Yes, you can break a Lexan spoon

[Rex Sanders]

Surprise on night 3 of a 7 night trip when I opened the cook kit and found half a spoon. I have no idea how this happened.

Ate dinner with half a spoon, being very careful of the razor-sharp edge at the break.

Luckily, the next day I was passing through Olema – the only town on the trip, and not much of a town, but the deli had giveaway plastic spoons. I picked up a couple to use for the rest of the trip.

Lesson – Pack Different™ :-)

Trip report to appear RSN.

— Rex

[Bob Gross]

Rex, admit it. You broke the spoon to reduce its weight.

–B.G.–

[Rex Sanders]

I had already cut an inch off the handle!

I think there is a weight-functionality tradeoff here:

– With half a spoon, I take twice as long to eat dinner. Dinner gets cold, so I don't eat half. Eventually, I get so weak I can't climb hills. I call for a rescue, and get a huge bill :-)

– Or I cut my tongue on the spoon, duct tape it (my tongue) back together, and I can't eat as much. Same outcome :-)

— Rex

[Valerie E]

My husband's lexan spoon broke where the handle meets the bowl of the spoon (luckily) so it was still somewhat functional for the rest of the trip — now I make him bring a titanium one (a LOT harder to break!). :^)

[Jerry Adams]

Sea to Summit anodized aluminum spoon – 0.3 oz after you cut the handle off a little

I cut the handle so it fits into 900 ml Ti pot, not really to save weight

With small object, like spoon, difference between Ti and aluminum is small

[Franco Darioli]

One of mine, the sort of translucent type, broke a few years ago.
I have used the long handle Ti version for some time and that works for me.
A copuple of trips ago I left it at home by mistake (first time ever) but I was camping so had my Mora knife and used that to make a spoon.
That used up some of the plentiful spare time.

[Don A.]

I refuse to buy metal spoons anymore. I have a bad habit of losing them. In 2011 on a Sierra hike my partner broke her favorite pink spoon. I don't believe it was lexan but nontheless it broke her heart. I managed to glue it back together with super glue but it broke again a few days later. I told her not to worry we would find one (I was hoping to find one of my previously lost spoons). On the south side of Mather Pass I spy an object in the snow–yep a spoon. Unusual that is was a Chinese soup spoon.
Later on my partner's ear buds broke. As I told her the trail would provide. Sure enough I found a pair of shorts on a log that looked like they had been there awhile. A working pair of ear buds was in the pocket.
My current favorite spoon is this MSR foldable job. I thought it would break easily but after 300 miles or so on the trail it's still intact.

[Valerie E]

Funny you experienced that! I lost a really nice titanium spoon in Patagonia in 1999 — I hope someone in need found it and used it! :^)

[Delmar O’Donnell]

No, Lexan spoons don't break. There must be something wrong with your camera. All my 1980-vintage lexan spoons, stamped PERMAWARE, are still going strong.

OTOH, I recently purchased a spare Lexan spoon at REI and instead of being stamped PERMAWARE it was instead stamped CHINA. Have they always been Chinese made?

[Glenn S]

I like eating from those foldable MSR jobs. The bowl is shaped like a regular household spoon, instead of a ladle, like the metal spoons. Unfortunately, when trying to stir hot water into my food, they get too soft from the heat IMO.

[Rex Sanders]

All my 1980-vintage lexan spoons, stamped PERMAWARE, are still going strong.

Mine was about 10 years old, and stamped PERMAWARE. So it goes.

— Rex

[Ralph Wood]

Funny, I had a sandwich in that deli on Wednesday. Kids were hungry after an overnighter at Sky Camp in Pt Reyes, so we stopped there on the way home.

Spoon wise, we all used ti. None broke =)

[Matthew Black]

They are no longer Lexan and have not been since the BPA scare. I believe the new material, Acetal, is less durable, just as the Nalgene Tritan bottles appear to be less durable and have a lower temperature rating than the old Lexan ones.

[Delmar O’Donnell]

> Mine was about 10 years old, and stamped PERMAWARE. So it goes.

Hm. Well, by deduction: We know Lexan doesn't break. If the problem with the image you posted doesn't lie with your camera, then the problem must be my eyes, because that spoon sure looks broken. I'll schedule an opthalmologist exam first thing Monday morning.

[Daniel Pittman]

My MSR Titanium spoon has served me well since '98. The handle is long enough to get the last of the peanut butter out of the jar. If I ever lose it I will be seriously pissed at myself.

[Brian Johns]

Rex I have a snowpeak titanium spork I"ll drop in the mail to you if you'd like a free replacement. Just send me a link when you get the trip report up. Trying to figure out how you did 7 days and passed through Olema. By land I am guessing but …. off to the maps.

[Miner]

The Lexan spoons I bought back in the 90's never lasted for me so I only use metal ones now. But how do you loose a spoon on the trail? Hanging it off your pack?

I've been using the same long handled lightweight titanium spoon since 2007 that I bought off this website when they use to sell stuff. Weighs 0.35oz (10g). Been on the PCT and AT and never looked stressed while scooping peanut butter out of the jar. I keep it in my food bag since I only use it with the food stored there. The only time I left it anywhere was leaving it at home because I forgot to pack it. Funny thing was, this was the start of my PCT thru-hike, my longest trip ever. You'd think I would have been even more careful to double check things before starting such a long hike. I had to get it sent to me 2 weeks up the trail while I used 2 cheap plastic spoons I begged for at a campground and prayed they wouldn't break before I could replace them.

[Rex Sanders]

Brian,

Thanks for the offer, but I have a couple titanium sporks in my collection. Didn't care for them.

I've taken an REI Campware Long Spoon (bought when I was eating out of freeze-dried meal bags – never again), and cut that down to meet my needs – 11 grams. Should last another 10 years or so, at 20 cents per year, I'm OK with that.

As I mentioned above, trip report Real Soon Now. 100 mile loop through Marin County, with no stealth camping.

— Rex

PS – Does this prove my camera's not broken?

[Jay L]

Ive broken lexan spoons too. Now I use a McDonalds McFlurry spoon – long enough to get to the bottom of the FD or freezer bag meal, flexible enough that it doesnt break.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

Ahd here I thought my Lexan long handled spoon was indestructable.

Well, I carry a tiny lockblade Gerber knife so If'n I break my spoon maybe I can whittle a "spoon" 'til I get lucky like you and pick up a Dairy Queen, Micky D, Booger King, Taco Hell, etc. plastic spoon.

I will NOT borrow another person's spoon! – unless she's really hot.

[James Couch]

Nothing is indestructible – given sufficient provocation anything can be broken. Just handing it to a child is usually sufficient in most cases.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

James m' boy, truer words were never spoken!

I recently showed my 9 year old grandson how to make a fire using my Swedish striker.
Later, after successfully starting a fire and after whirling it around a bit, he handed it back with half the sriker stick broken off. AMAZING!

[Nick Larsen]

Bamboo spoon from a Japanese store, or party store. 4g – 8g and cheap.

[Elliott Wolin]

Related somewhat, I once found myself up in an alpine area in the North Cascades in Washington State when I discovered I had forgotten my spoon and had nothing else suitable to eat with. I figured I'd find some sticks and use them like chopsticks.

Well just about every last piece of wood up there was wet and rotten (I didn't want to pull a live branch off the alpine trees). They just crumbled when I tried to use them. After a long search I found a pair of short, crooked sticks that had solid cores once I rubbed off all the decaying bark.

They worked, sort of, at least I was able to eat something that was not cold. I think I still have them in my drawer, a reminder not to forget my spoon!

[Valerie E]

Directions on How to Lose a Titanium Spoon:

1. Sit on rock to eat your meal with said spoon
2. Finish meal
3. Put spoon down on rock beside you
4. Accidentally knock it off the rock without noticing
5. Pack up and leave without checking under the bush beside the rock

That certainly worked well for me! ;^)

[Author]

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