The spork may have been made famous (or infamous) at the house of Colonel Sanders, but it doesn’t receive more dedicated use than by those who camp, hike and recreate in the backcountry. The spork has become standard issue for weight-conscious backpackers who are loath to fill space in their bag with a full set of cutlery. By combining spoon and fork (and sometimes knife) in one item, the spork is a weight-saver.
But the spork has never asserted itself as perfect. (I used to carry a double-sided model that broke a few days into a multi-week trip, leaving me with three inches of spoon and sauce-covered knuckles.) The fork tines are often too small or dull to be of much use and any attempt at including a serrated “knife” edge always falls short. Might as well just carry a regular spoon.
Hadron Gear is eyeing to change that with the Morsel Spork, a reimagination of the utensil that’s already been funded two times over on Kickstarter with plenty of time to go. The Morsel amplifies all of the qualities of the spork to real utility while adding additional smart features along the way. Like my busted utensil, the Morsel is double-sided: on one end is a fork with beefed-up edges, on the other, a spoon. Or perhaps, a spoon-like implement. Hadron has reinterpreted what a spoon can and should be in the outdoors by giving it a unique shape, which allows for scraping the inside of bowls and dehydrated meal bags, and a heat-resistant rubber edge that gives it spatula-like cooking capabilities.
The Morsel is also extra-long, which is ideal for cooking and avoiding dirty fingers (as well as the conundrum of whether to lick them when there’s also plenty of dirt present). That strength may prove to be its weakness though, as backpackers are known to be picky when it comes to carrying any amount of extra weight. That being said, the Morsel eliminates having to bring a cooking utensil, so net ounces may be reduced.
In either case, the Morsel is the first innovation that the spork, and camp cutlery in general, has received in a long time.
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