Having camping dishes outdoors improves the pleasure of dining outside. This guide provides you with a selection of camping dishes with divided plates for portion control that are appropriate for every camping vacation, like picnic bench coverings, cutlery and dinnerware sets, and camping mugs and cups. So, let’s dive in.
Best Stainless Steel Dishes: GSI Glacier Stainless Deep Plate
Camping dishes made of stainless steel are very popular. They’re quite attractive and long-lasting if you take good care of them. With barely slight denting from the drop test, the GSI Glacier passed the throw test flawlessly and looked somewhat tough and cool. I tried a fork on it and a butter knife, but neither left any marks on it. I found it surprising that it offered any insulation during the boiling water test considering that it is merely a thin sheet of stainless steel. The slightest touch won’t singe your hand, but I wouldn’t hold it from the bottom with hot soup.
This plate is useful for many different wilderness meals, such as salads, soups, and steaks, because of its depth. Furthermore, if you’re buying one for every member of the family, its curved form allows it to stack well.
Camping Dishes with Stackable Design for Space-saving Storage: Sea to Summit X-Plate
The Sea to Summit X-Plate is the best overall because it scored highly in both durability and insulation, and when it comes time to pack it down, it shrinks to an amazing half inch. The last thing I want to worry about at the end of a long day outside, whether I’m camping or backpacking, is a plate. Therefore, the Sea to Summit X-Plate’s durability in the drop and throw tests was excellent; if I squint, I can detect a small scratch on its edge, but that’s about it. The X-Plate performed exceptionally well at protecting my hand from heat during the boiling water test, which yielded the second-best results overall.
However, the folding sides of the X-Plate are what set it apart. When the sides were lowered, as I would prefer for anything requiring a knife and fork, the plate stood less than half an inch tall but had the highest depth of any of the ones we examined, at about 1.5 inches. When the day is over, it is also simpler to pack into a camping box thanks to the collapsible sides.
Best Insulation: Hydro Flask Plate
This plate had the best protection I tested, and it felt good to hold and did better in the drop test than most. It’s 0.86 inches high, which makes the Hydro Flask Plate bigger than any other camping dish I tried. It’s also bigger than the ceramic plates I use at home. There’s a lot to like here, though, if space isn’t a problem in your camper. First, it lasts a long time. The throw test left only one small dent on the side, which was probably caused by the weight of the plate itself. The tougher drop test left it almost completely unharmed. It was also pretty hard to scratch. After I cut it with a knife, there was only one faint line left.
This plate was heavy because it had double-walled insulation, like your camping mug. This insulation worked very well. On the sides of the plate, I could barely feel the heat from the hot water. In the middle, I could only feel a slightly unpleasant heat. You don’t have to treat burns on your fingers every time you pick up a thin titanium or stainless steel plate. This camping dish will keep your fingers from getting burned.
Unbreakable Camping Dishes for Rough Use: Sea to Summit Delta Plate
The BPA-free materials, strong durability, and excellent insulation make the Sea to Summit Delta plastic camping dish my top choice. The Sea to Summit Delta truly appealed to my nostalgia as someone who grew up car camping and dining off of damaged and scuffed plastic dishes. Luckily, it was far more resilient than the plates I used to have, barely scuffed after passing both the drop and toss tests. Its useful heat resistance was provided by the honeycomb pattern on the bottom; while I wouldn’t want to hold this dish filled with hot soup for an extended period of time, it wouldn’t hurt to move it from the camp kitchen to the table.
Its depth is another feature I enjoyed; it’s great for pastas and salads, but it can also handle foods that need to be eaten with a knife and fork. Like other plastic plates, this one did have scuffs from a fork and knife. The fact that the Delta requires more room in my camping box than the other models in our test is really the only drawback I have with it.
Best Plates Set: Snow Peak Tableware Set
This lightweight, packable set of four pieces is one of my go-to items for camping because it looks great and can be used in many ways. A single plate or bowl can make it hard to make fancy meals that look good in pictures when you’re out in the woods. This is why I love this Snow Peak cutlery set: the four pieces are different sizes and shapes, from soup bowls to dinner plates, so you can use them for a lot of different things.
This set doesn’t last long. During the throw test, the plate bent, and after the drop test, it had deep holes. Also, it didn’t keep my hand from getting hot (though this isn’t as much of a problem when you can stack a plate under a soup bowl). But these fit well in the camping box and stacked well, especially when more than one set was stacked on top of each other. This made me less worried about long-term damage while choosing camping dishes for kids.
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Picking the right camping plates for your cooking box is a small choice that can make a big difference in your journey. Some of the brands that make choices are Sea to Summit, MSR, Odoland, GSI, Coleman, Snow Peak, Wealers, and UCO. Choose the one that fits your camping style and room needs the best so you can spend more time outside.
