Tester
Bio |
Name: |
Bob Dorenfeld
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I'm an active
hiker, snowshoer, skier, and of course
backpacker. Home base is the Southern
Colorado Rockies, ranging from alpine
tundra to piņon-juniper scrub and desert
at lower altitudes. Many of my backpack
trips are two or three nights (sometimes
longer), and I usually shoulder about 30
lb (14 kg). My style is lightweight but
not at the expense of enjoyment, comfort
or safety - extras like camera, air
mattress and basic survival gear make my
trips more pleasurable and safer.
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Email: |
geartest(at)sageandspruce(dot)net
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Age: |
56
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Location: |
Central Colorado, USA
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Gender: |
M
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Height: |
5' 6" (1.68 m) |
Weight: |
140 lb (64 kg) |
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Product Overview
Manufacturer:
Sea To Summit Website:
www.seatosummit.com MSRP: US$9.95
Material: Food
grade glass reinforced Nylon 66
Includes: Knife,
fork, and spoon, plus carabiner clip
Stated weight: 1
oz (29 g) Measured weight:
1 oz (29 g) Measured length: 6 in
(15 cm) Colors available:
Pacific Blue (reviewed here), Orange,
Gray
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The Delta Cutlery set from Sea To
Summit is a very lightweight spoon,
fork, and knife with a conveniently
attached carabiner clip, allowing each
piece to be removed separately from the
others. All but the metal
part of the clip is composed of food
grade Nylon 66, BPA free, and odor and
stain-resistant. The knife is
half-serrated (smooth on one side), the
fork has four tines, and the spoon has a
large bowl shape that can hold 0.33 fl
oz (10 ml). The entire set is
dishwasher safe.
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First Impressions
Each of these
eating utensils fits comfortably in my hand,
especially after removing them from the clip,
which is how I'd normally use them when eating
and preparing food. They are slightly
flexible, but not so much that I fear them
breaking or sagging with the weight of a
spoonful or forkful of my favorite camp meal.
I like the turquoise blue - it's a
pleasant color, but distinctive enough to see
when dropped in the pine duff or lost inside my
food sack. Although the set length is too
long to fit into my usual solo-trip pot, I like to
store my cutlery with my food, so that's not an
issue for me. On my scale I measured the
same weight as stated by Sea To Summit on their
packaging - 1 oz (29 g).
The Nylon 66
plastic used for the Delta set is smooth and has
a somewhat slippery feel, but some friction is
provided on each of the handles by a raised
honeycomb pattern on one side and the Sea To
Summit logo on the other. The carabiner
clip is bent at the smaller end, perhaps this
would make it easier to hang over the pot lip
and keep the utensil from sliding in (and
mucking up the handle with food!).
Until now I've
never used plastic spoons and forks because they
always seemed too weak to rely on in the
backcountry. And I always carry a pocket
knife anyway, so I didn't need an extra knife
just for cooking.
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What's Next?
I'm looking
forward to my next backpack meal with the Delta
set very soon, and throughout the rest of the
summer. I'll be looking to test the
sturdiness of the fork and spoon for preparing
and eating my mostly dehydrated meals, and the
knife for some of the food cutting tasks I
normally consign to the pocket knife. I'm
a bit concerned that the utensils feel too
slippery, but field use will tell the tale on
that. In addition to backpacking, I'll
bring the Delta set along on some car-camping
trips where I do more extensive food
preparation.
During
the testing period I carried and used the Delta
Cutlery set on ten backpacking trips (morning and
evening meals for most days), four car-camping
trips, and a number of day hikes.
I've been keeping the Cutlery set in my daypack
whenever I'm not backpacking because I like
having a good spoon or fork handy in case I pack
a meal that requires one.
I'm very pleased
with the performance of each of the Delta
implements. It turned out that the
"slipperiness" I found initially was not a
problem. The utensils were always easy to
grasp and use, and I like the large surface area
of the spoon. The knife I used less
often than the other implements, but when I needed one I found
that it cuts fish (fillets and kippers) readily
and proved more than sharp enough for the task.
Meal prep for me while backpacking is pretty
simple, as I mostly prepare dehydrated meals,
and so used the fork or spoon for stirring and
eating. For several car camping meals I
used the knife and
fork for more extensive tasks such as
cutting and dicing vegetables. Unlike
weaker plastic utensils, I never detected any
fragility in the Delta set.
All
of the Delta pieces cleaned up nicely with just
a bit of scrubbing with a pine cone and
sometimes a dab of soap. Occasionally food
got left on the spoon or fork after the meal, but even after a
day or two water and a light scrub cleaned it
off easily.
Although the carabiner clip
connecting the handles could be handy some of the time
to keep track of the set, I usually left
the spoon and fork unclipped and stored in my
food bag.
Summary
The Delta Cutlery set has been a great addition
to my backpacking kit. The Nylon 66
plastic has proven to be durable and strong, and
the bright blue color makes all the implements
easy to find in my pack or on the ground.
I can't find any negative points to add to my
review. Finally, considering
its relatively low price I find the Delta Cutlery
an excellent value.
Pros
- strong and durable - bright color
makes them easy to find - cleans up
easily - feels balanced and
well-shaped - lightweight
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Acknowledgments
Thanks to Sea
To Summit and to BackpackGearTest.org for the opportunity to test
the Sea to Summit Delta Cutlery set.
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Reviewed By
Bob Dorenfeld Southern
Colorado Mountains
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