Your Mess Kit and You (Part 2)

     Maybe you've had your current mess kit since you were a cub scout.  Maybe you have to cobble something together every month just so you have something to eat off of when on a camp out.  Maybe you're somewhere in between those two.  Whatever the case, now is the time to get your backpacking mess kit ready, if you haven't already.  One theme we've started here in this "Smart Backpacker Blog" is whatever you use has to be small, easy to pack, and durable.  We might add to this, easy to clean.  This gives us several options.

    One option is simply to use just the plate or bowl from your current mess kit.  This could work just fine as long as it meets the criteria above. Some are bigger than others. Just be sure that you only take that one piece of your mess kit, not the whole thing.

    Another option is to use a Sierra Cup as your plate/bowl/drinking cup.  This works great and it definitely meets all the stated requirements. 

    A fairly recent option has shown up in the past few years.  The collapsible cup/bowl. The benefit of this is that is very light, durable, and takes up even less space when collapsed.  However there is a downside.  Often it isn't cleaned as well as it could be and it retains food residue.  In this case it would have to be hauled up with your personal bag when hanging the bear bags at night.

    One more meal option is another multi-tasker.  I've heard stories of people using this method for eating on backpacking trips for as long as I can remember.  However I've never actually seen it done.  It's almost one of those stories that starts with "my cousin's brother's friend's girlfriend once new a person  that..." you get the idea.  Anyway, the story is about someone who uses their frisbee as both something to do when they have down time, and their plate.  Yes it would save space and weight but here we have more than one downside.  One: it starts out dirty so you're always cleaning it, before and after each meal.  Two: is it ever really clean?  Three: Since you don't know if it's actually sanitized, it'll have to go up in the bear bag every night.

    I hear some of you out there saying: "Hey, collapsible cups and bowls have been around forever.  I even saw them at the scout shop when I was a cub scout!"  You got me, that is indeed true.  In fact they've been around since at least the 1970s.  I had one myself.  The sad truth is that these things were cup-shaped pieces of plastic that failed miserably to meet the basic requirements of what a cup does.  They leaked.  If I still had mine it would probably still be leaking today.

    If you haven't yet chosen your bowl/plate then please consider what we covered.  Also comment below if you have some suggestions that we didn't discuss here.