GEAR REVIEW: SEA TO SUMMIT X-BOWL

This was one of the last items we picked up before leaving — the Sea to Summit X-Bowl. It was almost an afterthought, a head-slapping “duh” moment when we realized how helpful it would be to carry our own bowl for quick, cheap meal options.

I’m happy to admit that it wasn’t a waste of space — not that the X-Bowl takes up much room as it folds almost completely flat, just 0.5 inches thick and weighs just 2.8 ounces. So far we’ve used them to eat noodles on the train in China, eat cereal each morning in Thailand, as a cutting board for cucumber and tomatoes and as a plate for frequent sandwiches.

The collapsible sides made of food-grade silicone feel quite wobbly at first, but they never fail when holding food — including boiling-hot soup. Supposedly they can withstand temperatures of 300 degrees-fahrenheit!

When the bowl is full, one does have to be a little more careful when holding and balancing it while eating. Plus, we have to pinch the edges of the rim to move it when it’s full of hot food, but we’ve had no spills yet.

The nylon base has proven tough as we continue to abuse it, hacking away at vegetables and fruit with the serrated and now blunt edge of our vegetable peeler. The X-Bowl is also dishwasher safe, but we won’t be able to truly test that until we get home. 😉

It was a last minute addition, but we’re certainly happy to have the Sea to Summit X-Bowl along for the journey. Especially now that we’re enjoying cold cereal again every single morning here in Thailand.

Check to see if the X-Bowl graduated to my revised round-the-world packing list!