It’s not often that you see one of the techie gadget blogs covering camping gear but this week Gizmodo introduced us to the EGGo, a mobile kitchen concept that’s made for the outdoors. The egg-shaped pod includes a heating surface and a sink plus the water and fuel you need to get cooking.

It’s certainly a beautiful concept but it seems impractical in just about every way I can imagine. First: eggs aren’t good at standing on end (if you hadn’t noticed). It’s pretty obvious from the drawing below that strapping the EGGo to the roof of a car is awkward in every sense of the word.

The mirrored finish is certainly striking and in theory it reflects the natural beauty around you, making it fit nicely into the great outdoors. But consider this: camping (and especially outdoor cooking) can be messy and keeping the EGGo sparkling will be a losing battle. In fact I avoid the trendy stainless steel outdoor gas grills for this very reason. Black grills don’t show grease spots or soot

EGGo storage space seems to be minimal since the fuel and water need to be stored below the cooking surface and the egg shape tapers toward the bottom leaving little room for utensils.

Finally, I have to assume that integrating the sink is a huge technical challenge. How is the water pressurized such that it comes out of the faucet? Where does the waste water go?

Of course this is just a concept but I’m guessing we won’t be seeing the EGGo at a campground anytime soon (in this form anyway). I’ll stick to the Big Green Egg for my outdoor cooking needs.

Every now and then we like to share weight-saving tips for backpacking here on the blog and today’s tip is a pretty simple one: ditch your bowls and plates. You may be tempted to bring a lightweight plastic bowl and plate or even a fancy collapsable silicon bowl on your overnight backpacking trip but if you think about it you don’t really need a bowl or plate at all.

When you cook in a metal pot on the trail it’s a no-brainer to just eat your food right out of the pot (I usually can’t wait anyway!). Many backpacking meals are single serving anyway so I like to use the single pot rule for all my meals. It cuts down on gear but also means fewer things to clean up after I eat.

Some backpacking meals like MREs can be prepared in their own pouch by simply adding hot water. These meals are the best because you don’t even need a pot - a small water kettle will do just fine - and there’s nothing to clean up!

When you’re on the trail it’s important to cut out weight wherever you can and tossing the plates and bowls not only saves weight but also saves time. We don’t expect you to be fancy while backpacking anyway