Being that I am pretty much a prepper (for disaster aid preparedness) I am always looking for the latest and greatest camping supplies. I am all about anything and everything I can do to pack a lighter bag. I rarely cook on disaster aid trips, but there have been occasions the need existed, and I have looked at several different kinds of cooking pots and was intrigued with the Bear Bowl which uses a mylar square that folds up on an aluminum base. I received my bear bowl today and here are my thoughts:

They way it folds together, while confusing at first is actually quite genius, I think the concept of the mylar bag as a cooking pot is also brilliant, but there are 3 problems I didnt force when I ordered, nor do I think this could have been portrayed in the promotional launch on kickstarter:

1. It is heavier than I thought it would be, most of this weight is coming from the aluminum base.
2. The aluminum base is a little wider than on the kickstarter video.
3. The aluminum bases edges are rough. Almost (but not quite) sharp enough to cut someone who is mishandling it.

One distinct advantage is does have over aluminum bowls (which weigh about the same) is that it is definitely more compact (flat).

Ill put in it my bag of extra supplies just in case, but I don’t think Ill be bringing it with my main bag. Im not seeing the weight savings vs a normal camping pot. If you are interested in the product, my gut feeling is that the biggest, the mama bear would be the one to get.

This is what the display on the kickstarter page: This is what I received. Look at the increased size of the base. I do think they have a potentially GREAT product. My recommendation would be to try to figure out how to make it work with just the mylar bag, perhaps reinforced with another material. Make it weight literally almost nothing, then it would be a homerun product . All this said I was happy to check it out and give them a chance.

Bear Bowl Collapsable Cooking Pot