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Reviews > Cook and Food Storage Gear > Utensils > GoSun Flatware > Test Report by Christie Kimber

GoSun Flatware

Initial Report
Long Term Report



Initial Reportgs1

November 12, 2020

Background Information:

Name: Christie Kimber
Age: 29
Gender: Female
Height: 6’0" (183 cm)
Weight: 145 lb (66 kg)
Email address: christiekimber AT yahoo DOT com
City, Province, Country: Campbell River, British Columbia (BC), Canada
Backpacking Background:
    I started hiking in 2015 when I moved from Saskatchewan to Vancouver Island, British Columbia. I started with day hikes and have eventually pushed myself to weekend and even week-long excursions. I am a three-season hiker. That being said, as I gather new gear and develop skills I am pushing my limits to try out 4-season backpacking and mountaineering. Vancouver Island gets a lot of rain and has a moderate climate. I also spend time in interior British Columbia in the Rocky Mountains.

Product Information:

Manufacturer: GoSun
URL: https://gosun.co/
Year of manufacture: 2020

MSRP: $39.00 USD
Listed weight: 1.4 oz (40 g)
Actual weight: as above
Listed measurements:
  • Utensils: 6" x 1" x 0.1" (15.2 cm x 2.5 cm x 0.25 cm)
  • Case: 3.3" x 2" x 0.15"  (7.6 cm x 5.0 cm x 0.4 cm)


gs5

Product Description
:

    The GoSun Flatware is a portable utensil set that includes a fork as well as a spoon/knife combination. The first utensil is a four-pronged fork, while the second utensil is a spoon with one edge that is serrated to act as a knife. The utensils are made from stainless steel. They are packaged together in one black polyethylene sleeve that they snap in to. The sleeve is the same size in height and width as a credit card. The depth is just over 3 credit cards thick. They are easily popped out of and back in to the carrying sleeve as needed.
    When stored, the utensils are half of their full size. When using the utensils, they are slid forward by placing a thumb in the metal depression until they click in to place. There are two small metal tabs, one on each side, that click into a small hole, so that they are in a locked position during use. In order to store the utensils, these metal tabs must be pushed, and the utensil slid backwards. The utensils are then clipped back into the carrying case.
    Both the packaging and the website describe these utensils as an alternative to disposable plastic utensils. The mission of the company appears to be to decrease plastic waste by providing a reusable, convenient, on-the-go option for cutlery. They have been packaged in such a way that they can be easily stored in a purse or wallet. The utensils are dishwasher safe and BPA free. The product is made in China
   

gs4                                  gs2
       
Initial Impressions:

    The GoSun Flatware arrived in a small bubble wrapped envelope by mail. Inside the envelope was the flatware, with only a small thin carboard box for packaging, similar to a deck of cards. The packaging was recyclable. The packaging opened up via perforated lines for further instructions. The packaging also doubled as 6 "awareness cards" on the inside. The awareness cards can be distributed to fellow humans as an educational tool that states that each day enough plastic utensils are thrown away to fill 3,000 garbage trucks. A scannable QR code was also included that provided a link to the website for further instructions on utensil use and information.
    The cutlery is visually appealing. It looks very clean and well made. The utensils were easy to click in and out of the plastic covering. It was intuitive to use them, including pushing them out to the full size, as well as collapsing them to the storage size. Brief instructions were included, basically describing exactly that. The entire set is very light weight.  I was pleased to learn they are dishwasher safe. My only concern on initial impressions so far is that the spoon is very shallow. I wonder how it will handle thin liquids.
    Overall, I am impressed with the creativity, convenience, and mission of this product and company. I plan to use the utensils for backpacking, as well as everyday use when eating out around town.




Long-Term Report

March 12, 2021


 Trip Conditions:
  • Kinney Lake, Alberta, Canada
    • Elevation change: 433 m (1421 ft)gs7
    • Duration: day hike, 14 km (8.7 miles)
    • Temperature: - 5 C (23 F) 
    • Weather: sunny and clear. No precipitation.
    • Trail Conditions: well-maintained trail, but snow covered.

  • Lake Helen Mackenzie, British Columbia , Canada
    • Elevation Change: 300 m (984 ft)
    • Duration: day hike, 8 km (5 miles)
    • Temperature: - 9 C (16 F) 
    • Weather: sunny and clear. No precipitation.
    • Trail Conditions: Packed snow. Snowshoe trail.
  • Oyster River Nature Park, British Columbia, Canada
    • Elevation Change:  50 m (164 ft)
    • Duration: day hike, 15 km (9.3 miles)
    • Temperature: 2 C (36 F) 
    • Weather: light rain, windy, overcast
    • Trail Conditions: wet beach trail along the coast.

  • Lake Elma, British Columbia, Canada
    • Elevation change: 450 m (1476 ft)
    • Duration: 12 km (7.5 miles)
    • Temperature: - 5 C (23 F)
    • Weather: overcast, snowing, windy
    • Trail: backcountry skiing
The above are a few examples of conditions I used this utensil set it. Given the timing of the test call, outdoor use was all in winter conditions. As anyone who reads my reviews now knows, I live in my van part time as well. I used the utensil set in there for "front country camping" so that I could get more use out of them.

Observations:

    Prior to using the GoSun Flatware my utensils consisted of a spork only. For a utensil set that includes two separate parts, I really liked the black card holder. It provided a compact, easy way to pack the utensils and ensured they were always together. I could also remove one at a time, which was convenient, although they are not marked from the back. Compared to a spork, the utensils also packed down to a much more convenient size and shape for packing. It easily stacked inside the bowl or Tupperware I was bringing.

    The fork was definitely the highlight of this set for me. The tines were strong and were spaced apart enough to make them useful to pick up noodles or pasta. Unfortunately, I felt the spoon was lacking, which was in keeping with my suspicion in my initial report. The spoon worked well for thickened liquids like yogurt and pudding. It also worked well for stirring. However, it could not be used for soup, cereal, or anything that is truly a liquid because the spoon was just not deep enough to get any purchase on a significant mouthful of food in these conditions. Because of that, I felt the fork could function almost as well as the spoon. Therefore, I did not find it a particularly useful addition. I think if the spoon was deeper it would provide more function.

    I did not use the serrated edge of the knife in the backcountry for a few reasons. First off, for anything that needs a truly sharp edge I used my camping knife that I always carry with me. In addition, I do not tend to pack spreads or other such items that a "butter knife" would be used for, which is how I would describe the sharpness of the serrated edge. However, I did use the knife edge in the van to test it, and it worked well for that purpose. It also cut cheese and other softer items well.


    This utensil set saw a fair amount of use during the test period and are still in excellent condition. I only had trouble depressing the metal tabs once. That was in the backcountry while skiing with cold hands. Otherwise there was no problem, and the tabs have held up with repeated use, so the utensil have remained strong.

    In terms of cleaning, I really like that the utensils are dishwasher safe. Because of the ridge the utensils slide back in to, I found them less desirable to hand wash, as food can kind of get caught in the slider and then has to be rinsed out.

    Overall, I love the mission this company is trying to accomplish. I think this utensil set makes a great alternative to plastic utensils. They also acted as an excellent reminder for me to forego plastic cutlery from take-out orders. I can honestly say I significantly cut down on my plastic utensil use over this test period which I am very happy about. The utensils pack away easily, and they are durable. I think if the spoon depth was improved, the set would be extremely functional.

This concludes my Long-Term Report. Thanks to GoSun and BackpackGearTest.org for the opportunity to test this product.



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Reviews > Cook and Food Storage Gear > Utensils > GoSun Flatware > Test Report by Christie Kimber



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