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

I suggested in my Initial Report that these are (sort of) a variation on the well-known 'Tupperware' plastic containers, with additions. However, the lids for the big bowl and the cup don't seal; only the small round box has a sealing lid. The lid for the cup has a hole in it for drinking. There is also a Spork and a colander / cutting board.

Preamble

I have been carrying some old Decor plastic crockery from the local supermarket for many years, but I was looking for something better. In particular, I was looking for a slightly larger dinner bowl, a better 'plate' for buttering biscuits on, a lighter soup bowl and maybe a slightly bigger coffee cup. So my interest in this Kit was to see whether it would be better for my needs than the cheap supermarket items. Sadly, I don't think it will.

Field Experiences

Bits and pieces of the full Outdoors Meal Kit have been taken on both day walks and overnight trips during the Field Report period and the Long Term Report period. I have not taken the whole Kit with me at one time for two reasons: it was too heavy, and many parts were not useful for me. Basically, all the experiences met during the Field Report phase have been confirmed during the Long Term phase, so there is little to add here.

Big Bowls

I have used these as breakfast and dinner bowls, and upside down as plates for buttering biscuits. They worked well for stew, having ample capacity for a large dinner. Cleaning remained a slight problem. Using the bowl upside down as a plate for buttering was not a success: the surface area was not large enough, the surface rather slippery for crumbs, and the rounded edges encouraged the crumbs to slide off.

The surface of the bowl seems to be fairly scratch-resistant to Lexan cutlery. I don't carry a metal knife when walking.

Bowl Lid

I looked at using this for several things, but nothing proved very weight-effective.

Cup

I found this to be too flat for use as a cup. I am not sure why they called it this. It was too small for use as a soup bowl.

Cup Lid

This may have a cute design, but in my opinion it is highly non-functional.

Cutting Board

This is a neat idea in principle, but it is too small for my needs as a bread board or a plate for bread or biscuits, and I do very little cutting up of food. I found the walls of the bowl more useful when I was cutting up cheese for dinner: the walls stopped the bits from falling off. I never drain anything when cooking: I don't boil an excess of water as that wastes fuel.

Round Box

This has been used in the kitchen for holding things, but for that function it is no different from all the other small containers one can buy at a supermarket. It has worked fine for this.

Spork

I tried buttering bread and biscuits with both ends of the Spork, but this was definitely not a success. I think spreading butter and jam is one of those things for which it was not designed. I would add that changing ends while experimenting is a good way of getting messy hands! I had a bit of trouble getting the 'handle' end clean when swapping ends: the surface of the plastic seems strangely sticky for food, as I have mentioned above.

I have used the Sporks for cooking and eating stew on overnight trips, and I have tried using it for putting butter and jam on biscuits. I found the bowl too small for eating with, and it was no use for biscuits.

Ergonomics of Packing

As I mentioned in my Field Report, the inability of the items to pack up small turned out to be a major problem. To be sure, all the items in one Kit can pack together into the big bowl, but I normally carry two dinner bowls, two soup bowls and two cups for myself and my wife. The various parts of the Outdoors Meal Kit can't nest; my old stuff does. This means the Outdoors Meal Kit items take a huge amount of space in my pack.

Summary

Sadly, this kit did not work for me. I would cheerfully sacrifice the all fancy Scandinavian design features for good simple functionality.

My conclusions are largely unchanged from the Field Report phase, and are as follows:

• Do they stay rigid enough while in use with hot food?
  Yes, no problem
• Do the volumes of the containers match my needs?
  The bowl holds my stew nicely.
  The cup is too flat for safe ease of use with coffee, and too small for soup.
  The round box doesn't seem to have a real use for walking.
  The various lids don't fill any of my needs.
• Is the Spork useful?
  The bowl is too small for my liking.
  The fork end has been useless for my needs.
  The length of the handle is OK.
• Can I butter bread and biscuits with the Spork?
  Nope, no way.
• How good is the seal on the small box lid?
  It seals fine in the kitchen.
• Can I cut on the flat cutting board without damaging it?
  Yes, but it is too small for my needs.
• Is the colander part of the board of much use?
  Not for me.
• Can I cut on the back of the big bowl without damaging it?
  With just a little care, or with a Lexan knife, yes.
• Is the cup big enough for a reasonable drink of tea or coffee?
  Barely, as it is too shallow for stability.
• Is the cup big enough for soup?
  Not really.
• If I use the cup for soup, how much flavour or smell is retained by the plastic?
  Not noticed so far.
• Are the quarter-cup marks on the inside of the cup of any use?
  I have never found a use for them, and I found them quite irritating.
• How easy is it to clean the plastic?
  Easy enough with warm water and detergent in the evening, but a bit hard to clean otherwise.
• How well do the items last on trips?
  They are fairly rugged.