Gear Picks - Orikaso Fold Flat Tableware

Today's gear pick is Orikaso folding dishes, and let me say right up front: I LOVE this stuff. It's practical, it's clever, it's fun, it works, it's very packable, and it's really really cool. I put this on my Christmas list this year and Santa (ok, my sister) brought me a lovely Orikaso Solo Set - a folding plate, bowl and mug. Yup - folding. It's real, functional dishes, made out of thin plastic, that you fold together like origami.

Here's a look at the whole set in blue:

And here's a quick video to give you the idea - this is the bowl (it's even the same colour as mine!):

And here's the mug, which is more devilishly clever, and also has measurement markings on the sides:

There's also a plate - which goes together just like the bowl, but it's wider and shallower, more like a ... plate. It also doubles as a cutting board.

I've tried out the bowl at home, and it performed quite well, and was really easy to clean - you just open it out flat and wipe it off. The set even comes in a sturdy plastic folder to keep it all together, which is good because the pieces have lots of tabs and flaps that would probably catch on everything around them if uncontained. The folder is ever-so-slightly wide to fit comfortably in my new Rick Steves Civita Daypack, but it's not too bad. It will, however, fit perfectly in the bottom of the Aeronaut (which just arrived!!!).

I plan to take the set with me on my two upcoming trips to Montreal (one for 3 days, one for 2 weeks), so I'll be able to give it all a thorough test. So far, through, the Orikaso Solo Set gets two thumbs up from the Product Testing Department here at Go See Run Eat Drink World Headquarters (Note: Product Testing is located on the 5th Floor, between the Cafeteria and the Yoga Studio).