Gear

Cutlery for the trail

Trail cutlery in titanium.

Spork or spoon? Titanium, plastic or steel? The simplest gear that nonetheless comes in a surprising number of variants.

Cutlery on a trip is simpler than at home — you usually need one spoon to eat with and a knife for other purposes. The difference between a cutlery set that works and one that annoys you is often weight, material, and whether it fits the cooking pot you have.

Spork — the most common choice

Spork = a spoon with tines on the end, working as both spoon and fork. A single piece of cutlery covers most trail meals. Classics:

  • Light My Fire Spork — plastic, ~10 g, 30 kr. Comes in many colours and two sizes.
  • MSR Folding Spork — folding, 25 g
  • Sea to Summit Alpha Light Spork — aluminium, 14 g

A spork is enough for most trips where you eat freeze-dried or packet soup.

Materials

Plastic (polypropylene, polycarbonate) — cheap, light (5–15 g), dishwasher-safe. Can melt over a direct flame. Standard for a short trip.

Aluminium — light (10–25 g), durable, tastes of metal unless coated. Little used in modern trail cutlery.

Titanium — almost the same weight as aluminium (12–30 g), withstands anything, tastes of nothing, expensive (~250–500 kr per spork). A classic for ultralight trips.

Steel — heavy (50–100 g), tasteless, robust, cheap. For home use or the cabin.

For an ordinary Norwegian trip the plastic spork is the default choice — it works, it is cheap, it does the job. Titanium is for those who count every gram.

Classic cutlery set

For those who want knife + fork + spoon:

  • Stansport, Light My Fire, Sea to Summit make 3-piece sets (knife, fork, spoon) that clip together — weight 60–100 g, price 100–300 kr
  • Your own knife (Mora, Helle, Brusletto) that you carry anyway — can be used to eat with
  • Your own spoon from home — packed in a sock to avoid rattling

Packing

In a side fabric pocket of the pack or fixed to the cooking pot. Many trail cooking pots have room for a spork in the handle.

Maintenance

Wash with warm water and a little biodegradable soap after each trip. Plastic is dishwasher-safe. Titanium and steel can be scoured with steel wool if food is stuck on.

Replace when cracked or deformed.

Cooking pots → · Trail plate and bowl →

Text: Snuitide (2026).