Best camping cutlery in 2025: Tested by experts for both backpacking and car camping

The GSI Halulite 3pc Ring Cutlery set is another decent option for backpackers, thanks to the 47g weight. That’s not quite up there with the best in test, but I’d say it’s light enough to satisfy most backpackers, particularly given the quality.

You get one of, if not the, sharpest knife on test. It cut through my four-day-old sourdough crust like butter (okay, not quite like butter, but it didn’t need much pressure at all).

The fork doesn’t have the sharpest points, but it’s perfectly adequate for the majority of food situations. It feels a little odd when eating from it given the curved profile, which you don’t really get on any other spoon here (aside from perhaps the Lifeventure one). It’s no big bother, though.

Meanwhile, the spoon is rather large and has steep sides, so you can load it up high without much falling off. There’s not much of an angle to it, though, so one or two others are better for digging food out the bottom of a ration pack.

The rounded ends make it reasonably comfortable to hold onto, even if sawing away at something tough, while the alloy construction feels robust and durable.

You also get a small toggle that feeds through a hole at the base of the cutlery to keep it together.

All things considered, this is my best in test. It’s tough yet lightweight, slices food well and is comfortable to use.

With a price tag of just £3.99 I reckon it’d be impossible to find a better value set of backpacking cutlery than this. It’s ridiculous, really.

As you’d expect, the price means you’re stuck with (BPA-free) plastic cutlery here, but the performance surprised me. The fork is super sharp and the knife sawed through our stale sourdough bread well, too. It was on par, if not marginally better than the much higher priced Hydro Flask cutlery.

When eating from this cutlery it feels fine in the mouth, but you can’t get away from the fact it’s made of plastic – the experience is just never going to quite live up to metal alternatives.

The spoon works fine and has a bit of an angle to it to help get you load it up with food. Though the curvature of the sides isn’t as steep as some others, so it’s not top-drawer for keeping large helpings of food on the spoon.

A weight of 31g is great for committed lightweight backpackers, while the popper connection does a reasonable job of keeping the three utensils together – just don’t always expect that to be the case if you’ve lobbed them in the main compartment of your pack with all your other kit.

Sadly, there’s no mention of the plastic being recycled, which is a bit of a shame, but it is at least made in the UK.

This cutlery set is one of the more budget-friendly options in this test and it comes from Easy Camp, which is a partner brand to Outwell and Robens.

With four forks, knives and spoons, this sits firmly in family camping territory and, unsurprisingly, it’s the second heaviest set on test (360g). But that won’t really matter if you’re car camping.

It looks and feels very much like a set of basic household cutlery. The plastic handles are comfortable to hold, though understandably don’t feel particularly premium.

The fork offers adequate pointiness and the knife surprised me a little in my sourdough crust cut test. The stainless-steel teeth cut through well, without needing a lot of downward pressure.

It all feels very familiar when eating from the cutlery, though the spoon is particularly large, which I’d say is a bonus here.

Easy Camp doesn’t state whether the set is dishwasher safe or not and while it would probably be okay, I’d be tempted to stick to handwashing due to the fear of the plastic handles breaking away from the stainless-steel sections.

The whole set comes in a fabric wrap, which keeps it together nicely.

Aside from the Optimus spoon, the imaginatively named Sea to Summit Frontier Ultralight Knife, Fork and Spoon Set is the lightest option on test. Its collective weight of 26g is impressive and is sure to be music to the ears of ultralightweight backpackers.

Given the weight, you may be left wondering about durability. This set has been made from ‘ultralight and strong aircraft aluminium alloy’, which is said to be tough and lightweight for lifelong use.

I’m not entirely convinced, though, as the entire head of the fork bends into different positions when enough pressure is applied (and I wasn’t pressing too hard!). The prongs of the fork also flex, though again, that’s with pressure applied.

My conclusion is that most people buying this cutlery are lightweight backpackers who may be wild camping or stopping at different campsites along a multi-day hike.

Those people are typically not going to be cutting up a steak or anything else super tough, but are more likely to be using ration packs or rustling up something like pasta, rice or cous cous. In those scenarios, durability is unlikely to be an issue, but care is definitely required to ensure the longevity of this set.

Impressively, the knife and fork were up there with the sharpest options in test, so thankfully you shouldn’t need to apply much pressure on them anyway.

Eating from this cutlery feels nice enough, though the spoon is quite flat, so it’s not the best for loading up big mouthfuls of runny food. There’s also a channel that runs from spoon head and right up the shaft, so if you’re not careful it is possible that liquid can run up the spoon to your hand.

A mini carabiner keeps the cutlery attached to each other, but it can be a bit of a faff to get on and off.

Ultimately, while it’s not perfect, its light weight and sharp performance make it a solid option for ultralight backpackers.

Now here’s a premium option, particularly in price. The Hydro Flask Flatware Set Fork has an RRP of £26.95, making it the most expensive option here.

The cutlery is made entirely from 18/8 ‘pro-grade’ stainless steel and feels very good quality. Of course, with that you also get a weight of 139g. That doesn’t sound like much, but if you’re backpacking and trying to keep your backpacking rucksack as light as possible, you’ll probably want to opt for one of the alternatives here.

Performance-wise, the fork has quite wide ends, so it’s not the sharpest, yet it stabs into most food easily enough. The knife sawed through the sourdough reasonably enough, without standing out as a clear winner or loser.

The rounded edges of the ends feel comfortable enough in your hands, while you could easily mistake this for normal household cutlery when eating.

While the spoon feels nice and premium to eat from, it’s not as large as some others here, if that’s important to you.

I found the knife one of the trickier options to clean when hand washing, as food seemed to more stubbornly stick inside of the teeth. Thankfully, though, it is dishwasher safe, which is handy if you’re mainly using this cutlery for picnics or short camping trips.

Meanwhile, an included fabric pouch helps you keep everything together.

The Optimus Titanium Long Spoon is a bit of an outlier here, as it’s simply a spoon. But simple can be great.

As you may well have assumed, this has been specifically designed for use with those pre-made camping meals that come in packets.

Anyone who’s consumed those know that it can be a messy job with a normal spoon, as you’ll often end up rubbing your hand around the inner of the packet as you try to dig out the last bits of food.

To help, Optimus has made the handle of this spoon approximately 18cm long, meaning your hands are kept well clear of messy packets.

The spoon part also bends to a higher angle than many other options on test here (approx. 28º, and yes I measured it on a protractor), which is genuinely helpful for loading it up or catching the last bits from the bottom of the pack.

The spoon feels nice in the mouth and is comfortable enough to hold via the handle.

It’s made from durable titanium that’s incredibly lightweight, making this 20g spoon an excellent option for backpackers that’ll simply boil water on their camping stove, pour it into a pouch and tuck in.

An RRP of £17.50 feels steep (and some competitors are cheaper), but on the flip side, you can normally get it at a reduced price among retailers.

The Primus Campfire Cutlery Set is constructed from 18/8 stainless steel, making it very corrosion resistant and therefore ideal for camping and also the dishwasher.

The simple leather sleeve is similarly robust and effectively keeps the cutlery together, even when tossed into a backpack.

In testing, the knife didn’t prove to be the sharpest of the bunch and it struggled to saw through the sourdough crust I was using in a semi-controlled test. The teeth don’t go right to the end of the knife, while there’s a flat, smooth surface at the front, which explain some of the shortcomings here.

The ends of the fork weren’t the pointiest, either, but these are all admittedly minor issues, as most campers don’t typically have to deal with tough food.

Comfort-wise, this cutlery feels very much like household cutlery when taking food from it, but they angled ends of the handle can start to dig into your palms if you need to apply any pressure when cutting something. The spoon has a narrower profile than many competitors here (so it feels a little unusual to eat from), but it’s deep and can be loaded up well.

A weight of 81g is pretty good, but it’s not ultralightweight, so it’s fair to say this cutlery set straddles the line between backpacking and car camping, being able to dip its toes into both categories.

This ‘deluxe’ cutlery set from Outwell certainly looks premium, and similar to traditional household cutlery.

Unfortunately, it’s not the most comfortable to hold as the edges at the bottom are quite sharp. That’s only really a big problem if you’ve got a lot of cutting to do, though, which you often don’t when camping (unless you like firing up a steak on a BBQ).  

The fork, knife and spoon work fine and are up to most tasks without too much effort, though I did need to apply a bit more pressure to get through the tough crust on my sourdough.

While it feels like normal cutlery when you eat from it and looks fit for a family glamping trip, the reality is that the wooden-effect handle covers are actually plastic. I’ve had this come away from one item already, which appears to need superglue for a repair.

This could just be bad luck (which I assume it is, given the set is meant to be dishwasher proof), but it’s reasonable to assume that this cutlery isn’t going to be as durable as pure metal options.

That aside, it comes in a nice, zipped storage pouch, though it’s the heaviest option on test at 553g.

Those who eat camping meals directly from the pack can save themselves carrying extra kitchenware with something like this.

Sporks are usually only just long enough to reach into the pouch, which can mean you can't get to all the food properly and end up with chilli-con-carne smeared hands. Not ideal.

Optimus' extending spoon is the solution to these problems because it can extend by 6cm (17.5 to 23.5cm).

In giraffe mode, it can easily reach into the pack while keeping your fingers well away from the contents.

Sure it might feel like a bit of a gimmick at first slide, but if you're genuinely only eating freeze-dried food, it's actually a bit of a lifesaver. It's also great value for its weight.

You'll probably have seen the titanium option from the same brand above, which is equally as useful, but perhaps slightly more durable (and more expensive!).

Admittedly, plastic cutlery isn't the nicest thing to eat from, either.