BCL
Engineer
I think it's stuff like the Primus Trail Spork, made of titanium. There are also spoons, forks, etc made with a wire folding handle.I am a little confused by the dehydrated food argument... It is dehydrated to save space and weight, but you carry an equivilent weight of water to re-hydrate it, or add the water again before leaving home, which seems to defeat the whole purpose... What am I missing here?
I think the "spoon with holes in it" also needs a re-think.
As for dehydrated food, it's kind of complicated. One of the benefits of dehydrating food is that often it becomes more compact by removing the water. That may make a lot of sense if someone has a limited space from a "bear canister" designed to resist mostly bears from acquiring the food inside. Water can of course by stored separately. However, it was mentioned that water can be acquired outdoors from streams or natural springs. There are also tap water sources available sometimes. Possibly using a filter designed to remove bacteria, protozoa, and cysts, but there are also chemical or UV treatments. When I went backpacking I didn't use a filter (although I bought one and never used it) but I did try various chemicals (that leave an off taste) or preferentially just boil it. If I was making instant coffee or tea it was pretty simple.
I did try some rather pricey freeze-dried backpacking foods. Some of it was a bit odd, such as freeze-dried ice cream. It wasn't really meant to be reconstituted, but just eaten as is. That didn't even save much volume, but took up less weight. I've tried it before and it's weird.