Sprongs Camp Utensils

Did you know there are 13 types of forks? Dinner, Fish, Lunch, Lobster, Fruit, Salad, Dessert, Ice Cream, Pastry, Seafood, Strawberry, Snail, and Oyster. My favorite has to be the Ice Cream Fork. How does that work?

There are also 14 types of spoons: Iced-Beverage, Oval Soup, Dessert, Place, Cream Soup, Teaspoon, Five-O'Clock, Ice Cream, Citrus, Bouillon, After Dinner Coffee, Chocolate, Demitasse, and Salt. The most interesting would be the Five-O'Clock. It was made for an era when afternoon tea was taken at five o'clock.

Sprongs Camp Utensils

There have been Sporks and Foons, but finally someone invented Sprongs. A brilliant, yet simple design that turns the fork and spoon into a third, desperately needed camping utensil--tongs.

The Sprongs are made from durable, light-weight nylon 66. They are food safe and will not melt. The spoon and fork lock together for easy storage. They have a lanyard hole so you can hang them from your pack or around your neck. They are approximately 8.5 inches long which allows you to reach the bottom of dehydrated meal pouches easily. The spoon is actually exactly 1 tablespoon in volume so it doubles as a measuring tool. The fork has a bail hook for lifting hot lid handles without burning yourself.

As with much of my finds, this one comes from kickstarter. You can pre-order a set for only $10. I "Sprongly" suggest you get a set. You see what I did there? Pretty good, huh?

Folding Firebox Nano Camp Stove

Is Kickstarter the coolest thing or what? The other day I was browsing on the site, trying to decide where to invest my extra millions, when I came across a camping product that is the ultimate in ultralight gear.

The Folding Firebox Nano is a foldable backpacking stove that weighs less than 6 oz. When folded, it's only 3" wide and .25" thick. That is tiny. The site says it has a "proprietary cross-feed fuel delivery system" which really means it allows you to insert sticks into holes on two sides of the stove and cross them, which creates a quicker, less smokey fire. If you don't want to use sticks, it can also accept a Trangia Spirit Burner, which accepts alcohol stove fuel. The Firebox Nano is hinged so you don't have to assemble it. Just pop it open, direct the pot stand arms inward for a small cup, or outward for a larger pot or frying pan and you're all set.

Now, I'm all for homemade backpacking stoves or hobo stoves, but why make one when the firebox nano has already been invented?