Yes, this is a blog post dedicated to ranting about the spork.
SB and I are soon to be embarking on some backwoods camping in the Adirondacks. Unlike our HK beach camping experience where we were a bit casual about provisions owing to a village within a 15 minute walk, this excursion requires proper planning. There is no village that will sell water, or rent out sleeping bags when we discover that our bones do not appreciate sleeping on the sand. I mean, even our dogs were trying to climb onto us for softer bedding than that packed sand that seemed so comfortable when we were not trying to sleep.
So I made lists and checked twice and then checked thrice. I love planning and entered into the backpacking provisional list with joy and military precision. We have sleeping bags and very comfortable, lightweight air beds. We have our trusty cookware and water filters. We have an ultralight tent, but one made for four people because we appreciate comfort and bringing our gear out of the probable rain over those 250 grams that we would have saved with a 2 person tent. I finally overcame my frugality and invested in some highly recommended, technical, ultralight outerwear. As a result, each of us will be carrying packs that come in under 6kg, including the pack base weights.
I didn't want to go truly ultralight because I appreciate my luxuries and comfort. However, I did not want to be slogging for several hours into the woods with an excessive burden, so I lost weight where I could and read through many, many ultralight packing lists. On a side note, there are a lot of backpackers who enjoy publishing their packing lists.
One thing that came up over and over again on the lists was a spork. Not only have backpacking suppliers found a way to make lighter, strong titanium cutlery, but they decided to save even more weight by combining everything into one utensil.
This is the most popular spork for backpackers, the Light My Fire Spork
Now, let the ranting begin:
SB and I are soon to be embarking on some backwoods camping in the Adirondacks. Unlike our HK beach camping experience where we were a bit casual about provisions owing to a village within a 15 minute walk, this excursion requires proper planning. There is no village that will sell water, or rent out sleeping bags when we discover that our bones do not appreciate sleeping on the sand. I mean, even our dogs were trying to climb onto us for softer bedding than that packed sand that seemed so comfortable when we were not trying to sleep.
So I made lists and checked twice and then checked thrice. I love planning and entered into the backpacking provisional list with joy and military precision. We have sleeping bags and very comfortable, lightweight air beds. We have our trusty cookware and water filters. We have an ultralight tent, but one made for four people because we appreciate comfort and bringing our gear out of the probable rain over those 250 grams that we would have saved with a 2 person tent. I finally overcame my frugality and invested in some highly recommended, technical, ultralight outerwear. As a result, each of us will be carrying packs that come in under 6kg, including the pack base weights.
I didn't want to go truly ultralight because I appreciate my luxuries and comfort. However, I did not want to be slogging for several hours into the woods with an excessive burden, so I lost weight where I could and read through many, many ultralight packing lists. On a side note, there are a lot of backpackers who enjoy publishing their packing lists.
One thing that came up over and over again on the lists was a spork. Not only have backpacking suppliers found a way to make lighter, strong titanium cutlery, but they decided to save even more weight by combining everything into one utensil.
This is the most popular spork for backpackers, the Light My Fire Spork
Now, let the ranting begin:
- Ultralight backpacking has become an fixation, with many a trekker obsessed with reducing their overall weight by the gram to the point of obsession. I'm talking to you, camper who is slicing their toothbrush in half to save weight. I might forgive the people who are thru hiking the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest, or Continental Divide, which take months to complete, but for the average backpacker, this is crazy. The weight savings of combining your spoon, fork, and knife into one utensil simply cannot outweigh the costs in terms of utility.
- I have a plastic spork that came with my lunch kit. It sits at the bottom of my utensil drawer, where it will stay until I move. If you ever wanted a fork with such shallow tines that you can only use it to stab at carpaccio, but with the risk of the carpaccio sliding off onto your blouse, this is the utensil for you. If you ever wanted a spoon with pointy bits to stab the side of your mouth, this is right up your alley.
- And then there is the cutting edge. My spork does not have a cutting edge but the most popular spork does. So there you are, wanting to cut your food and thankfully you brought your spork. You start to saw away with the pathetic, serrated side when you realize that you need something to hold the food in place while you saw at it. If only you had something like a fork with you.
- Most sane backpackers bring a folding pocket knife. It is used for things such a cutting. Or stabbing the person who is offering you a spork.
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