The fighting man's squishy bowl

Submitted by Eric Daniel

Ok, I will be the first to admit, when I checked out the Squishy Bowl (BWJones commented on it under my spork entry) my first impression was, “Oh, no way in hell.”

There is no way I am going to be caught dead in country packing this thing rolled up between my CLS bag and my claymore mine, and I sure as hell am not going to carry anything colored tomato or celery (those are foods, not colors.)

Seriously, my initial thought was, “why bother?” All the food I eat either comes in it’s own bowl (MRE pouches) or it comes from the mess hall. Even when I’m "cooking” in the field, using my handy dandy “nazi pot” I usually end up eating out of the pot rather than transferring the food.

But, on second thought, my reaction was more one of, “well, why not?” A British soldier was the one who put name to concept I’ve had for some time when he described the “racing spoon”, which was a spoon soldiers carried on them at all times. The racing spoon had to be big enough to eat lots fast, and long enough to be able to reach the bottom of the tin without shaking food out all over your face.

The squishy bowl is the racing spoon of bowls. It’s lightweight, so it won't slow you down, it’s flexible, so you can fold it up and stow it in a pocket or your “bail out” bag, and in the absence of a canteen cup, it is a relatively useful piece of camp kit.

The squishy bowl is made of 100% flexible food-grade silicone, temperature resistant to 400 degrees F (yes you outdoor survivalists can use it to sterilize water with for drinking) and can be turned inside out for “cleaning” (also known as licking.)

Just remember, when anyone asks, they only come in red, blue, gray, or green.

Get your Squishy Bowl here

Comments

[BWJones]

Ah, glad you liked the concept. I bought mine in the low visibility grey, something that actually looks good. Would not have the celery colored one, but I bought my wife the blue colored one.

[Don]

What is this "nazi pot" you speak of??

[Eric Daniel]

“Nazi pot” is a reference to the German mess kit I use in the field. I prefer the German one to the U.S. one because you can cook with it, boil water with it, and when not in use, you can store stuff in it. Overall, I simply find it to be a more useful piece of kit.

Well I did a write up for it on Kit Up, and some folk were not impressed with my selection, referencing the numerous outrages performed by the Nazi government during WWII and whether my endorsement of the German mess kit also endorsed Adolph Hitler and his policies. “Nazi pot” was actually a phrase coined by one of those commentators.

[Jeff]

"yes you outdoor survivalists can use it to sterilize water with for drinking"

How in the world do you expect to boil water IN one of these bowls? Sure, they can easily handle water that is already at boiling temperature, but what do you use to get the temp above 212 without burning them up?

[Eric Daniel]

You use indirect heating. If you have access to stones you can make a small pit and line it with stone (or use a single flat rock if you are lucky enough to find one. Otherwise just make a small pit in the earth to hold the bowl.) Dig a fire pit under your stones and make a fire. The fire heats the stones and the stones heat the water. It isn’t the fastest method in the world but it will allow you to boil water without melting the bowl. You can do the same thing with an issue wet weather bag.

[Harry Flashman]

Hell, you can boil water in a paper bag over an open flame! Or would the silicone not transfer the heat and melt?

[Kiran Patil]

I'm not sure why people are doubting the author of this write-up. The melting point of silicone is extremely high (400F) as he pointed out. That's why professional cooks often use silicone tools in the kitchen. A silicone spatula or spoon won't bend or warp when used directly on hot surfaces.

[mike]

I normally eat out of what I cook in when I am out. However this is a damn fine idea that I will try...