Fozzils Snapfold Bowlz

I’ve used foldable bowls for many years, from outdoor education settings to personal backpacking trips. While many hikers eat directly from their cook pot, I’ve found that carrying identical bowls when hiking with a partner can simplify food division and portioning, especially when meals are rationed.

In use, the bowl functions as a plate, a bowl, and a light-duty cutting surface. It packs flat, which makes it easy to stow, and it’s straightforward to clean after meals. These traits make it practical for shared cooking systems where minimizing extra items matters.

There are limitations. With long-term use, the plastic shows gradual wear, especially when using a metal eating utensil. The snap-style enclosures can also fail after repeated folding over many years, and in cold conditions the material becomes noticeably stiffer, which affects handling and reliability.

Overall, foldable bowls make the most sense for trips where meals are shared and divided between partners. They work well as a multipurpose eating surface, but their longevity and cold-temperature performance are constraints to consider.

I have a similar product that is made out of Dyneema. A further virtue of these super-lightweight bowls is that they can be used as wash basins. Perhaps you can’t fit both of your hands in them, but you can certainly dunk a towel in them and get it entirely wet without wasting water.

I agree with everything Jeff has written. Bowls like these are invaluable on long trips if you are the sort of person who likes variety in their food. For preparation, soaking, and portion control as well as just plain eating from.

My partner and I have used the original Orikaso folding bowls (that Fozzils are based upon), for many years on our backpacking trips. Because they have folding tabs rather than snaps, they seem to last forever. And I think are easier to clean.

Because they are flat when unfolded, they can slide and just disappear inside a pack or a front pocket. Our bowls weigh about an ounce each.

Although Orikaso as a company has ceased production, In the UK and Europe they are still available on eBay.

What I like: I like the form factor. Being able to unsnap the bowls and slide them into my bear canister or ursack is definitely a good way to reduce cook kit bulk. This is a huge bonus for groups/families who share a cook kit.

What I don’t like: With high-fat/greasy foods, these bowls are difficult to clean, even with soapy water. Such is the nature of plastic I suppose, but the only way I could get these “squeaky clean” was by using very soapy, hot water, followed by cold rinsing. Sometimes twice. I didn’t want food residue contaminating my other stuff so I ended up stowing them in their own ziploc bag, which just added hassle. The snaps are particularly hard to clean, if you accidentally got food residue in them.

After a few days of use, my bowls starting getting pretty scratched up from utensils (metal spork). I have MSR plastic bowls that do not get scratched with metal utensils, but in the future, I’ll only use these with plastic utensils.

My only use case for these now is when backpacking with my family or group, and we are sharing a cook kit. I did a trip last summer with 6 of us, and I carried all 6 bowls flat in my bear can, which was a great way to split the cook kit without adding bulk. I’ll happily use them again on trips like that. But for me solo, I’m going to stick with eating out of titanium, at least in bear country, where I’m trying to control odors as much as possible and maintain clean cookware.