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Reviews > Cook and Food Storage Gear > Utensils > Sea to Summit Delta Cutlery > Test Report by Amanda Tikkanen

Sea to Summit Delta Cutlery
Test Series by Amanda Tikkanen
Initial Report
July 17, 2014

Tester Information

Name: Amanda Tikkanen
Email: amanda@uberpest.com
Age: 32
Location: Southwest OH, USA
Gender: F
Height: 5' 4" (1.6 m)
Weight: 159 lb (72 kg)

I have been hiking and backpacking since 2000. Always with a dog by my side, my current trail companions Ranger and Halo (both Louisiana Catahoulas) are helping me cover ground in southeast Indiana, southwest Ohio, and northern Kentucky. I've previously tramped around the upper midwest, mostly in lower Michigan and northern Indiana. My base pack weight runs around 16 lb (7 kg). My goal is to carry as little weight as possible without sacrificing comfort. My trips are typically 10-15 miles (16-24 km) per day, be it day hike, overnight, weekenders, or week-long treks. Lately I've been doing mostly day hikes, squeezing in longer trips as possible.

Product Information

Manufacturer: Sea to Summit
Year of Manufacture: 2014
Manufacturer's Website: Sea to Summit
MSRP: US$9.95
Listed Weight: 1 oz (29 g)
Measured Weight: 1 oz (29 g)
Measured Weight without carabiner: 0.8 oz (23 g)
Measured dimensions of combined set: 6 in (15 cm) L x 1.5 in (3.8 cm) W x 1 in (2.5 cm) H

IMAGE 1
Courtesy Sea to Summit



Other details:

The Delta Cutlery Set consists of three utensils--a spoon, a fork, and a knife--and a plastic wire gate carabiner to keep them all together. The materials of the Delta Cutlery Set are glass reinforced Nylon 66, which is purported to be stain and odor resistant. It is also BPA-free and dishwasher safe. Each utensil has a textured pattern on the back for grip. It's the same hexagonal pattern I see on the bottom of my Sea to Summit Delta bowls.

Each utensil has curves and bends to make a comfortable fit in my hand. That said, I'm right handed. This may not be true for lefties.

The manufacturer also claims that the cutlery set will fit inside their Delta Bowls. I found this to be true, though the fit is snug.

IMAGE 2
How the utensils fit inside the Delta Bowl



The spoon is wide and, according to the packaging, will hold 0.33 fluid oz (10 ml). The manufacturer adds that this is the equivalent of 1 dessert spoon (dsp) which is a unit I'm not used to using, but it works out to 2 tsp (5 ml) or between a tsp and a T (5 ml and 15 ml). This also provides an teachable moment of how Imperial measurements can be more confusing than metric, or for teaching conversion factors.

The fork has blunt tips on the tines and a flat surface for scooping and lifting.

The knife is interesting in that there is a serrated section as well as a section that's smooth for spreading things like peanut butter or cream cheese. The picture from the manufacturer's website shows the sections to be about equal in length, however on my set the serrated section is about 3/4 and the smooth section 1/4 the length of the blade.

The plastic carabiner is used to secure the utensils together. While leaving it behind would save a tiny amount of weight (as shown in the specifications above) it's already clear to me that it's worth taking along as the utensils are smooth enough to slide around each other. Also, it might serve as a way to hang them out of the way (and out of grimy areas) while cooking. This is something I'll pay attention to during the test cycle.


Initial Impressions

The manufacturer claims the spoon "generously sized" and at a glance it does seem to be big enough to scoop up macaroni noodles or oatmeal easily. Another claim is that the knife's serrated blade cuts efficiently. There is no claim made about the fork. The fork has blunt tips, so I'm skeptical of its ability to stab anything.

The set is reasonably lightweight--it's not as light as carrying only a single spoon or spork, but that's to be expected. By comparison, my polycarbonate spoon that I've been using for over 10 years of trips is about half the weight of the entire Delta Cutlery Set. The materials of the Delta Cutlery Set do seem flimsy as they flex quite a bit, but that doesn't mean they're not strong or durable.


Trying It Out

IMAGE 3



For a quick test at home I cooked up some noodles on my kitchen stove using a 2 qt (1.8 L) pot. The spoon stirred without any noticeable flexing, but didn't keep my hand out of the steam. I think this may not be a problem in the field as my backpacking pots have a smaller surface area, plus I use a lot of freezer bag meals. The fork works better for scooping than I expected. It lifts flat sticky noodles with no problem. The ability to stab things is still up in the air. I used the knife to open the noodle package as I wasn't able to tear it by hand and I couldn't find my scissors. The point on the knife combined with the serrated section opened the package quickly and without any mess.

The utensils cleaned up by hand without any little bits sticking to them. The spoon (and fork to a lesser extent) do show some staining after only one package of noodles. The claim of being stain resistant isn't looking so good. Due to the discoloration while trying things out at home I'm going to keep an eye on how the utensils change color with additional use with colorful foods, especially tomato sauce and chocolate.


Pros and Cons

My initial Pros and Cons to consider during my test are:

Pros

  • Lightweight
  • Easy to grip
  • Compact for storage
Cons
  • Seem flimsy
  • Stain easily
  • Blunt tines on fork


Summary

The Sea to Summit Delta Cutlery Set looks like a good multi-function set for weight conscious backpackers who want to eat meals that need more than a spoon. I look forward to eating good meals in camp--I mean trail testing the utensils--and reporting back in two months with my field report.

I thank Sea to Summit and Backpack Gear Test for the opportunity to test the Delta Cutlery Set.

This report was created with the BackpackGearTest.org Report Writer Version 1. Copyright 2014. All rights reserved.

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Reviews > Cook and Food Storage Gear > Utensils > Sea to Summit Delta Cutlery > Test Report by Amanda Tikkanen



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