Camping Plates

Dinnerware for your tent or campsite is essential for when you cook meals and serve food. Camping plates are the most useful item, but bowls, cups and cutlery are also vital so that you can actually eat the food you make without creating too much mess! The ideal camping plate is durable, shatter-resistant, easy to clean, and portable.

The best camping dishes are made from plastic or enamel as these are relatively resistant to damage and will not shatter easily if dropped or banged around. You ideally want a range of plates sizes for different meals too – from small saucers for cups and snacks, through to full size dinnerware for your main meals.

What would you do if you didn’t have a set of camping dishes and plates? Well, eating your delicious campsite meals would be incredibly difficult and while eating directly from the saucepan or cooking pot is possible, it’s not exactly convenient or elegant! Camp dinnerware allows you to have some semblance of civilization, eat properly, and create minimum mess with your food. But how do you choose a suitable camping plate? This can be difficult because there are hundreds of dinnerware providers available – each of which have their own styles, materials, shapes, and designs. All you want is a simple set of dishware! To help, we have provided some important questions and considerations below that you should think about when choosing camping dinnerware like plates.

What is the camping plate made from?

One of the most important factors to consider is the material the plates and dishes are made from. Brittle material that can break easily like china or glassware would not make suitable camping equipment as they could easily be dropped and broken. Imagine paying for an expensive pottery set only for it to get smashed in your backpack? Robust materials like plastic, enamel, and silverware are generally the best options as they will keep their shape and not break easily.

How easy is the plate to clean?

Cleaning and washing the dishes is just as important as when camping you will have limited facilities. Most likely you will just have a small bowl of water or may even have to wash your plates in a stream if you are wild camping! As a result, you want tableware that is easy to clean and doesn’t stain easily. Plastic and stainless steel are again great choices here as you can simply wipe them with a damp cloth and food mess should get ingrained into the surface easy.

What camping plates are included in the set?

It is most likely that you are going to buy a set of serveware and not just one plate. If this is the case, it’s vital to look at what is included in the set. Oftentimes you will get several different plate sizes such as a small saucer up to a larger dinner plate. Some sets also extend beyond just plates and will include bowls and cutlery too so if you need more than just plates this is something to consider.

How are the camping plates stored?

If you are buying a set of camp plates then you should look at how they are stored. Do they come in a storage box or bag or are they loose? If they are loose, is there anything to clamp or tie the different pieces together so that they don’t get lost or broken?

What size is the camping plate?

Lastly, how big is the dinnerware? Your camping plates should strike a compromise between portability and functionality. You want them to be large enough so that you can fit a decent-sized meal on, but not too large so you can still fit them inside your backpack of camping storage. Usually, camping plates are smaller than traditional dining plates that you would use in your home.