Long Term Report

Light My Fire Outdoor Meal Kit
Long Term Report
September 17, 2006

Biographical Information

Product Information

Field Conditions

Field Experience

Summary

Meal Kit

Biographical Information
Name	Jennifer Pope
Age	25
Gender	Female
Height	5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)
Weight	140 lb (64 kg)
Email address	Jennifer dot Pope at gmail dot com
Location	Los Angeles, CA
Backpacking Background Intermediate. I've been a car-camper as long as I can remember and started backpacking in Northern California when I was 16. I've been backpacking for a little over a year after a hiatus during college. I backpack in the Sierras as well as other National Forests and Parks in the Los Angeles vicinity. I also spend time in the California deserts and the mountains and coast of Northern California. I'm a tent camper leaning towards lightweight; but I'm also a fan of gadgets and I like being comfortable. I also frequently day hike close to home and while car camping.

Product Information (back to top)
Manufacturer	Light My Fire
Manufacturer URL	http://www.light-my-fire.com/
Year of Manufacture	2006
Color	Blue
Actual Weight	11.0 oz (312 g)
Product Contents	Two interlocking plates, a spill-proof cup, a waterproof box, a colander/ cutting board and a spork. All items fit inside the two plates.
MSRP	$22.00 US
Meal kit Materials	polypropylene plastic; spork is made of polycarbonate plastic
Product Description (from website)	Our Meal Kit is perfect for your backpack, boat, picnic basket, even your lunch box. The Meal Kit contains everything you need to prepare and eat a meal anytime, anywhere: two plates, a spill-free cup with lid (300ml), a combined colander and cutting board, a "spork" (combined spoon and serrated fork) and a small waterproof box for all those things that just have to stay dry.

Field Conditions (back to top)

Backpacking/Car Camping trip in Sequoia National Park
I brought the meal kit with me on a trip to Sequoia National Park. I car-camped the first night at 6,700 ft (2,040 m) where temperatures ranged between about 60 and 80 F (15 and 25 C). The skies were clear and there was a slight breeze. The following night I backpacked for one night. Camp was at 10,300 ft (3,139 m). That night temperatures dipped into the 40s F (5 C) and there was a fairly strong wind throughout the night and morning.

Lunch in My Office
I try to bring my lunch to work with me most days. Usually this consists of reheated leftovers. I used the plates on several occasions to reheat my lunch in a microwave and to then eat out of. My office is near sea level, it’s usually on the cold side (65 F/35 C), and we have an old, inefficient microwave.

Field Experience (back to top)

Overall the meal kit has performed well. Rather than re-hash the details I presented in my Field Report, I'll just give a summary of my overall experience. For a detailed description of the meal kit, please see my Initial Report.

I'll start with a complaint first. On a backpacking trip a decided to try and test just how "waterproof" the waterproof box really is. I decided to pack some coffee liquor which I sometimes add to hot chocolate. I've never taken this backpacking before simply because I didn't have a reliable way to store it. So I filled the waterproof box with the liquid. As an added safeguard I put the box inside a zipper-top sandwich bag and then packed it inside the rest of the meal kit. Unfortunately when I started unpacking my meal kit at our campsite in the middle of the backcountry I found that the box did indeed leak. The zipper-top bag also leaked but fortunately nothing leaked out of the meal kit. This, of course, was a mess to clean up. The liquor is sticky and was on all of my dishes and I was tired out of a day of hiking. I will not store liquid inside the box in the future.

It should also be noted that I packed the liquid at sea-level and unpacked it at over 10,000 ft (3,050 m). I'm not sure if the elevation change had any effect on the box losing its seal.

I used the kit for eating some freezer-bag meals as well as for pancakes with syrup on the backpacking trip. The plates worked fine for eating both of these meals. I found that the cup was a little too small for drinking hot chocolate. When I backpack I like to mix two hot chocolate packages in a Nalgene water bottle and then share this with my husband. This requires less clean up and is truly spill proof when the lid is on (the spill-proof cup is not). The spork worked fine. I did not use the colander/cutting board on this trip.

The meal kit continued to perform well for heating my lunches at work. It's particularly handy if I'm bringing in a can of soup or a similar item that comes in a container that cannot go directly into the microwave (many take-out containers, etc). I have found that I would rather bring a regular utensil than bring the spork to work. It's nearly impossible to eat soup with the spoon end of the spork. The cup is also a bit too small to use for a reasonable amount of soup.

Summary (back to top)

I really like the kit but it seems like it's just not a perfect fit with my backpacking style. I like the plates, but I usually just eat out of my pot and lid (or directly from a zipper-top bag) so additional plates aren't really necessary. The cup is also nice but it doesn't really work for my needs while backpacking. I did find it useful while car camping, however. The colander/cutting board is nice if I'll be cooking items that require their use. The spork is useful and I like having an actual fork rather than just a spoon with tines on the end (like other sporks I've used). The waterproof box didn't keep liquids in so it's unclear if it could keep them out. I'm still unclear what this item might be useful for.

I'll continue to use the meal kit beyond the test period but I probably won't use it backpacking. It has turned out to be useful for other applications though.

I want to thank BackpackGearTest.org and Light My Fire for giving me the opportunity to test this item.

Read more reviews of Light My Fire gear
Read more gear reviews by Jennifer Pope

Reviews > Cook Gear > Cook Sets > Light My Fire Outdoor Meal Kit > Jennifer Pope > Long Term Report

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