Fozzils Foldable Dishware: Useful or Not?

Introduction

Fozzils Solo Pack Ultralight dishware is a unique, folding, compact set of dishes which at first blush are a luxury-seeking, ultralight backpackers dream. But we ran into problems when testing them with hot liquids.

At a paltry 4 oz (115 g) and $14.95 for a cup, bowl, and plate, which pack flat, the Fozzils Solo Pack is a full set of dishes unlike any other on the market. The dishes snap together in origami style and unsnap to flat sheets of food-grade, heat-safe polypropylene and silicon.

The Test

The Fozzils Solo Pack has rattled around my backpack for about three years (usually only one part of it at a time, though.) Fozzils are the lightest, most compact and innovative dishware I have ever seen.

What I like is the fact that they are light and pack completely flat. I thought the snaps would give out after a few months but so far have held out. Also, the bowl and cup have measurement marks, making them perfectly multifunctional. The propylene also makes a decent cutting board with gentle use. I also love how easy Fozzils are to wash once they are unsnapped and flat.

The Issues

They are flimsy and even flimsier with hot liquids inside. The irregular lip-height on the dishware and tendency to squish and overflow (sometimes overflowing boiling liquids on my hands) relegates all but the Fozzils bowl and plate to my pile of inconclusive experiments.

I still use the plate on occasion if I need a cutting board and a small plate. It holds about half-to-three-quarters of what I want to eat when I’ve had a hard trek day (I’m on the small side of female backpackers. The plate holds about a quarter of what most gentlemen would like to eat at the end of a hard trek day). The plate has the best stability of all the pieces in the set, with its wide base.

The cup is too small and is the worst offender for overflowing simply by holding it gently. It can hold 4 ounces (150 ml), which is slightly more than its 10 ounces (275 ml) of capacity without overflowing by gentle pressure. The cup is the lightest dish, with the smallest base, the most likely to contain a hot liquid, and therefore the most likely to overflow boiling liquid. I have completely abandoned the cup and it could be thrown out as far as I am concerned.

Because of its wider base and larger capacity, the bowl is more forgiving than the cup and less likely to overflow when held, but again it holds only about 8 ounces (250 ml) of its 18 oz (525 ml) capacity. I rarely opt to pack the bowl, but when I do, I use it as a cup and only fill it up to the 8 ounces (250 ml) mark.

Conclusion

In short, I love the idea of Fozzils dishware, but the implementation is somewhat lacking. For the money, Fozzils might be worth playing with. They are especially worth playing with if you don’t put hot hot liquids in them. However, I suspect, due to their flimsy nature with hot liquids, they won’t appeal to a large section of the backpacking community.