! polycarbonate). It worked the best as a scooper/server because I wasnt worried about scratching up the bottom of the pot, yet its flexibility means the Light My Fire Plastic Spork cant carry heavy things very well. Required fields are marked *. Its ability as a soup scooping, food stirring, durable camp kitchen utensil was near on par with the Snow Peak Titanium Spork. Fashion may often be sacrificed for function, but comfort should only be abandoned as the last resort; after all, your food should be the star of the meal, not your utensil. SpooF! It mimics the classic Chinese duck spoon shape, and Id be lying if I said I wouldnt take it with me in my purse text time I go get pho. Copyright 2022 UCO Gear. I printed out a picture of a spork from the internet, traced the spaces between the tines onto my spoon, then used my Dremel to shave it into a spork. The "UCO" letters are etched in to utensils, and food gets stuck in there- VERY hard to get out, esp while on the trail. Forestry Labs Sporks are an interesting variant on the traditional notion of a spork, which normally combines a spoon and fork tines at the same end of the utensil. Just don't lose it. Best for Ultralight Backpackers: Sea to Summit AlphaLight Long, How to Choose the Best Spork for Your Needs, The Sporks Other Experts Are Recommending, Best Camping Towels: Our Top 5 Picks, Reviewed. Why isnt it our Top Pick, then? Following the stirring process, we used each spork to scoop and serve both chicken noodle soup and couscous. Made with bamboo, its hand finished with a light treatment of all-natural, organic, food-safe oil that wont warp and swell in soapy water. With the bowl hanging off into space, we hung a water jug filled with weighted amounts of water ranging from 1 lb to 10 lbs, watching for signs of warping. New Customer Discount. Single Head or Dual Head: While traditional backpacking sporks just have the one combined spoon and fork-tined head, there is something to be said for dual head sporks, since you often get a more usable fork with longer tines for spearing food. Hallelujah, Titanium! Then I saw all the nerdy comments, so I had to add my own. After digging into your first meal, it's easy to see why the Snow Peak Titanium takes the cake. It's a useful technique, even in the front country, when you want to toss it in your bag before returning to work. (Not helpful if you want to re-seal your meal after). Stirring may sound like a simple task, but the depth of the pot plays a considerable role. High quality and great design. Most testers felt they could achieve the same slicing power by utilizing the thin wall of the bowl of the metal products like the Vargo Titanium ULV, the Snow Peak Titanium, the Toaks Titanium (non-folding), and the Sea to Summit AlphaLight. And we have, in the past, collectively melted more than a few plastic sporks while cooking. Because of the humiliation I faced trying to choo-choo train food into my mouth with this device, Im going to chalk this one up as a gimmick. Lastly, treat every potential gear purchase like a first date. Its unique ability to deliver broth and hearty bits at the same time when eating soup is one of the best things about a hybridized spoon and fork. I have a couple. The Snow Peak model takes the cake with its familiar design. The fork side is slightly useless, the knife side seems designed for left-handers but works okay. The two folding models from Toaks and MSR required the addition of a sponge to free the leftover food from the foldable joints. I never liked that I needed to carry several utensils to do what a properly designed one or set would do. If you are a die-hard ramen lover and either lack chopstick skills or are trying to streamline your ramen-eating experience, sporks belong in your cutlery drawer. Length: If you need to reach deep into a freeze-dried or rehydrated meal bag, or a deep cook pot like a Jetboil, a long length spoon can be quite desirable. If you are more of a ramen traditionalist and chopsticks are a must, the GSI Outdoors Kung Foon spork and chopstick combination are the best of both worlds. I like that I can eat out of a pouch with a proper length utensil. A compostable spork. Has a decent bowl side to the spoon, its single-sided so I dont mess my hands, a touch short but thats still good for packability. When you click on links to buy products we may earn money to support. Weve listed the weights of all the sporks included in this test in the comparison table at the top of the page so you can easily compare them. Maybe they stopped making it or they only retail in Japan. Here are the most important properties of a spork and some guidance about how to select one that will work best for you. I bought some ice cream at Yellowstone last summer and theyre using these really nice plastic spoons that are practically weightless and so far have proven pretty durable, so I just carry one of those now. Greenbelly Meals Review: Are They Any Good? KBar came out with a decent polycarb spork that has a really sharp polycarb knife embedded in the handle. If youre looking for something you can throw into a pack or even purse or briefcase during the workweek and forget about, you probably want something indestructible and lightweight (titanium). And WHY does it appear not to be designed with the left-handed individual in mind? Cooking with this 6.5-inch model is easy in conventionally sized pots and pans, but a bit too short for ideal use with dehydrated food bags. Free Shipping and Returns. The utensil's bowl and tines have an ergonomic feel and perform well as a multi-utensil. Except for the Sea to Summit AlphaLight, all of the models we tested are dishwasher safe. Its 8.5" length provides just the right amount of bonus length to make it eclipse the standard models in this category. No ads. These may be metal or plastic depending on the kit. This is a weird thing to comment about but here I go: texture is also an important consideration when choosing a backpacking spork. You shouldnt be limited by your spork on what types of food you can buy and eat on the trail. Oh, man, makes me cringe too! Why does my spork need hex wrenches? The Toaks Titanium Folding Spork is easy to store inside many backpacking cook pots, which is its chief selling point. These are all important questions you will need to ask yourself. After 10 years of analyzing the best sporks, we've bought and tested just about every design out there. As an Amazon Associate 99Boulders LLC earns from qualifying purchases. Specifically, we tested each spork with four common trail meals: We dont all eat the same thing when we go on the trail, nor do we want to. Several years ago on an extended kayaking trip, one of my tent-mates forgot to pack his camp spork. Mac n' cheese sauce drying on the models to test their ability to wash clean. The double-ended design makes eating a bit awkward, but it handled ramen like a champ. A great spork should handle consuming and cooking well. While not the most hygienic, the simplest means of removing food from your utensil is to wipe it clean. Not to mention, I think the mildly awkward spoon-on-one-side and fork-on-the-other design is kinda cheating as a spork. The knife part will make your mouth slightly uncomfortable until it dulls a touch through use. The price is in the same range as these Best ten too. Following countless meals and targeted assessments, our testers compiled notes and scored each product against identical performance metrics. But surely there cant be that many types of sporks! This model received high marks in all of our tests: Its low weight and strong material make it ideal for backpacking but comfortable enough to double as an everyday on-the-go utensil. Its a spork/spatula set. After boiling them, we drained the water and let the sporks stay on high heat at the bottom of the pot. No duplication of photos, maps, or text without permission. Additionally, this is a good pick for kids, with its rounded edges, resistance to breaking, and affordability. Researchers Note: Human garbage disposals were standing by to make sure little to no food waste was created. Its a stupid way to identify good authoritative content, but thats what people type into Google, so thats how it ranks content. Adding this spork to the research list left me with more questions than answers. Ah, the regularly sized sibling of the Best Spork for Ultralighters, the AlphaLight Long Spork. Ive moved on to a folding spoon like #8 above (but just metal, I think; it came in a set with a fork and butter knife) and since its texture is just like regular home flatware I have no problem with it. Because of its long handle, it acts as the perfect stirring spoon and makes eating out of a plastic bag seem like something humans should always do. The heads tines are long enough to spear delicate morsels in addition to slurping down noodles or other soupy meals. We tested four of the most popularly consumed trail foods to make sure that the spork truly performed, because nobody wants to play here comes the airplane by themselves at the campsite. Reusable sporks cost money, even if it's only a little. (Why didnt we attempt to scoop the spaghetti? Yet, I almost want to keep it and convert it into a keychain. We all told him to patent that nonsense at the time, but in reality, he ended up eating with his hands a lot that week. I never used it. It also needs to be lightweight and not ridiculous to lug around. Unsurprisingly, the double-ended models with a true spoon on one end held the greatest volume. I used this for a weekend camp trip at a camp ground and by far the best gear i have easy to clean and it don't take up a lot of room.i will be during a youtube review on this and just now going oit to buy the mess kit. Sometimes, its good enough (Army knife), but sporks dont meet my threshold. The advantage of their approach is that the fork tines are longer so you can get a better grip on foods that are denser and tougher to penetrate with shorter tines. A passionate white water kayaker, she has broken a dozen sporks, a handful of kayaks, three ribs, and countless other items, all in the pursuit of more fun. Buy something you like, because youre hopefully going to have it a very long time. This spork is made from7075-T6 aluminum alloy which is hard anodized for excellent durability. Wow, thats really cool! I really like MSR folding Spork (foon). I once bought a cute and lightweight camp spatula for a week-long trip on the Colorado Trail. We think the many pros outweigh messy fingers, but this model does quite literally come up short when trying to reach the bottom of a dehydrated food bag or JetBoil backpacking stove. We let the soup get as hot as possible and got to stirring, testing each spork throughout the entire cooking process and observing if steam ever became too hot to bear. With a spork, you get a fork that cant grab onto much, and a spoon that cant hold much. I saw a couple of the short ones on eBay, but internationally and very pricey They do sell here a fork mini with a similar handle. The titanium colored ones are easy to misplace on the ground because they look like sticks. They give me the chills. Pick the Snow Peak Titanium Spork if you want a spork that will do it all and get it done for a long, long time. Sara, a high school teacher, has been traveling internationally for over 30 years and chooses to eat outside whenever possible. I switched to a polished Toaks one from a unpolished MSR one for the same reason. No significant deformity occurred during our formal testing period, but the edge of the bowl that touches the pan became blunted from the repeated contact with the hot pan. Dont buy a spork that melts into a goop in your pan, and certainly dont waste quesadillas in the backcountry. For some reason, my Sea to Summit long Ti spoon had a polished bowl from the factory (I got it maybe 4 years ago), but the current ones are not polished. For this test, we wanted to answer the following questions: How efficiently does the spork serve as a stirring device? I dont use a spork, but have the same problem with my spoon. Because Im a monster and I use my hands). No problem. An aside- I believe they also make a longer set for eating out of bags, but I havent used it personally. If other colors are available, click color swatches above to check. UCO Ware has a Limited lifetime warranty. Our favorite of these three by far is the Sea to Summit model. After trekking many miles into the backcountry, the last thing you want is to be stranded without any reasonable way to cook your food and shovel it into your mouth. I tie a small loop of brightly colored line to the hole in the handle, to make it easier to find. Like an office printer/scanner/fax, or even a Swiss Army knife, no single functionality works as well as a dedicated machine or tool would. Whether tossed in your backpack, purse, or lunchbox, you will forget it's even there until it's time to feast. The goal of this test was to determine how well each spork works for its intended use as a camp utensil. But its the best spork Ive found. However, the other plastic models were prone to bending while stirring and had an insubstantial feel with use. I love sporks haha, what an invention. Available in purple, green, blue, and plain titanium. Why does it come in four colors? Naturally stain-resistant, this 11.3 gram spork is made without glues or lacquers and USDA certified organic. Light My Fire Titanium Spork. Its a decent spork with decent durability, and comes with the same cute carabiner as its sibling. GOSSAMER-GEAR: Take 15% Off all Gossamer Gear Backpacks, Tents, Tarps, Trekking Poles and Accessories with Coupon Code "SECTIONHIKER22". Ive been using the Humangear GoBite Duo for a couple of years now and really like it: https://www.rei.com/product/108030/humangear-gobites-duo-fork-and-spoon-set. When stirring and eating dehydrated food from a bag, it's super convenient to have a long handle to keep your knuckles out of your dinner. Most backpackers eat mush though, so having a true fork is often not a requirement. Thanks for the info! Which it does, but the spoon has an odd shape with the bowl being so deep that you have to turn it over and lick the food out of the bottom. Theyre a mouthful. Unlike the Sea to Summit Delta, the KBar knife pulls out of the spork handle and you can use it to cut a piece of venison or salami or cheese. When you buy something through one of the links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. GearLab is reader-supported. For salami, cheese, etc., I use the point of my knife. Copyright 2007-2022, SectionHiker.com and Fells Press LLC. Similar to numbers 7 & 9, in either Ti or plastic Although perhaps it didnt make 10 best. The MSR Folding showed no lingering signs of damage; however, 5 lbs caused it to bow so severely that the water jug fell off. Then, for good measure, we used each spork to scrape out the remaining contents of the pot. Although this utensil seems like a perfect fit for ultralight backpacking, if you're planning to rely heavily on dehydrated food bags, its average length does lead to challenges. The fear was that a spork with too short of a handle could put you at risk of getting burned, and thats really no good in the backcountry. I laughed at this post, thinking Phillip must have run out of gear to review if hes writing about the lowly spork. While spoons and forks serve distinct purposes, the spork is the one-man band of utensils. After? It is by far the most robust model of all the plastic versions we tested. The Sea to Summit and the Vargo showed some give with 10 lbs, but there was no visible change when the water jug was removed. No joke! Doesn't reach the bottom of dehydrated food bags. I cary a chaep seatosummit spoon, costs less than one euro and weighs approximately nothing. As a good rule of thumb, once you think youve chosen the right spork, ask the most important question: Would I be willing to replace my entire home utensil set with this spork? From backcountry to sidecountry to front country, we used these products at home for breakfast, work-week lunches, car camping dinners, and as our multi-purpose utensils while trekking, backpacking, and ski touring. This spork has got you covered! Weighing just 12 grams, the Sea-to-Summit Alpine Light Spork is a long-handled spork, good for use with deep cook pots such as Jetboils (which youre not supposed to cook noodles in, but everyone does). This length is perfect for eating but leaves your fingers barely above the surface when stirring a pot of soup. Also while using one end of a spork the other end gets in the way. To that, I say nay! Will it serve any multi-functional purposes if necessary (kitchen serving spoon, bottle opener, spatula, knife)? A simple Google will locate it online. We performed this both before our boil test and after, because if these sporks are breakable, we wanted you to know exactly how and where. Metal sporks will be the most durable, as plastic can break. A scooping device? Buckle up this is the Ultimate Spork Showdown. I just did a search and cant find it. Snow Peak was one of the first backpacking gear manufacturers to make titanium pots and cutlery and their gear is the perfect match of form and function. That story inspired this durability test. Material on GearLab is copyrighted. The spork is a camping essential on your gear list, so dont make light of it when it comes time to shop. Didnt know the market had this many :), I was surprised to not see the Light My Fire one. Sauteed veggies with eggs is a fundamental camp mealjust poke your head around the Yosemite Search and Rescue camp, and you'll discover that this team is fueled by almost nothing else. Metal folding sporks tend to be more durable than plastic ones. Now that looks useful, and a bit easier to pack than my long titanium spoon.

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