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Reviews > Cook and Food Storage Gear > Utensils > Light My Fire Spork > Owner Review by Chad G Poindexter

LIGHT MY FIRE SPORK
BY CHAD POINDEXTER
OWNER REVIEW

February 04, 2010

TESTER INFORMATION

NAME: Chad Poindexter
EMAIL: cg-77 (AT) hotmail (DOT) com
AGE: 32
LOCATION: Corinth, Alcorn County, Mississippi, USA
GENDER: M
HEIGHT: 5' 10" (1.78 m)
WEIGHT: 200 lb (90.70 kg)

I am a fairly new hiker and have hiked in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, on the Appalachian Trail in Georgia, and at a few state parks in Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama. I have obtained some heavy gear, but dream of going light. I love my tent and appreciate a warm drink in the morning, as well as a warm meal at night. So far my distance has averaged around 10 mi (16 km) per day, depending on terrain. I usually hike with my fiancée or my son however I am currently planning my first solo hike!

PRODUCT INFORMATION

Manufacturer: Light My Fire
Year of Purchase: 2009
Manufacturer's Website: www.lightmyfire.com
MSRP: N / A
Listed Weight: .28 oz (8 g) ~ Verified Accurate
Measured Length: 6.9 in (17.5 cm)
Used As: Spoon, Fork, and Knife
Other details: Available in 19 civilized colors as well as Titanium

IMAGE 1


The Light My Fire spork (hereafter referred to as the "spork") is a multipurpose fork-spoon-knife combo that is available in PC (polycarbonate) or BPA (Bisphenol-A) free Tritan. The spork is heat resistant, Teflon-friendly, very durable and can be machine washed. The spork consists of a spoon on one end and a fork with four tines on the other end. One of the outer tines of the fork has a serrated edge that makes up the knife. There is a Light My Fire imprint as well as the logo imprinted on one side of the spork.

FIELD USE

I purchased two of these sporks about 10 months ago and have carried them and used them both for 15+ days (my fiancée or my son uses the 2nd one). I have used them in temperatures as low as 10 F (-12 C) and as high as 90 F (32 C). I have taken, and used, the sporks on long day-hikes as well as overnight trips. The longest period of time that I have taken them out and used them was on a 5 day trip on the Appalachian Trail.

IMAGE 3
Making grits and Oatmeal
I mainly just boil water for my meals now, but I have used the sporks to stir macaroni and cheese, cheesy rice, and red beans and rice while cooking in my 1.8 L (1.9 qt) GSI Dualist pot, as well as just a few different Mountain House meals. I also use it for stirring things such as cocoa or coffee just after pouring boiling water in my cup. I was very happy though that the sporks were very gentle on the pots while stirring. Not once did the sporks cause any damage to the inside of my pot.
IMAGE 4
My son eating breakfast

I usually wrap the sporks in a small Ziploc bag to carry with me since they don't fit inside my cook set so I try and place them in my backpack where they won't get damaged, however, just in general I have to wonder if they haven't seen some abuse while in my backpack. I have caught myself stepping on one of them while I was walking around after I had laid my stuff out. I did not put my full weight on it since my fiancée caught me in time, but it was still close. The spork suffered no traumatic injuries, and I was still able to consume my food while using it after this incident. The spork recovered 100%! (Not that it was damaged in any way).

Now I freezer bag cook so I find myself eating from freezer bags instead of bowls (saves on the clean up). I have been eating a lot of Ramen noodles and grits or oatmeal now so I have to have both a fork and a spoon. The spoon works very well while eating things such as the grits and oatmeal, and the fork does a pretty good job with the noodles. The tines on the spork are a little shorter than the normal forks that I am used to using, but I am still able to use it with a large amount of success.

IMAGE 2I have noticed that while digging down into the bottom of my Ziploc bag to get those last few noodles two things happen. (1) Unless the bag is rolled down it can be difficult to reach the bottom. However if the bag is rolled down to much the bag can become a little messy. (2) Also, as the steam from the food hits the spork the spork will tend to get a little slippery. I'm not saying that I lose my grip on it and it flies from my hand, but I do have to just hold on a little better.

Clean up with these sporks is a cinch. Not much really sticks to them so all I really do is wipe them off and they are clean. On a trip I just took there was a lot of snow around, so I just walked over and grabbed some snow and rubbed the spork down, instant clean! I do try to make sure they are dry before putting them back into my Ziploc just so the inside of the Ziploc doesn't become a mess.

SUMMARY

I have come to like the Light My Fire sporks. They are not ready to replace my regular fork and spoon that I use at home, but for my backpacking trips I am pleased to have them! And even though I do use a knife at home, I haven't needed to use the knife that is on the spork in the field yet, for eating or anything else.

GOOD ENOUGH

I can use them to eat with, and they work.
Light weight.
Durable.
Cleans up easy.

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT

Can be short at times.
Can be slippery at times.
Don't need the knife.

SIGNATURE

IMAGE 5
Chad Poindexter
"Stick"

This report was created with the BackpackGearTest.org Report Writer Version 1.5 Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.

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