When you go backpacking you don't need to bring a whole kitchen with you, but you do need a few key items, and a bowl is one of them. A good backpacking bowl can actually fill the role of bowl and plate as well, as long as it is big enough. And that really is the philosophy that backpackers should be trying for, to take as few items as possible, and to make those items as versatile as possible. But before you buy a backpacking bowl, it helps to do your homework and review the options available to you, because there are quite a few.
Backpacking Bowl
What features you should be looking for when shopping for backpacking bowls.- Versatile - If you want a straight bowl, and not something that is a hybrid of a bowl and a plate, then there are plenty of options out there, but if you want just one piece of gear that fills both roles, there are plenty of those to choose from too. At the very least, it's an option that you should be aware of when shopping for a new backpacking bowl.
- Material - There are quite a few different materials out there to choose from when shopping for backpacking bowls. There are various plastics, and then there are also a variety of different kinds of metal that get used for bowls. Titanium is the best of the metals, but aluminum and stainless steel are also available.
Best Backpacking Bowl
A few of the better backpacking bowls out there right now.- MSR Deep Dish Plate - If you would prefer something that fills the role of bowl and plate equally well, then the Deep Dish is a great choice. It comes in three different sizes, ranging from a 6.75 diameter to a 8.75 diameter, and each size has a side wall that is 1.7 inches high. The medium weighs a very reasonable 2.6 ounces, or 75 grams, and the price is well under $10. If you only have to take food receptacle with you backpacking, this should be it.
- Guyot Designs Squishy Bowl and Cup - This particular bowl won the 2007 Backpacker Magazine Editor's Choice award, and with good reason, as it has one particular feature that will definitely appeal to backpackers. This bowl is made of a certain kind of silicon that is extremely squishable, which makes it very easy to pack. As the name suggests its a bowl and cup set, the bowl weighing 3.3 ounces, or 93 grams.
- Snow Peak Titanium Bowl - If all you want is a solid, standard sized bowl to take with you backpacking, a titanium bowl is a great choice. It's the lightest bowl on the list, at just 2 ounces, or 56 grams, and has an impressive 7.5 inch diameter, so you will get plenty of food in to it. Best of all, the price is actually quite reasonable for a piece of titanium gear.
