Review: Light My Fire MealKit
by Beau Johnston
Specifications:
- Material: Polypropylene, Tritan (Spork)
- Actual size: 185x185x58mm
- Weight: 312g
- Kit includes:
- Lid and/or plate (450 ml).
- Plate and/or bowl (900 ml).
- SnapBox, waterproof (170 ml).
- Spill-free cup with measuring lines (350 ml).
- Combined strainer and cutting board.
- Spork.
- Price: $24.95 (via Amazon.com)
I will be honest, I have never been a fan of traditional 'mess kits;' like the ones tossed into the backpacks of generations of Boy Scouts. I inherited such a kit from my father when I began backpacking in the late '90s. It was bulky, weighted a ton, and while it was made of metal it wasn't much good for cooking and tended to suck the heat out of the meal it was containing. It was with reluctance that I began looking for a mess kit after deciding to outfit our pelican case as a adventure motorcycle kitchen.
We met up with Light My Fire at the 2013 Outdoor Retailer Summer Market in Salt Lake City last year where they walked us through their entire line of camp kitchen products. I was immediately taken by the design of their MealKit. I love Scandinavian design, and it came as no surprise that it finally took a the man who co-designed the Koenigsegg to design a mess kit that was truly functional.
The kit nests incredibly well; it is like opening a matryoshka doll, with more and more items to open as you go. As we have come to expect from the other Light My Fire we use, the Meal Kit is very well made and the fit and finish is good too. Everything fits well together, with lids snugly fitting on the SnapBox, cup and bowl. The entire kit collapses down to a package smaller than a single plate, bowl, and mug from the tableware set we use when traveling in the 4Runner. The lid/plate/bowl is large enough for a decent meal and the cup is perfect for a glass of wine.
While the overall design is fantastic, there are two things that hold it back from being perfect. First is the cutting board. While I love that Light My Fire added perforated edge to assist in straining liquids (okay competitors you need to take note) it only measures 6-1/4" at its widest point. It really isn't designed for preparing a large meal. Now I know what you are thinking, 'Beau, this isn't designed for car camping!' and I get it. I only bring it up as an observation so that you don't get out in the field, ready to prepare fajitas for four, only to find out the triangular cutting board isn't large enough.
The real issue we found was with the supplied spork's durability. Now before I go any farther, I will preface this by saying both of us has been using our sporks all of the time. I even have one at work for eating lunch and have been using it, without fail, for the last 8 months. It wasn't until we were discussing the Light My Fire sporks with one of our Overland Expo students that we discovered reports of spork failure. Sure enough, not an hour later I was washing the dishes, from one of our classes, when one of the sporks broke. I had been, apparently, applying too much pressure to one end while washing and exceeded the strength of the spork.
Conclusion:
This isn't your father's Boy Scout mess kit! Despite the cutting board's limited size and the broken spork, we have both really enjoyed using our Light My Fire MealKits. The design is well thought out and was executed using some great materials and attention to detail we have come to expect from Light My Fire. We would recommend the MealKit to anyone looking for a compact mess kit that is packed with features. You will find our MealKits in our adventure motorcycle kitchen box on our future adventures if you want to check it out for yourself.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received the MealKits for free from Light My Fire
The kit nests incredibly well; it is like opening a matryoshka doll, with more and more items to open as you go. As we have come to expect from the other Light My Fire we use, the Meal Kit is very well made and the fit and finish is good too. Everything fits well together, with lids snugly fitting on the SnapBox, cup and bowl. The entire kit collapses down to a package smaller than a single plate, bowl, and mug from the tableware set we use when traveling in the 4Runner. The lid/plate/bowl is large enough for a decent meal and the cup is perfect for a glass of wine.
While the overall design is fantastic, there are two things that hold it back from being perfect. First is the cutting board. While I love that Light My Fire added perforated edge to assist in straining liquids (okay competitors you need to take note) it only measures 6-1/4" at its widest point. It really isn't designed for preparing a large meal. Now I know what you are thinking, 'Beau, this isn't designed for car camping!' and I get it. I only bring it up as an observation so that you don't get out in the field, ready to prepare fajitas for four, only to find out the triangular cutting board isn't large enough.
The real issue we found was with the supplied spork's durability. Now before I go any farther, I will preface this by saying both of us has been using our sporks all of the time. I even have one at work for eating lunch and have been using it, without fail, for the last 8 months. It wasn't until we were discussing the Light My Fire sporks with one of our Overland Expo students that we discovered reports of spork failure. Sure enough, not an hour later I was washing the dishes, from one of our classes, when one of the sporks broke. I had been, apparently, applying too much pressure to one end while washing and exceeded the strength of the spork.
Conclusion:
This isn't your father's Boy Scout mess kit! Despite the cutting board's limited size and the broken spork, we have both really enjoyed using our Light My Fire MealKits. The design is well thought out and was executed using some great materials and attention to detail we have come to expect from Light My Fire. We would recommend the MealKit to anyone looking for a compact mess kit that is packed with features. You will find our MealKits in our adventure motorcycle kitchen box on our future adventures if you want to check it out for yourself.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received the MealKits for free from Light My Fire