Sporks are one of the camping and backpacking industry’s greatest inventions. It’s a wonder that they’re not more widely used since having multifunction utensils would be a great way to reduce plastic utensils polluting our oceans and urban landscape. Perhaps more amazing is the amount of creativity and design ingenuity that manufacturers have applied to making different types and styles of sporks to fit different needs and preferences.

Here are the backpacking sporks we recommend.

1. Toaks Titanium Spork

The Toaks Titanium Spork features a polished bowl, which many backpackers feel is more pleasant to eat from, and a matte finish for improved grip. Cutouts in the spork’s body help reduce the weight of the 18 gram spork and provide a way for you to attach it to your gear with a cord or minibiner. The head’s tines are long enough to spear delicate morsels in addition to slurping down noodles or other soupy meals.

2. Snow Peak Titanium Spork

3. Toaks Titanium Folding Spork

4. humangear GoBites Uno Spork

5. Light My Fire Spork

Light My Fire claims to have invented the spork in 2005. Whether that’s true or not is anybody’s guess. In any event, their Sporks have a handy serrated edge alongside the fork tines, which allows you to cut and spear your food in a single motion. It’s also made from biobased plastics and is 100% BPA-free and microwave and dishwasher-safe.

6. UCO Utility Spork

The UCO Utility Spork includes a spoon and fork with one serrated edge, which is good for spearing and rendering chunks of protein. It has two holes in the handle, so you can attach it to a lanyard (strung around your neck), which is handy in camp so you can’t misplace it. Inexpensive, it’s also available in titanium for about seven times as much.

7. Toaks Long-Handled Titanium Spork

The Toaks Long-Handled Titanium Spork, 8.6″ in length, is essential if you need to dig down deep into freezer bag dinners on the trail. Its polished head offers a more enjoyable dining experience and is easier to clean.

8. Brautigam Expedition Works Long Titanium Spork

The Brautigam Expedition Works Long Titanium Spork, a full 9.65″ in length, may be the longest spork available today. It has a squarish head that makes it easy to get that last morsel of food at the bottom of freezer bag meals, with a carabiner/lanyard hole at the other end. It’s available in pure titanium or anodized colors, which make each spork unique.

How to Choose a Backpacking Spork: Key Criteria

Here are the most important properties of a spork and some guidance about how to select one that will work best for you.

Length: If you need to reach deep into a freeze-dried or rehydrated meal bag, or a deep cook pot like a Jetboil, a long length spoon can be quite desirable. Look for spoons that are 7 to 8 inches in length, as opposed to shorter ones that are 6 to 7 inches long.

Color: Get a brightly colored spork if you’re prone to lose them on backpacking trips. The titanium colored ones are easy to misplace on the ground because they look like sticks. Garish colors like purple or neon green stand out best.

Texture: Some manufacturers make titanium sporks with polished bowls, and some leave them with a rough finish that reminds users of fingernails being scratched on a chalkboard.

Folding: If you want to have a cook kit that folds completely into a mug or cook pot, getting a folding spork is the way to go. Metal folding sporks tend to be more durable than plastic ones. Don’t try to use them as tent stakes, though. They’re not stiff or strong enough.

Multi-purpose: There’s something to be said for having a multi-purpose spork that can open beer bottles or cans, even if they do weigh more than other options. It all depends on your most frequent needs and priorities.

Material: Wood, titanium, aluminum, nylon, or plastic? Metal sporks will be the most durable, as plastic can break. Wooden and bamboo sporks tend to break down with use, but they are usually biodegradable.

Single Head or Dual Head: While traditional backpacking sporks just have the one combined spoon and fork-tined head, there is something to be said for dual-head sporks, since you often get a more usable fork with longer tines for spearing food. Most backpackers eat mush, though, so having a true fork is often not a requirement.

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