What do you use to eat with in the backcountry?

One of these ziplocs with a fun foam cozy (note: picture and link not mine): http://www.mountainultralight.com/2011/05/one-container-multiple-uses.html

one of these: http://j.mp/1zq2WZS

For hot drinks I use a Nalgene flask with fun foam cozy (bottle and inner lid only): http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/practical/PD101.html

I have a bunch of those ziplock containers, why did't I think about that! I am not a hot drink fan, I always feel sick after drinking hot things.

When all else fails….fingers!

long handle Ti spoon.. zip lock bag. Campbells soup cup for hot chocolate.

Jake,
Thanks for the input but I am just not down with going that minimalist. I ate enough MRE's in the bag than I care to count and eating meals like that in the backcountry brings back less than fond memories.

I do a lot of trips where 3-4 people are all using one stove, but no one cooks in the stove. The stove is just used to boil water, which gets dumped into bowls or bags of food. I dehydrate my own food and eat straight out of a freezer bag. No clean up and I don't have to haul extra plates, bowls, pots, etc.

I use a plastic spoon or fork depending on what I am eating. Or a spork if I will end up needing both utenstils. Eating spaghetti with a spork sucks though lol.

One of the many reasons I have chosen to go light wile hiking is so that I can bring better food on my backcountry trips. You eat enough MRE's and trust me you would look at eating out of a freezer bag in a different light.

Yea, i can see that. I hate doing dishes while backpacking so my pot is for water and trash gets rolled up and kept sealed. i do mostly Knorr pasta sides with various additions to it.

I hate the dishes as well as it means I am wasting water and means I have to go filter more but its worth it to me. I'll see how the x bowl goes. Its just under 3 ounces. I am bringing a Ti long handle spoon a pair of bamboo chopsticks and my evernew 1.3l pot and a Kovea spider to cook with. Hoping to nail down a good kit and routine. I've been trying to refine this for two years now and have yet to find the kit I like.

A couple years ago I was preparing my Scout Troop for a trip and challenged them to put together the lightest eating kit they could. They came up with some really good options and all of them were really low-cost.

* My favorite is a little kids "character" plate from the $1 aisle: 0.95oz for my Buzz Lightyear version
* 4 inch square gladware: 1oz
* Disposable plastic "party" bowl: 0.67oz
* 8 oz Cool Whip bowl with lid: 1.1oz

Spoons were less creative but the one I ended up using was a McD's McFlurry spoon. Kind of small on the bowl of the spoon but long handled and flexible so it doesnt break in the pack. The handle is nice size – it is square and hollow because they clip it onto the machine to "stir" the flurry. Weight: 0.20oz

Okaso folding cup and bowl and long Ti spoon. The cup and bowl are light (>3 oz total for both) and very easy to clean and pack when they are flat.

Although I usually just eat out of the ziplock; when I want a less minimalist experience, like Michael I very much like the Okaso, Fozzils or similar products. Here's a listing on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0024E00JQ/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2NY44D3NHLVOH&coliid=I1XHR1QVGXG0PN&psc=1

They're cheap, lightweight, and very easy to clean. One hint: when storing them between trips, make sure to store them snapped into shape. That helps them "remember" the shape and makes them FAR less likely to come unsnapped in the middle of a meal.

Skip the Fozzils spoon though. It's cute but pretty unusable IME.

Nice! I like the folding cup and plate. Will have to check those out.

I use an MSR bowl I picked up for $8, it weighs 3 oz. I riveted a 2" L-bracket to it with some heat shrink on it for a handle, and cook and eat out of it with a Sea to Summit titanium spork, and a kid size sturdy plastic cup and Starbucks Via for coffee. I rarely camp in sub-freezing temps but I need to add a lid to it, one with about a 1" deep lip could double as a bowl to eat from a few different pots.

Kellogg cerial makes these little single serve bowls with cereal already in them. I'll take 1 to reuse for a week because washing metal is a pain. Glad container might be nice for a lid.

Anyone compared the grams on glad versus an empty yogurt cup?

I don't understand the obsession with taking the smallest, lightest thing you can find to use for food? At some point it becomes a hassle to eat out of it. Personally I'll sacrifice a few ounces in another area of my pack to be able to sit and enjoy a meal out of a full size (yet light) bowl/cup/plate.

"I don't understand the obsession with taking the smallest, lightest thing you can find to use for food? At some point it becomes a hassle to eat out of it. Personally I'll sacrifice a few ounces in another area of my pack to be able to sit and enjoy a meal out of a full size (yet light) bowl/cup/plate."

Take what you need. I was eating oatmeal, ramen and special K so a large yogurt cup is all I needed…(rest of the food was dry) If I'm cooking for 4 people on an overnight I'll lug a 12 inch frying pan from the kitchen because I'm lazy and its funny.

+1 on the Orikaso folding bowls – they've served us well for years. Add a Ti spork and a Ti mug as well as a knife or two for cutting/spreading and we're good to go.

We do eat "real" food out bush though – I'm happy to cook rice or pasta in situ rather than rehydrate staples. On long trips we'll use home dehydrated curries & sauces to go with the chosen staple. We eat well – one of life's simple pleasures!

I just eat right out of the zip lock bag that way I don't have to do any dishes… Sorry I couldn't resist, the thread was starting to remind me of the Monty python skit spam spam spam spam. Anyway if I drop my zip lock bag into my SP 700 and roll the sides down the outside of the pot it is much easier to eat out of, and that only has a little bit of spam in it. Otherwise a lot of supermarkets are using plastic microwaveable bowls that they sell deli foods in they are very lightweight and indefreakinstructable. Also the nisson brand chow mein noodles come in a very tough lightweight bowl eat the first night and use the bowl for the rest of the trip. Or maybe start by looking at a picture of a ziplock bag from a distance then get a little closer then try to touch the picture spam spam spam spam

My Teeth

Cheers

Roger, do teeth count in your base weight?

–B.G.–

"Roger, do teeth count in your base weight?"

Only if he takes them out and carries them in his pack…

What Barry said.

Cheers

POT-> 3 cup anodized aluminum pot & lid from Trail Designs (Fits my Sidewinder CC stove cone.)

BOWL-> cut down Zip-Loc fridge bowl to fit inside the 3 cup pot

CUP-> plastic "camp cup" W/ marked measuring lines. Very cheap &b light and found everywhere – fits inside the pot & bowl also.

LEXAN SPOON-> long handle version for eating out of freeze-dried bags & freezer bags

KNIFE-> Gerber Bear Grylls mini lock blade knife (So tiny I added a lanyard so I wouldn't lose it.

SKILLET-> Wally-Mart ceramic coated aluminum "one egg skillet" minus the handle (pot gripper used) Plus a tiny Lexan spatula
(This skillet is mainly used in winter camping for omelets and pancakes.)

CLEAN-UP-> small green synthetic scratcher cloth used Lightly on coated pot and skillet to preserve coatings