Reviewer Details

Reviewer:	Roger Caffin
Age:	60
Gender:	M
Weight:	63 kg (139 lb)
Height:	167 cm (67")
Email address:	r dot [surname] at acm dot org
Home:	Sydney, Australia

Backpacking Background

I started bushwalking at 14 and took up rock climbing at University with the girl who became my wife and my permanent walking partner. Ski touring and canyoning followed. Winter and summer, we prefer long hard trips by ourselves: about a week in Australia, up to two months in Europe/UK. We prefer fast and light in unfrequented trackless country. We would be out walking and skiing for at least three months a year. We have now moved to lightweight gear, much to our backs' relief. I designed and made much of our lightweight gear myself.

I am also the maintainer of the Australian aus.bushwalking FAQ web site www.bushwalking.org.au/FAQ/.

Product Information

Manufacturer, URLs:	Light My Fire	www.light-my-fire.com	lightmyfireusa.com
Product Name:	Outdoor Meal Kit
Country of Manufacture:	Sweden	Capacity	Weight
Contents of set:	Big bowl	910 mL (1.9 pt)	87 g,   3.07 oz
	Lid for big bowl)	420 mL, 0.89 pt	70 g,   2.47 oz
	Spill-free cup	350 mL, 0.74 pt	40 g,   1.41 oz
	Lid for cup		22 g,   0.78 oz
	Small round box	190 mL, 0.40 pt	21 g,   0.74 oz
	Lid for box		11 g,   0.39 oz
	Colander / cutting board		43 g,   1.52 oz
	"Spork" (spoon / fork)		10 g,   0.35 oz
Full Kit:			307 g,   10.8 oz
MSRP:	not quoted

Notes:
All items are polypropylene except for the Spork which is polycarbonate.
Weights and volumes quoted are my measurements, taken right to the rim.
The company describes the cup as 300 mL, while I measured it as 350 mL to the rim - fair enough.
Two URLs were found for the company: both are quoted above.

Product Description

One could be extremely economical with words and simply say these are a variant on the well-known 'Tupperware' plastic containers, but this would not be entirely true. The lids for the big bowl and the cup don't seal: they only fit inside the base. Only the small round box has a sealing lid. It is meant for carrying things; they others aren't. The company describes the big bowl and its lid as two plates, which is a perfectly valid way of looking at them. The lid for the cup has a hole in it: this is meant to make the cup 'spill-free'. An interesting thought. The Spork is very light. The colander / cutting board is rather thick and heavy.

The full kit is shown in the lead picture in two forms: spread out to the left with red lids, and all packed up into one convenient bundle on the right, with a blue lid. The logo is displayed on the lid in the second picture. Yes, two full kits were supplied for this test. The lid for the cup was originally attached to the cup by an open braided cord with a clip at the end, but this was removed before the picture was taken by opening the clip. The manufacturer describes the kit thus:
"The Meal Kit contains everything you need to prepare and eat a meal anytime, anywhere". They also say the kit is:

• Dishwasher safe
• Floats
• Environmentally-friendly PP plastic
• As practical in the city as it is in the wild
• Micro-wave safe

Preamble

As an Ultra-Lightweight (UL) enthusiast, I tend to try to minimise the weight of everything I carry - while still preserving sufficient functionality. Right now I carry a cheap plastic Decor bowl (49 g, 1.73 oz), a cheap plastic Decor mug (40 g, 1.41 oz), a small cheap plastic bowl for soup (40 g, 1.41 oz) and a flat bit of polyethylene sheet (62 g, 2.19 oz), all for eating off. They are fairly light but are far from perfect. I also carry a Lexan spoon (10 g, 0.35 oz). The total weight for these is 191 g, 6.74 oz. The Decor bowl is a little shallow for sloppy stews, and too deep for buttering biscuits conveniently. The soup bowl, a Tupperware-style food container, is OK, but rather inconvenient to pack. I carry it in addition to my cup because plastic seem to retain some of the smell from the soups and I don't like mixing that with my coffee! I have been using my soup bowl for the main course as well as for soup recently because it has higher sides than the Decor bowl, but it does get a bit full at times. So a slightly larger bowl for soup and stew would be nice. The flat polyethylene (PE) sheet is OK for cutting on and for buttering biscuits etc, but it is a bit flexible and seems a little excessive with all the others. So, I am (always) in the market for something better.

The capacities quoted above are, as noted, right to the rim. I wouldn't normally fill any container this full, but at present I don't know how stable the cup and bowl will be when filled with hot food. This has to be tested

Initial Reactions

I will pass by the pleasure at receiving two full kits, simply mentioning that this means both my wife and I will be able to try them out together on our frequent walks.

My first reaction was that the kit looks rather cute. It was designed by a Swede, and traditionally Swedes have a good reputation for design. That said, I did note that there are some flanges here and there which seem a bit more 'fashion' rather than 'pure function'. However, this may be the ultra-lightweight enthusiast in me worrying about every extra gram of weight which could have been shaved off. I also question the need for all the lids. We shall see what use they may be.

As mentioned above, the cup lid was originally attached to the cup by some open plastic braid/cord. I removed this immediately for two reasons. The first was that the cord was really not needed, was extra weight and would get in the way. The second reason was more serious. The open braid seems the ideal food trap, and I strongly doubt that I would be able to get it properly clean at home, let alone on trips. I haven't proven this problem, but I am not willing to take the risk in the field. Even at this stage I believe the company should remove this string.

My next reaction was that while the kit looks lovely, I doubt that I will be taking all of it with me on all walks. There is a bit too much of it for that. (Why do companies always put too much in kits?) However, I will be able to try different combinations out, to see which are the most useful components and what the total weights are for those combinations. I will inevitably compare the components to my current gear, which was largely bought at the local supermarket. In passing, I would point out to the company that their claim that "the Meal Kit contains everything you need to prepare and eat a meal anytime, anywhere" does rather miss out on a container for boiling water over a stove. No, this isn't being facetious: many UL walkers use a largish titanium mug to boil water over a stove, then rehydrate their dinner in it and eat and drink out of it. Minimalism, definitely, but I can't boil water in a plastic container over a stove!

I have never used a Spork seriously, so testing this one will be interesting. It seems strong enough, but the bowl is smaller than the Lexan spoon I am using now. Is this a problem? On the other hand, this Spork includes a fork end with a cutting edge, while my Lexan spoon is 'just a spoon'. The cutting edge is fine, but can I use the Spork to spread butter and jam on biscuits? It is interesting that both this Spork and my Lexan spoon do weigh the same. I shall have some fun testing it out.

One thing I don't know at this stage is how secure the lid on the little round box is. After having had a container of honey leak inside my pack a long time ago, I have been slightly paranoid about leaks. (Well, you try cleaning honey out of your gear!) I have been using Nalgene containers for butter, jam and honey because they really don't leak. The seal on this little round box looks much weaker: I will be a little cautious about it while testing.

Finally, a very pleasing observation even at this stage is that the items seem quite rigid when cold. I have tried other cups and bowls out, only to find that they become too flexible when hot and threaten to spill food on my sleeping bag. I don't expect much risk of this here, but we shall see.

Possible Scenarios

We don't do product comparisons as such, but I think it is worth while comparing the capacities of key components of this kit against the matching components of my current kit as this information helps to indicate usefulness and function. For instance, a cup which holds less than a standard cup measure is not something every walker would find useful.

Item	My kit	Outdoors Meals
Bowl	650 mL, 1.37 oz	910 mL, 1.9 pt
Soup bowl	500 mL, 1.06 oz	350 mL, 0.74 pt
Tea cup	250 mL, 0.53 oz	190 mL, 0.40 pt

So the Outdoors Meal Kit bowl is larger than my current Decor bowl: this is good because I have found my current bowl is a shade small at times. I have shown the Outdoors Meal Kit cup as a soup bowl here, but that is a debatable substitution as it is smaller than my current soup bowl. On the other hand, I don't normally fill it with soup, so it might suffice - testing is required. I have compared my current cup with the little round box, but fairly obviously that won't work as the little round box is too small. These comparisons aren't the final word by any means: they are just an example of one possible use. But I still won't be putting soup in my coffee cup, whatever I use!

Obviously, I haven't started testing the items yet. But looking ahead, a combination I will be especially interested in for local UL trips consists of the big bowl, the cup (for soup), the Spork and my Decor cup. Together, these weigh 177 g or 6.24 oz, which is less than the 191 g or 6.74 oz for my current kit. My logic for identifying these is as follows. The big bowl is fine for breakfast, which consists of muesli. My Decor cup would continue in use for coffee at morning tea time, and the base of the big bowl (ie inverted) would be fine for buttering bread and biscuits at morning tea and lunch. Afternoon snacks don't need any crockery. The 'cup' will be used for soup at dinner time, although its capacity may not be enough, and the big bowl will hold the stew I normally have for main course. Well, we shall see.

What of the colander/board? I am really not sure about this. When cooking rice and noodles for stew I usually put everything in with the rice or noodles, so a colander is not a lot of use. Most walkers I know don't boil a whole of extra water anyhow: it takes fuel. On the other hand, the cutting board function might be very nice when we carry a loaf of wholemeal bread or some salami sausage and these need cutting up. Well, yet more testing.

Test Plan

In a nutshell, I will use them on lots of trips. Some will be day trips, when coffee and bread or biscuits will feature. Other trips will be lengthy overnighters, where soup and stew will feature as well. Fairly obviously I will be interested to see how the components compare with my 'supermarket kit'. Things I will be monitoring include:

• Do they stay rigid enough while in use with hot food?
• Do the volumes of the containers match my needs?
• What are reasonable working capacities?
• Is the Spork spoon big enough?
• Can I butter bread and biscuits with the Spork?
• Is the Spork really functional?
• How good is the seal on the small box lid?
• Can I cut on the flat cutting board without damaging it?
• Is the colander part of the board of much use?
• Can I cut on the back of the big bowl without damaging it?
• Is the cup big enough for a reasonable drink of tea or coffee?
• Is the cup big enough for soup?
• If I use the cup for soup, how much flavour or smell is retained by the plastic?
• How easy is it to clean the plastic?
• How well do the items last on trips?
• The full kit is heavier than my current kit: what will an adequate subset weigh?