Who's with me on this one? There was a practical reason why individual spoons & forks were invented.

I'm with you here-- assuming you mean those old-fashioned things that at essentially spoons with narrow slits nipped into their holding pools. Pointless, IMO.

Now those Light My Fire things? I'm sold. A separate spoon and a fork on the opposite ends of one implement, with an admittedly gawky knife on one of the fork's tines? It's the MacGyver of sporks.

Edited by carpenh on 12/26/2012 21:15:57 MST.

I will play the contrarian here. I love my ti folding spork!

I suspect much depends on what we eat when we're out there... that, and a bit of personal preference.

Only a spoon can be found in my pack. I do keep spaghetti and steak off my menu list.

If your actual goal is to troll ;) I think you picked the wrong topic. There's plenty of folks who don't like sporks (myself among them).

"If your actual goal is to troll ;) I think you picked the wrong topic. There's plenty of folks who don't like sporks (myself among them)."

Actually, I've always found this site useful in terms of getting new ideas and learning different ways of doing things. But once I've confirmed and adopted what works for me -- I care not at all about how many people do it "my" way or some other way.

And methinks you should feel the same as well. :)

I have found that most Sporks sucks because the fork "teeth" go too deeply into the spoon section making it ineffective as a spoon. I also really don't like the double sided Light My Fire things because I have seen them break in cold weather and if I want to use both sides I ended up with food on my hand.

I was going to say I do like Foons (more spoon than fork)... but oh no, it turns out what I am using is called a MSR folding spork. So I guess I do like sporks.

--Mark

Verber:

Great minds think alike. My spork is also much more spoon than fork. Indeed, it has "just enough" fork to spear and hold food chunks. Below is a comparison of your MSR and my Brasslite (Tibetan brand) sporks:

Sports are more fork than spoon and are passable for thicker stuff like oatmeal. Not as good as a spoon for getting to the corners of a container like yogurt tubs. Great for thin noodles like ramen.

Most of the Ti spoons are too small, which I don't understand. BTW, you can get a Ti version of the Light My Fire double-ender, but I didn't like trying to pack one--- too sharp in a pack.

I found folding anodized aluminum spoons from China on eBay that were good and eventually found Ti ones that weren't too pricey. It amazes me that you can't buy folding Ti spoons in the US. You might find single Esbit folders in the UK and Europe.

REI has two lengths of plastic spoons with big enough bowls to really slurp your soup :) Cooking supply stores have small wooden spoons, but I have yet to see one with a bowl sized for eating.

Until recently, I would only bring a spoon, since sporks are not the best forks and are miserable spoons (don't hold enough). However, I found this sea to summit full aluminum utensil set for 1.2 oz ("Sea to Summit Alpha Utensil Set"). Eat just like you do at home!

http://www.rei.com/product/782238/sea-to-summit-alpha-utensil-set

Mark

+1 on the MSR Folding spork! One of the best I've actually found after a little 220 grit and steel wool to remove that cheek slicing knifey mold seam. ...hmmm...did I remove a feature? :O) Turns out you can polish a turd into a diamond!

Comfortable to hold long and short and only 0.5oz. ...in orange of course.

KJ

Edited by f8less on 12/26/2012 23:03:31 MST.

I just carry a ti spoon, and feel no need for a device that does a poor job as either a fork or a spoon! If I need to stab something in order to get it to my mouth, I always have my knife, And even though I'm old and decrepit, my fingers still work!

I have gone spoon-only on the trail for nearly 40 years now and have never felt tine envy.

I'm using fork for eating almost everything except soup (at home). Spork will hold much better than fork (not for pasta).
The downside of a fork is that you can't get food out of pot corners. Spork has same disadvantage on this regard.

Maybe best combo is spoon + chopsticks. So you easily eat pasta, oatmeal, soup ...

Soups I do like a lot and I drink them like tea. No spoon needed. I can use the same fork for getting pieces of food after I drink all the liquid from bowl.

Ben,
I was just poking fun at the OP's username. No ire intended. :)

If I really need a d@mn fork I'll whittle one.

Otherwise I'll use my long-handled Lexan spoon and little lockblade pocket knife for outdoor dining.

... and my plastic measuring/drinking cup and Cool Whip bowl. No froo froo ti stuff here. Just my anodized 3 cup aluminum pot and a Crux canister stove (or my Sidewinder)finishes off the cook set.

OK, OK, OK, the Sidewinder IS ti but only B/C it's necessary to withstand the heat of a wood fire. (Picky, picky.)

Really, I read a few of your posts where you making same statements. But really what is the reason? I know, Ti is a bit overrated, even some folks BELIEVE that Ti is lighter than aluminium :)

But, it is stronger. If I only boil water and re-hydrate meals? It's perfect!

I gave up on sporks after poking a hole in yet another freeze-dried meal while stirring. Switched to a long Ti spoon four years ago and love it. If I am planning something that could really use a fork I just bring a lexan one for that trip.

Ti spoon only

I've been using anodized aluminum Sea to Summit spoon.

I never eat anything that requires fork.

It weighs 0.2 ounce. Theoretically a Ti spoon could weigh a tiny amount less but not significant.

A pot is bigger so Ti makes a little more difference so maybe worth extra cost.

Which movie was it? . . . Stalingrad or Cross of Iron?

A female Russian fighter reaches for her boot, but as the german figher points his rifle at her, she says "my spoon" and pulls out her spoon.

I loved that scene because all the world traveling I've done, you can eat almost everything with a spoon.

And your knife can stab for eating what the spoon can't hold. I can use the spoon to hold something while the knife cuts.

I am a proud Spork user walking in the footsteps of other known Spork giants.

Some famous users (to name just a few):

*Odysseus (in a lost translation of Homer's Odyssey he apparently kills four of the 108 suitors with a bronze spork he was known to carry throughout the Trojan Wars)

*Joan of Arc

*Ernest Hemmingway (killed and ate marlin with one)

*Don Quixote

*Tom Joad (in the author's notes it was revealed Tom ate the rabbit at the beginning of "The Grapes of Wrath" with a tin spork- as was common to carry amongst hobos of the time).

*Titus of Gaul

*Amelia Earhart

*Maurice Herzog (used a spork as a piton during a desperate push on Annapurna)

*Sir Ernest Shackleton

*Bodhidharma

*General George S. Patton (carried a spork throughout North Africa)

*Gilgamesh (perhaps the first known spork devotee)

^^ That is awesome! ^^^^

And the tragic end for many of them?

If they had a spoon & knife, they could have lived a long and happy life!

For many of them, did they use tent, tarp, or hammock?

To the above, may I also add spoonphallic.

Sorry, but my Ti spork is one of my favorite pieces of gear...one utensil to rule them all...it handles mac and cheese with ease, cous-cous pilaf with aplomb, it has the means to shovel beans and can spin the hair of angels (as in pasta).

I love my spork!

I lose sleep over this one.... ;-)

It's either my ti long handled spoon (StS), short handled StS Ti spoon, or the good old McFlurry spoon....

zero sporks.

...and let's not forget the SPLADE!...spoon and blade combined.

Edited by jase on 12/28/2012 04:47:20 MST.

...so we all know of 'spooning' with partners....

...is there such a thing as 'sporking'?

I eat everything with a spoon, and I do mean spaghetti, steak, .... and all those other things that people think they need tines for.

Just takes a little practice/unlearning.

Making chopsticks from sticks is really not too hard of a skill to learn if your spoon ever fails you. I know, I know all you spork users camp above treeline, while us lowly spoon users are at the KOA!

My Light My Fire spork broke off while trying to scoop up thick oatmeal.
You need to be gentle with them!

I also find them hard to pack due to their odd shape.

Given that I use the Freezer Bag Cooking method, anything with a point sucks since it can puncture the bottom of the bag and cause leakage. Thats why, for the past 4 years, I use a long handled Titanium Spoon that weights 0.4oz. Being a long handle, it reaches easily into the bottom of the bag without worries of getting food on my hand. Being metal, I don't worry about it breaking when using it in a jar of peanut butter.

I'm a spooner, not a sporker.

Edited by jshann on 12/28/2012 15:42:44 MST.

Years ago I made the first TI Long Handle Spoon:
1.


Then BPL came out with a long handle spoon made from the idea (I have two that Ryan gave me). BPL sold them for a couple of years and then they showed up at REI.
2.


I use one of my BPL versions almost everyday and it still looks like new.

Edited by bfornshell on 12/28/2012 16:01:24 MST.

I favor a long-handled spoon which is good for nearly everything except noodles, but I do like rice noodles when camping. :)

I have one of these: Rare as hen's teeth, they don't make them anymore... (Filzer)
It solves the issue many have of the fork tines reducing the spooniness of the utensil.
Best of both worlds...

http://www.filzer.com/products.php?id=12

Edited by NLslacker on 02/23/2013 09:10:07 MST.

Thoughts:

The Freezer Bag cooking method is so much more plastic-intensive than anything else, you might as well buy stock in landfill liners.

Arguments against the almighty spork are intolerable and heretic.

Sporks first appeared in our middle school(junior high) cafeteria. Not good at either task. But a superior launching mechanism for green peas.

Spoons forever!

You're not supposed to throw away your trash. That's why burn barrels where invented.

@ sporks....

MMMMMeh.

Like many, I bought a spork early in my backpacking career thinking I needed one. While it wasn't the best trail utensil, it has become my designated travel cutlery. I keep it in my everyday backpack, use it at work, etc. it's better than a spoon for handling steak.

@jason- sporking is a code word my wife and I have used for years. Can't remember how it started anymore.

For me it's simple. If I'm not planning on eating pasta, a spoon is the most pleasant utensil to use. If I'm planning on pasta, the spork is a bit easier to use and a fun change. On longer trips with lots of food variety, eh, whichever, I don't really care.

I have that problem in the mornings sometimes.

I've been a longstanding believer in the spork. Beans, rice, quinoa, oats, pasta... name it, and I'd give you reasons for eating it with a spork.

I'm thinking this might have to change, now that I've eliminated pasta, legumes, and grains from my diet. I rely on freezer-bag cooking, and without such means of absorbing excess moisture, I think I'll be slurping down more sauce and broth with my meals. A spoon might be all I need now (provided I cut the jerky small enough).

Best of all, if I can commandeer a sundae spoon from the local Dairy Queen, I'll be able to cut a few grams at no cost to me... :-)