Discussion:
LTR - Fozzil Soloist - DLarsen
vicioushillbilly
16 years ago
Permalink
Find my LRT below. The url is: http://tinyurl.com/qfmjkh. Thanks!

Dawn

Long Term Report
12 September 2009

Field Conditions and Performance
Fozzil replaced the broken bowl as soon as I contacted them. Going into this final report period, I was really not enthused about this product. I tried it on a couple more kayaking and backpacking trips and found about the same information as I did in the field report section. I did not like to use it regularly because it was cumbersome to pack.

Then...I took the set to Burning Man in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada for a week. There, we lived in a base camp situation where we cooked for each other and shared meals in a communal outdoor kitchen (see picture below). We were to bring our own cup, bowl/plate and utensils. This set was PERFECT for that event! It worked especially well when I had to wash my dishes because it unfolds flat. Since we were in the desert, we had to carefully monitor our water usage, so we set up a 3 tub system to: wash, disinfect, and rinse. With the Soloist set unfolded flat, washing was a breeze. Additionally, the playa dust did not seem to stick to the material once the set dried. Amazing, as it stuck to everything else. I used the set twice a day for 7 days. We had curries, spaghetti, and tuna cass
erole. The set never took on an odor or color. I used the package as a cutting board to cut vegetables and it worked great. It still softened with hot foods, however. I also wished that the spoon was a spork, though I'm not sure how Fozzil would make the tines work. There were times, like spaghetti night, when a fork/spork would have been helpful. Most people in my camp commented on how ingenious the set was, as well as how cool it looked.

playa kitchen image

Summary
I think this set performs best, even though it is ultralight, as a base camp set simply because of it's size. I guess, if I would backpack with only cold foods, it would work well too, but even in the summer, I really like at least one warm meal a day when camping or backpacking.

Additional likes:
It works well in a base camp situation
Playa dust did not seem to stick to it as well as it did other campware

Additional dislikes:
I wish the spoon was a spork

I will use this set again at Burning Man next year, in base camp situations, and on camping trips where I can spare the room to bring additional equipment.

This concludes my Long Term Report. I would like to thank Fozzil and BackpackGearTest.org for allowing me to test the Soloist Pack.



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pamwyant
16 years ago
Permalink
EDIT: LTR Fozzil Ultralight Solo Pack – Dawn Larsen

Hi Dawn,

I only have a couple of edits and a couple of comments for you.

First,

### EDIT: The request has been made to describe the type of product in the title. I notice David used "plate/bowl/spoon", and you can use that, or another descriptive phrase.

I think this set performs best, even though it is ultralight, as a base camp set
simply because of it's size.

### EDIT: leave the apostrophe out of `its' in this use.

I guess, if I would backpack with only cold foods,
it would work well too, but even in the summer, I really like at least one warm
meal a day when camping or backpacking.

### Comment: This sounds a little odd, especially since the packed size seemed to be a primary dislike, and it would pack the same whether you were eating hot or cold food. Also, the sentence structure is a little odd. You might consider eliminating it entirely, or rewording a bit. Maybe something like: I guess it might work better for backpacking if I used only cold foods, but even in the summer I really like at least one warm meal a day on my trips, and it would still be bulky to pack.

Additional likes:
It works well in a base camp situation
Playa dust did not seem to stick to it as well as it did other campware

### Comment: you might consider "stick to it as *much* as it did other campware." Somehow using the word "well" to describe something undesirable seems odd to me.

Additional dislikes:
I wish the spoon was a spork

### Comment: Funny, just this weekend I was remarking how a spoon was the only utensil needed while backpacking, and that a spork was neither a good spoon nor a good fork. <grin> Just goes to show how important it is to find your own style. ;^)

Thanks for a good test series.

Pam




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vicioushillbilly
16 years ago
Permalink
Thanks Pam! "it's" for its, how embarrassing! :-) Done.

Dawn
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