Spork or spoon?

[Kim Clements]

From another thread it seems many ultralight backpackers do not like sporks. Do use use a spork or spoon? Short or long handled?

[Zachary Crane]

I'm a pretty big fan of the spork. Some of them just have very 'stubby' tongs. Avoid those.

I have the Sea-To-Summit AlphaLight spork and it has been working quite well.

In the end though, it depends on what you will be eating with it. If you only eat soupy items, go with the spoon.

[Jack H.]

Spoon, normal length.

I don't like that i can't easily scrape my pot clean with a spork because of the tines.

[Ken Bennett]

I like to make meals in freezer bags. A spork would have unfortunate consequences.

[EndoftheTrail]

I've used Mountain House and freezer bag meals and my regular-length spork works great!

As you might suspect — it's mostly personal preference.

[jj]

i like to use chopsticks.

[Lynn Tramper]

Ordinary lexan spoon. I don't eat anything that requires a fork (even at home!).

[Jeff Patrick]

Thats kind of weird. How do you hold things to cut them?
You must be a vegetarian cause spooning meet sounds crazy, but even so, what about spaghetti or lasagna or I dont know. You really never use a fork?

[Brian Johnson]

Not as cold as any metal spoon, it works, its cheap, its light. Never cared for the spork.

I usually carry a swiss army knife with the scissors, so I cut the freeze dried bags in half when it is time to eat…..no long spoon needed.

Truly ultralight = slurping and tongue, lol! No utensils needed.

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

I primarily use a GSI ReHydrate long handled spoon. I also have plenty of other choices should I decide to get crazy ;-)

When I do use a spork, I use a GSI Foon as the tines are neither sharp nor longer than the spoon bowl. This makes the spork perfect for eating out of freezer bags.

On bags and forks or sporks: it is OK to use one but only on solid foods (not so good for soups!). Stir carefully before the food is rehydrated so you don't puncture the bag.

But let us not forget the easiest tool: if you need a fork and you have a spoon, whittle some sticks into chopsticks while dinner cooks.

[Denis Hazlewood]

Specifically the BPL long handled Ti Spoon. I also have a short one for use with the BPL FireLite SUL 550 pot.

[Lynn Tramper]

"Thats kind of weird. How do you hold things to cut them?"

I don't cut things. I avoid spaghetti. There are so many nice pastas that are easier to eat. Meat when hiking is always pre-cut and dried in the meal before we leave home. Rice, potatoes, burritos, pasta, cereal, oats with small pieces if veggies and meat can all be eaten with a spoon.

At home, if I have a piece of food too big to pick up with a spoon (eg meat, corn on the cob), I just pick it up with my fingers and tear it with my teeth. The only exception is some leafy salads where I might deploy a fork, but we never have leafy salads on the trail.

[Chris Jones]

[Eddy Walker]

A long handle one for FBC

[V k]

long handle plastic spoon.

[Ken Thompson]

The knork and spife are WAY overarted!

[Ray Dunham]

Long handle folding MSR spoon.

[* *]

It is such a polarizing question. I think it should be asked when we register at BPL, and our preference for spoons or sporks would appear just above our location.

For me, a spork is only slightly better than a slotted spoon. I wonder how many people use sporks at home versus a spoon and fork…

[Ted E]

super light (10 grams) and cheap ($3 at walmart, rei, etc)

[Joe L]

FBC => long handled spoon

In one of the cultures that uses chopsticks, if the food is served in larger than bite-sized pieces, the cook has failed to prepare the dish properly. At one time, they considered knives and forks as the eating tools of barbarians.

When there are so many different small pasta shapes, why would anyone bring one that needed a fork? By the time you chew it, any pasta is in small pieces. Large or long pastas take longer to cook, but maybe that is just more time in the freezer bag. I like chewy food but peanuts serve that purpose.

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

Here's another vote for the Lite My Fire 'spork' which really isn't a spork at all, but rather a spoon and fork sharing a common handle. The plastic version is pretty much perfect except you can melt the plastic. The ti version solves this but it's a few grams heavier.

[James Naphas]

The BPL long-handled Ti spoon is without a doubt the best piece of gear I own. I silently thank Bill Fornsell for designing it and wish him continued good health every time I use it.

Before that I had a Ti spork; I used it one trip and had disastrous results. It lives at the bottom of an anonymous bin amongst a bunch of similar bins in my garage. Think the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark, and you get the picture.

[John Fry]

x3!!!
although mine shows as 9grams on my digital scale?

I have about 8 of them, and prefer them at home over actual silverware, my wife laughs cause I look like a kid when I use them, lol, and the pretty colors…hahahahah
(I have all the colors)

[Brad Groves]

have you ever tried to scrape the bottom of a pot w/a spork? only needed one trip to convince me they were a pain. the sea to summit flat-nosed spoons are particularly nice for getting food out of the pot. i did break one on my last trip, storing it like a jerk, and carved one out of wood. i liked the wood a lot, and it weighs about the same… plan on making a nicer wood one for future use.

[Laurence Beck]

I use MH pro-pack meals. You need to stir them up well when you put in the hot water. The long handled BPL titanium spoon (17g – 0.6oz) works well for that. Once the meal is cooked, you can use your pocket knife to cut the package down for eating though.

[Author]

Posts