This section covers my “people’s choice awards”. Items here just really work and show outstanding design.
Long handled titanium spoon
I have owned this spoon for a number of years. I originally found it on a cottage ultra-light website, but now even REI carries something similar. Mine is polished, which I like better than darker, unfinished titanium.
The design allows you to eat out of freezer bags. I don’t do this, but I will eat out of pots, where the long handle helps. I like the hard titanium for stirring food off the bottom of pots during simmering. The spoon is tough and cleans up easily. It is too long to pack into most cooking kits, but I always have somewhere to keep it. At 1.2 oz. it earns it’s keep in my kitchen.
I spotted this item being offered as part of a GSI cook set. I did not need the rest of the cook set, so shopped around on the internet until I found a place to buy just the gripper. You insert two fingers in the cup part and grab the pot rim by holding your thumb against the flap. The silicon finger cup keeps your fingers out of hot water. As supplied, the gripper has a little magnet in the side, so it can be parked on your isobutane canister. I rarely use a canister and as an former sailor don’t like magnets around when compasses are in use. So I cut out the magnet to save a weight. The gripper is good for picking up anything hot including wind screens and stoves. At 0.4 oz. it is hard to beat for function and weight.
This device is covered in my Stoves and Fuel post. It really makes Esbit tablets work. Place it with the holes on the bottom to give a strong flame from the tablet for quick cooking. Turn it over to restrict the air flow to the tablet to get much longer burn times for simmering and baking. It’s titanium so it won’t melt or warp from all the heat. Another great idea from Jon Fong.
Henry in the Woods 