Every ounce and square inch counts when you’re backpacking or bikepacking. With that in mind, Spokane startup Bear Minimum has created the Bear Bowl, a small cook bowl that comfortably holds 32 ounces of food or liquid and then wipes clean and folds down into a flat square the size of a sandwich.
The Bear Bowl is made of food-grade PTFE-coated fiberglass that expands into action with a couple of snaps. The aluminum base keeps it durable and light-weight, and nylon cord wraps around the handle, keeping it cool to the touch. I brought a full bowl of water to a boil in fewer than five minutes over a small camp stove burner. (You’ll want to save the open campfire for hotdogs and marshmallows.) No leaks here: I tested a bowl full of water overnight with nary an errant drop. It also passes the kid test: Three of my nephews easily assembled and disassembled it without a scratch to kid or bowl.
Still in its prototype stage, the Bear Bowl is available for preorder on the Bear Minimum website for $25. Bear Minimum Founder Cory Santiago states that his company “will soon complete the family with a Mama Bear and Papa Bear,” which will hold up to a gallon. Bearminimum.org. //
