The UCO company started off by making a candle lantern in 1971. With a company based on living life outdoors, they have now emerged into the Mess Kit category with their new line that is fairly new to the market. Now, I’ll be honest, a mess kit is a mess kit.
First off, let’s get down to basics. It’s a mess kit. There’s Tupperware that does the same thing, but then you have clanging in your pack and on hunting trips, that’s not good or you have something that spills, etc. You know the drill, it flat out sucks to get your mom’s meatloaf all over your backpack after an 8-mile hike when all you wanted was her meatloaf (Ma! Meatloaf! We want it now). So that’s where UCO comes into play. With their Bamboo Elements 5 piece Mess Kit (bottom, top, fork, knife/spoon combo, and the reusable tether), you have virtual spill proof durability thanks to the creative minds over at UCO. The UCO website even says “Silicone Gasket keeps the good stuff in and the bad stuff out” and they’re right. I filled the Bamboo Essentials 5 Piece Mess Kit with Sugar Water and placed it on its side. After 12 hours I had zero sugar water in Tupperware container I set it up in. (I used sugar water because most of the liquid that comes from water usually has sugar in it whether natural or not).
Second valid reasoning to buy a UCO 5 Piece Mess Kit. It’s seriously compact. I like things to have their place and I always find that I have at least 1 section of my T3 3-day Hydration Pack that is not used. The UCO Mess Kit fits perfectly in it. It’s ideal for 12+ hour missions where you’re going to eat some kind of freeze-dried food or for your mom to bring you your snacks after your intense airsoft battle with your “brothers in arms”. The weight and dimensions are 14.0 oz. and 6.7 x 6.7 x 2.2 in. To me, that is relatively lightweight and small.
Third, it’s eco-friendly. It is made of 90% natural elements (the lid/plate are made of 75% bamboo) and you don’t have to worry about throwing plastic away. Environmentally friendly is actually a huge thing to me. I love being outdoors and I want our environment to be around for my kids one day and that starts at not being wasteful, one piece of trash at a time. I cannot stand people who leave their trash around their campsite after they leave. They’re ruining it for the rest of us.
Last but not least, reasoning number Quatro – UCO hack number 1. You can use the lid as a second plate if you don’t like your food touching. Me? It depends on the food, but I don’t want my meatloaf and my brownies (not the edible’s kind) to be touching. Or if a hiking partners Tupperware spilled in their backpack, you can share your meal on the lid. Nothing but good choices when it comes to purchasing this UCO 5 Piece Mess Kit – not to mention you can also get a spork. Sporks make eating entertaining, sporks made taco bell, sporks made a lot of things better, so make the world better environmentally and for yourself, get a UCO Mess Kit and grab yourself a spork!
