The Best Materials For Reusable Utensils

When we tried to cutting down on our single-use plastic consumption, we found ourselves trying all sorts of portable cutlery sets. After all, disposable utensils are not fun to eat with and cause pollution.

Several aspects of portable cutlery should be considered for what's best: shape, collapsibility, ergonomics, carrying case, and aesthetics. But the biggest aspect that determines the overall price, weight, ease of cleaning, and overall experience starts with the material.

Read More: Why You Should Carry Your Own Portable Cutlery

All reusable cutlery sets are better than disposables. But, do you choose bamboo, plastic, or metal? We're going to rank each travel utensil material for everyday carried cutlery sets.

Ranking The Best Materials for Reusable Cutlery in 2022

  • Plastic
  • Bamboo
  • Metal

Third Place: Plastic

Pros: Affordable, light.

Cons: Flimsy, awkward shapes, unnatural materials

For some reason, it's very hard to find portable plastic utensils that have an attractive design without compromising strength and functionality. There's nothing worse than flimsy knife and fork at lunchtime, so we might as well just reuse disposable utensils. If strength and sturdiness is added to the design, the overall ergonomics tend to suffer and take away from hand and mouth feel. In turn, we found most to be a bit dorky, visually speaking.

Second Place: Bamboo

Pros: affordable, natural.

Cons: bad eating experience, difficult to clean and carry

If you're considering a bamboo utensil set, you have probably noticed their affordability, naturally grown material and aesthetic, and lightweight feel. Probably a good option if only used for the occasional camping trip.

Being a natural wood, the end of life cycle consideration is positive from an environmental standpoint. Although, if you're looking for something more consistent in everyday use, we've noticed they don't inspire the best eating and carrying experience.

Read More: How to Be More Sustainable When Going Back to Work

Reasons being: the fibrous, splintery texture while eating and difficulty to keep clean. The knife didn't do much in the way of cutting, the fork couldn't get much food, and the spoon's scoop capacity was weak. The fork prongs would trap food particles, grease, and dust in our bags.

If we did remember to clean them later that night, we rarely remembered to pack them the next day. The accompanied carrying cases vary but generally rattled and came loose in transit.

First Place: Metal

Pros: Easy to clean, functional, durable.

Cons: Heavier, expensive.

Unless you plan on hiking the Pacific Crest Trail where every ounce matters in your backpacking backpack, metal cutlery wins every-time. Not only do they feel better to eat with and they're much easier to keep clean while on the go. They're classy, durable, and naturally strong. We wanted to create a cutlery set that looks good, feels good, and actually stays clean in your backpack.

Read More: The Best and Most Sustainable Portable Cutlery

The biggest issue with portable cutlery was finding a place to clean them before packing, or forgetting to wash and repack for the next day's adventure. Cliffset comes with 18/8 stainless steel utensils and its own cleaning tool. It sprays alcohol and lemon oil so your knife, fork, and spoon stay clean and ready for whatever is ahead. All wrapped up in a durable, stylish, and quietly snug carrying case.

Why Cliffset Portable Cutlery is the Best

Every Cliffset is made of metal and for good reason. Not only do we care about the earth, but we like having an enjoyable eating experience. That's why we designed the best portable cutlery set on the market.