Backpacking

Guyot Designs Squishy Bowls

Pliable camping containers

For weight- and space-conscious backpackers or car campers, the squishy bowls offer an alternative to old-school non-collapsible aluminum/stainless steel/titanium bowls. And while these food-grade silicone bowls won’t stand up to direct fire, they are oven safe up to 500° F. They can be baked, boiled and frozen without ill effect, making them more versatile than the previously reviewed Orikaso campware and the newer Fozzils‘ take on that design.

Guyot’s bowls are entirely pliable, and eating out of a bowl without structural rigidity can be a strange experience the first time. Their flexing and bulging when holding liquids does take some getting used to. But I’ve never had a problem eating out of them. This amorphousness comes in handy when you want to slurp back the rest of your milk or finish off the end of your camp stew, as you can squish the side of the bowl into a convenient spout. It also means they sit solidly. They hold hot liquids well, and are insulated enough to prevent you from burning your hands when you hold them as commonly happens with a traditional metal bowl.

-- Oliver Hulland 09/24/09

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