Sporks have traditionally been ill-designed, ugly little things, almost spoons but not quite forks. But Light My Fire‘s utensil is a beauty – a pleasant-to-hold handle is topped by a spoon on one end and a fork on the other. And the fork has a serrated edge, so it can even perform some basic knife functions as well. It’s heavy-duty, made of heat-resistant polycarbonate material that won’t melt in boiling water, and it’ll do almost anything you throw at it – within the normal duties of forks and spoons of course.

We discovered these Sporks one evening in Austria, and decided they would be the perfect addition to our travelware family. We’d been carrying a full set of metal knives, forks and spoons for a while, but they’d been relegated to the bin a couple of months previously in one of our many bag-lightening flurries. But this will never happen to the Sporks – we’ve used them for soup in England, yoghurt in Turkey and making coffee in eight countries this year alone. And since they weigh in at seven grams apiece and fit neatly into each other, they take up little space and even less baggage allowance.

I’m a big fan of hiking, and I’ve taken my Spork on several multi-day hikes. It’s come in handy in many a hostel kitchen, where cutlery is often surprisingly hard to come by, and it’s my utensil of choice here in England where my hotel room is provided with a kettle and cups but there’s not a spoon to be seen.

Sporks are, of course, a fantastic travel accessory, but they’re worth investing in even if you’re not travelling. You never know when you’re going to need a spoon (my old office never seemed to have any teaspoons, which made making coffee rather interesting), and you can choose from 20 “civilised” colours to match any outfit. Plus they make great little gifts for friends who are heading off on their big adventure.

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This article was written by Linda Martin

Linda Martin is a self-confessed word geek, Spanish addict and world traveller. She and Craig have been travelling full-time for five years, taking in parts of Europe, Asia, Australia and South America. She's currently back home in New Zealand for the Southern Hemisphere summer, preparing for the next trip -- to Spain.