Cooking and eating gear are a must have for every outdoor enthusiast. Some of them are fit for both cooking and eating, some not so much for either. You can easily pick berries and mushrooms and take them with you, if you have a dish with a lid. Usually, the dishes are easy to clean on the road.
Light My Fire (Everything you need and more!)
18,90€ for the whole set (2 plates, cutting board/strainer, a mug and a spork)
+ Very durable, and handles heat and minor damage very well
+ Easy to carry
+ One set has everything you need
+ Newer sets are made out of bio-plastic
– Takes a lot of space
– On the heavier side of dish sets
4.5 stars
Orthex
2,90€ for one plate (spork and mug have to be bought separately)
+ Many colors to choose from
+ Can handle hot and cold meals
– The uneven surface scratches and stays dirty easily
– Not the most ecological plastic plate
4 stars
Kupilka (Scandinavian Outdoor Award!) (Most expensive!)
20,50€ for the 37 cup, a whole Kupilka-set is around 34,50€
+ Very light
+ Easy to carry and clean
+ Made out of Kareline natural fiber composite, so 50% wood-based cellulose and 50% FDA approved thermo plastic
+ Can be burned or recycled as plastic when it becomes unusable
– Expensive
5 stars
Change out your plastic plate for a new one, if it’s surface is scratched or if the plate has become grimy.
Closable container
4€ for an IKEA container, spork and a cup have to be bought separately
+ Easy to take food with you by putting the lid on tightly
+ Durable
+ Fits for mor than camping and can be used at home to store food
– Looks boring
– Plastic and silicone aren’t very ecological
– Gets colored in use
4 stars
Porcelain plate
5€ depending on the brand and store, spork and cup sold separately
+ Depending on the opinion of the user, the plate looks good
+ Extremely durable if it doesn’t break or crack
+ Extremely easy to clean and the surface doesn’t stay greasy
– Very heavy and takes up space
– If the plate breaks the shards are hard to pick up, and as a worst-case scenario they end up at the bottom of your bag
3.5 stars
Disposable plate (Cheapest option!)
Under 5 cents apiece, but dishes aren’t sold one by one.
+ Extremely light
+ Can be folded to fit into a very tiny space
– Can be used only once and can’t be washed
– Creates a lot of waste
– You’re going to burn your fingers when eating hot meals
– Very rickety and might fly off with the wind
2.5 stars
Do-it-yourself
0€ depending on the amount of duct tape or other materials, spork and a cup hard and time consuming to make yourself
+ You can make the dish very personal and unique-looking
+ Easy to carry in parts
+ Mainly wokrs for mergencies when you’ve left your actual dishes at home
– Recycling tape during camping is challenging, and you might not want to pack it dirty
– Can’t be washed and bacteria sticks to the nooks of tape
– Doesn’t hold liquids and it’s easy to knock your food over
– Hot meals can, and will, burn your hands
2 stars