Back when I was in the Boy Scouts -- for over a decade, believe it or not -- we used to go camping, and we'd eat out of mess kits. They were pretty low-fi devices: They consisted of a "plate" and a "bowl" that were supposed to "snap together" "snugly". Needless to say, they didn't, so if you had to transport them with anything inside, they'd leak all over the place and make your backpack look like a troll threw up in it. What did I expect? We bought 'em for about seven dollars at Canadian Tire.

So I was delighted to discover that the design genuises at Sternform have developed a next-generation mess kit comprised of two thermal half-bowls which keep their ingredients hot or cold, and which are held tightly together by magnetic rims. (To find the product on their site, scroll to the second-from-the-right item on that page.) As they describe it on their web site:

Because of carbon dust included in the vacuum and the bowl like shape -- hereby the ratio of surface to volume is minimal -- the temperature is being preserved much longer as with standard insulating techniques and a high protection of damage is provided.

The magnetic connection of the bowls, as well as the "clipclap" function of the lids, which have to be pushed onto the green spot in their middle to open and at their sides to close, a very easy and precise use is possible, even with cold hands, with gloves or with just one hand. Additional to that, both mechanisms provide a better hygiene, because of their simple form without threads. The big openings of the bowls are easy to clean and even the lids are dishwasherproof. At the same time the lids can be used as saucers, as well as the grooves on their upside provide space to take up the strapband with its adapter.

Check out the way-cool pictures on the web site, too.

(Thanks to Sensory Impact for this one!)