Camping Utensils Tips.

Types of camping utensils to avoid. Which camping forks, spoons and spatulas are a good idea for backpacking...

Camping utensils like spatulas or pot scrapers should be made from a material that won't damage the surfaces of your pots and pans. Scratches not only wear your camping cookware they also give food another place to stick and can make clean-up more difficult.

I like metal forks, spoons and knives. Plastic spoons and forks are usually flimsy at best or can break easily if too much pressure is applied when trying to cut with a fork for example. As for stainless steel vs. titanium fork and spoon sets I'd go with the stainless as it's only an ounce or two heavier than titanium, so it's won't make a big difference like it will in pots or pans. You have to decide if a little less weight is worth the extra cost to you or not.

Some Lexan polycarbonate forks and spoons claim to be "break-resistant" but I've never had much luck with any type of plastic flatware so I don't trust it. What's the point in packing light camping equipment or backpacking gear if you have to bring half-a-dozen backups to replace your broken sets.

Nylon and bamboo spatulas and other camping utensils (besides forks, spoons and knives) are generally "safe" to use on fragile non-stick surfaces (I don't recommend using non-stick surfaced pots or pans, especially for camping or backpacking, because they scorch and scratch too easily ruining your camping cookware ) if you have to.