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Flatworld Orikaso Solo Set
Long Term Report November 21, 2006
Tester's Information
Name: Liz Neely
Age: 38
Gender: Female
Height: 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight: 145 lb (65.8 kg)
Email address: liz at armory dot com
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
Tester's Background
I've been day hiking for many years, and started backpacking in 2005.
My hiking and backpacking has been primarily in the San Francisco Bay
Area of California,
on designated trails, with occasional stream crossings. My backpacking
trips have ranged in length from two to four days and have all been in
state and national parks in the San Francisco Bay area. The
temperatures I encounter range from 25 F (4 C) to 80 F (27 C), the
elevations are between sea level and 7500 ft (2286 m), and my pack
weight is between 28 to 36 lbs (13 to 16 kg).
Product Information
Manufacturer: Flatworld
Year of Manufacture: 2006
URL: http://www.orikaso.com/
Listed Weight: 5 oz (142 g)
It's not specified what this is the
weight of, but based on my own measurements, this seems to be the
listed
weight of the three dishes without the carrying case.
Measured Weight: mug: 1.75 oz (50 g); bowl: 1.375 oz (40 g); plate: 1.5
oz (43 g); entire set in carrying case: 6.75 oz (191 g)
Listed Capacity: mug: 12 fl oz (400 ml); bowl: 22 fl oz (700 ml)
Measured Capacity: mug: 16 fl oz (473 ml) to brim; bowl: 32 fl oz (946
ml) to brim
Measured Dimensions: mug: 3.75 in (9.5 cm) deep; bowl: 3.25 in (8.3 cm)
deep; plate: 1.75 in (4.4 cm) deep by 6.5 in (16.5 cm) square on the
bottom and 8.75 in (22.2 cm) square on the top
Available Colors: Red, Blue, Orange, Green
MSRP: not available
Product Description
This is a very unique set of folding dishes. The set consists of a mug,
a bowl, and a plate. All three pieces unfold into completely flat
pieces
of plastic with creases in them. They are then folded up, similar to
folding a piece of Origami paper, to form the respective dish. They are
held together solely by the way they are folded, with tabs inserted
into
pockets formed by the folds to hold everything in place.
For a more detailed product description, please read my Initial
Report.
Initial Impressions
To read about my Initial Impressions of this dish set, before
field testing, please read my Initial
Report.
Impressions after two months of use
To read about my impressions of this dish set after the first two
months of use, please read my Field
Report.
Field Information
In the two months since writing my Field
Report, I have used the Orikaso Solo Set on
three backpacking trips and numerous times at work. These additional
experiences with
the Solo Set have confirmed my feelings
reported previously. Below I will list the places I've used the
Solo Set during these past two months.
The first backpacking trip was a two day/two night trip at Desolation
Wilderness, CA. The elevations were between 6900 to 8700 ft (2103 to
2652 m) and the temperatures were between 35 to 75 F (2 to 24 C).
The second backpacking trip was a two day/one night trip at Portola
Redwoods State Park, CA. The elevations were between 400 to 1000 ft
(122 to 305 m) and the temperatures were between 52 to 76 F (11 to 24
C).
The third backpacking trip was a two day/one night trip at Henry Coe
State Park, CA. The elevations were between 1500 to 2900 ft (457 to 884
m) and the temperatures were between 43 to 70 F (6 to 21 C).
On all of these backpacking trips, I used the Orikaso Bowl for hot
oatmeal breakfasts each morning, and cooked dinners each night. I used
the Orikaso Cup for measuring hot water for "just add hot water" style
cooking, and for mixing and drinking Gatorade (a powdered sports
drink.) I didn't use the Orikaso Plate on any of these trips.
Summary of feelings about this dish set after four months of field
testing
These dishes performed just as well during these last two months of
testing as they did during the Field Test period, and I have no
corrections or changes of opinion to what I reported in my Field
Report. I have one
additional minor incident to report. I managed to crush the unfolded
cup in my pack. I crushed it in such a way that one side of it folded
in a place that is not normally folded. This left a slight white mark
on that part of the plastic, but has not affected the performance of
the cup, nor has it made it any more difficult to fold into the cup
shape, or to unfold into the flat shape.
Other than the small white mark on the cup, from getting crushed in my
pack, these dishes are not showing any signs of wear after the four
months of use. I have no reason to think they will wear out any time
soon.
Conclusion
The bowl and cup are now part of my essential backpacking equipment;
they are very lightweight, easy to use, and take up very little pack
space. The cup is also dual-purpose, serving as both a measuring cup
(with marked measurements) and a drinking cup, for both hot and cold
liquids. I haven't found as much use for the plate; this is not due to
any fault of the plate itself, it's just because the food I tend to eat
while backpacking is more convenient to eat out of a bowl. I will
continue to use the bowl and cup on all my backpacking trips, and
continue to use the bowl for lunches at work as well. I highly
recommend these dishes to all backpackers.
Thank you to BackpackGearTest.org
and Flatworld for giving me the
opportunity
to test the Flatworld Orikaso Solo Set.
Read more reviews of Flatworld gear
Read more gear reviews by Liz Neely
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