Of course the obvious thing to do is just grab a set out of the cutlery draw – no additional cost, space isn’t really an issue for me and I’ve used that scenario as the control. I reckon the stuff I use at home, full stainless steel implements will be pretty typical of the stuff in most homes. When they hit the scales they don’t appear too weighty, mine come in at 143 grams.
A true camper will inevitably prefer some dedicated utensils to keep with the rest of the gear, I’m no different so for my first trip I acquired a set of Gelert lexan cutlery. More substantial than disposable stuff and pretty much full size they work okay and at 30 grams the set are substantially lighter than the domestic steel stuff. I didn’t really find them comfortable to use and the big spoon ended up being supplemented by a stainless teaspoon for tea making and yoghurt eating adding a further 20 grams to the package.
Time for a rethink so in 2006 I located some replacement kit from Life Venture in titanium. Compared to the plastic they cost megabucks, around £8 each but the nicer feel and ‘performance’ really was enough to counter the extra few grams. Apart from leaving the teaspoon at home after the 2010 trip they’ve given sterling service – at 44 grams they are hardly heavy so its not like there’ll be a lighter alternative.
Wrong! Those clever guys who supplied my new kettle for the 2013 trip, Esbit decided to have a go and for the princely sum of £16.53 I took delivery of their TC3-Ti cutlery set. My first impression was that they are very small, almost like childrens cutlery, the knife in particular feels tiny. A quick weigh puts the trio at 33 grams – 25% lighter than the old Ti set but only at the cost of close to that in reduced size, I’m not entirely convinced.
Another option hit my radar whilst I was in Switzerland in the summer, an aircraft grade aluminium set claiming a mere 22 grams! So I parted with another £15.49 to acquire a set from those Amazon people, half the Swiss price. They are certainly not pretty, the broad handles are stamped out with a lateral ridge, the grey anodized finish adding to a very non food kit appearance. The feel is certainly more business like than the Esbits, and a better fit in my smallish hands so these look favourite. In fact size wise they are almost the same as the LV Ti set, the knife being just a little shorter in handle length. of course a 50% weight saving over the previously used Life Venture stuff won’t go amiss even if that is only 22 grams.
- ................................................. Knife... Fork... Spoon... Total
Domestic Stainless Steel.................... 64........ 37........ 42..... 143
Gelert Camping Lexan....................... 13........ 10........ 7..... 30
Life Venture Titanium....................... 12........ 17........ 15..... 44
Esbit TC3 Titanium........................... 12........ 9........ 12..... 33
Sea to Summit 7075-T6 Aircraft Alloy..... 7.......... 6.......... 9..... 22
In conclusion then, whilst being the heaviest of the camp cutlery sets, the feel of the Life Venture kit is more solid than the others and in reality 44 grams is hardly heavy. Esbits offering, whilst lighter just doesn’t cut the mustard, you could cut down the LV pieces and save the weight but still have full adult size heads. The Gelert Lexan by contrast is very chunky but somehow doesn’t give a very good eating experience. Which just leaves the Sea to Summit Alpha Light set, yes they are light but not at the cost of size or useability, they lose a little on looks so not quite a perfect score.
The ultra ultralight option doesn’t appeal to me at all – a spork and knife combo could easily come in at under 20 grams, there are even knife / spork all in one combos – I prefer something with a bit more practicality myself. Still, I’m sure someone is working on an even lighter set.
A comparative shot of the knives,
l to r. Domestic stainless steel, Gelert Lexan, Life Venture Ti, Esbit Ti and Sea to Summit Al.
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