Gear Review: Sea to Summit Delta Series Dishes

Delta Series Plate and Insul-Mug

I generally hate to use my pot to cook food in and eat from. I would rather cook in a freezer bag or the bag the food comes in just to avoid the messy pot clean-up. The Delta Plate from Sea to Summit is actually great for eating out of both from a clean up point of view and not getting my fingers dirty on the food bag.

Delta Plate with Indian Rice

The Sea to Summit Delta Series is a line of sturdy dinner-ware that includes a Mug, Insul-Mug, Plate, Bowl with utensils coming soon. The Delta Series is made from a durable, BPA-free nylon material that is heat resistant and odor resistant. On the bottom of each item (except the utensils) is a honeycomb pattern that helps diffuse the heat across the surface while also reducing the weight of the item. The Delta Bowl and Plate both have an easy to use thumb hold that has an opening in it for easily attaching the item to the outside of a pack. The Insul-Mug has an EVA insulating sleeve and low profile sip lid. The sip lid has one raised edge with a cord threaded through to make removing the lid a snap. The lid has an air vent near the cord and opposite the sip slot. By removing the insulating sleeve and sip lid, the Insul-Mug looks exactly like the Mug.

Delta Plate with Alpha Spoon

The Delta Plate is a really sturdy plate. It fit fine in the top lid of my backpack as well as being able to fit into my food bag. Being able to fit the plate into my food bag was really important as even though it is odor-resistant, I can only get it so clean in the field. The thumb rest on the plate was really handy for comfortably holding the plate. I have comfortably held the plate in either hand using the thumb rest. My fingers naturally wrapped to the bottom of the plate when I was holding it. Other than feeling a little warmth from the food, I could handle the bottom of the plate even with hot food in it. I was using the Delta Plate with my Sea to Summit AlphaLight Long Spoon. The plate and spoon seemed designed to work together such that I could fit the curve of the spoon into the curve of the plate and scrape all my food out. The low profile of the plate was really nice but did tend to let the food cool quickly in the cold evening of the desert southwest.

Insul-Mug in use

The Delta Insul-Mug was really handy. Not only did I use it for measuring water for food prep, but a hot drink in the evening before bed was a real comfort. The Insul-Mug is easy to grip as the EVA insulating sleeve has a slightly tacky feel to it. The sleeve is easy to remove and easy to slide back on making for easy clean up at home. The Insul-Mug has a two cup capacity and measuring lines down the inside. The lines can be a little difficult to see but at least they are inside the mug taking some of the guesswork out of water volume for cooking. At two cups, the Insul-Mug is filled almost to the lip. There is very little room left in the mug but in spite of that the low profile lid still fits on the Insul-Mug. The sip lid also makes a great pour spout when the Insul-Mug is really full.

Insul-Mug at dinner

I took the Delta Plate and Insul-Mug down to the desert southwest on a backpacking trip. Since water was relatively precious, it was important to not waste any. Having the Insul-Mug for measuring out liquid came in handy during meal preparation. The Delta Plate was actually really useful as a clean surface for preparing sandwiches at lunch time as well as a plate for serving up dinner. Clean up was a little tough as I could only lick the plate so clean. Since the plate has a very wide and shallow opening, things in the plate tended to cool quickly and food dried to the plate quickly. I really had to work at it to clean the plate to a reasonable level so I could use it the following night. The Insul-Mug was super easy to clean because the sip lid tended to keep moisture inside preventing any hot chocolate residue from drying on hard.

Insul-Mug with hot chocolate

Both the Insul-Mug and the plate have a pretty good capacity. At two cups, the Insul-Mug holds enough hot chocolate to share. The plate is actually plenty big enough to hold a rehydrated meal, which are pretty generously sized. I poured in a Mary Jane dehydrated meal into the plate and barely covered the bottom with room to spare. The lip of the plate is generous enough giving the plate a great capacity. While I didn’t have to attach the plate to the outside of my pack, I was glad to know that if I really couldn’t get it clean enough, I could strap it to the outside and avoid the food rubbing off on something inside the pack.

Insul-Mug on trip

The Delta Plate and Insul-Mug were quite handy for backpacking and really handy for camping. They are both easy to use and relatively easy to clean. The thumb rest on the plate was well thought out and made holding the plate one-handed a snap. The Insul-Mug’s low profile lid is great with a snug, leak-free fit. The cord combined with the slight raised edge makes getting the tight fitting lid off easily even with gloves on. And while they don’t compact down, they are lightweight and worth considering when travelling in a group or as a couple with only one pot.

Manufacturer	Sea to Summit
Weight	2.2 oz/62 g (Mug) 4.4 oz/125 g (Insul-Mug) 2.7 oz/78 g ea (Bowl) 4.6 oz/130 g (Plate) 0.53 oz/15 g (Spoon or Spork)
Materials	BPA-free nylon
Price (MSRP)	n/av

This story was originally posted March 30, 2011.