Comparison Norfin Forssa vs Time Eco TE-618 Picnic

Items for food can be divided into individual and general. Individual items are designed for use by one person, it is by the number of such devices that the number of people for which the set is designed is determined (see above). This variety includes:

— Plates. It usually refers to small plates of small or medium size (snack or canteen). Meats, vegetables, various snacks and other solid foods can be laid out on such plates.

— The plates are deep. According to the classic serving rules, deep plates are intended for liquid dishes — soups, mashed potatoes, cereals, etc. However, in nature, in a relatively informal setting, they may well be used for solid food. Moreover, in some cases, such plates are even more convenient than small ones — high sides prevent pieces of food from falling off the plate.

— Forks. Traditional universal forks for various solid foods — except for corn, special devices are used for it (see below). For ease of carrying, they can be smaller than classic canteens (corresponding to a snack fork).

— Forks for corn. Special forks designed to eat corn straight from the head. They are small in size — about 10 – 15 cm in total length, of which approximately half falls on the handle. The working part is most often two-pronged. Such forks are usually used in pairs: they are stuc...k into the corn cob from the ends and turn into handles, for which you can hold the head of cabbage and eat corn from it without touching the grains with your fingers. This is especially convenient in nature, where it is not always possible to thoroughly wash your hands.

— Table spoons. The largest variety of spoons used for eating. Tablespoons are useful for soup, liquid porridge and other similar products. With some tricks, they can also be used for solid food, as well as for cooking and serving — for example, to stir salad and arrange it on plates.

— Tea spoons. Small spoons, originally designed for stirring tea or coffee. During picnics, however, they can be used in many other ways — for example, as a dessert (for berries, ice cream, yogurt) or as a cooking tool (when dosing salt, spices, etc.).

— Table knives. Traditional table knives differ from kitchen knives in that they have rounded blades without a pronounced point, as well as a blunt cutting edge. In order for the knife to cut, a special notch is provided on the edge, which works similarly to a saw. Such a tool is not suitable for cutting raw foods, but it does a good job with fried or baked meat (not very dense), fish, etc. In addition, the wide blade is useful when spreading butter or other similar additives on bread. However, in addition to such knives, picnic and barbecue sets often contain so-called "steak knives", with a wooden or plastic handle, a traditional pointed blade and a sharpened or sawtooth cutting edge. Such tools are designed to efficiently cut dense meat that a classic table knife cannot handle.

— Glasses. Glasses included in picnic sets can be divided into wine and beer glasses. A distinctive feature of wine glasses is the presence of legs with a stand; this leg can be quite long, and in general such vessels have a more elegant appearance than beer ones. Although the specific design, of course, may vary — often there are glasses with a short stem and a rather voluminous, high bowl. Beer glasses, in turn, in most cases are not equipped with legs, moreover, they are traditionally made of thicker glass (more precisely, plastic) than wine glasses. Formally, it would be more correct to call them mugs or glasses (depending on whether there is a handle in the design or not), but the name “glasses” has traditionally taken root for such dishes. In addition, there are beer glasses with a stem.

— Glasses. Classic glasses are universal vessels for various drinks, having a relatively large volume (usually about 250 – 300 mL). They have a cylindrical or close to it shape, although there are also quite unusual options; but the absence of a handle is a mandatory sign of a glass. Note that such dishes are designed mainly for soft drinks, but they can also be useful for wine / beer: although it is better to drink such drinks from glasses, in their absence, glasses will also do.

— Glasses. Containers for drinks, characterized by a small capacity — about 50 – 70 mL, less often up to 100 mL. Used mainly for strong alcohol: vodka, cognac, various tinctures. It should be noted that according to the “classics of the genre”, it is customary to call a glass a small vessel with a stem, but in this case, most often we are talking about piles — containers of a similar volume that do not have legs. The stacks are more stable and more practical when used outdoors.

— Mugs. In this case, we mean mugs for "tea and coffee" purposes — cylindrical vessels with handles having a capacity of about 300 – 400 mL. Such dishes are useful primarily for hot drinks, although, if necessary, they can also be used as an impromptu replacement for glasses or goblets (see above).

— Napkins. In this case, cloth reusable napkins are meant. The traditional use of such napkins is to fasten ("lay") on the chest or lay on the knees in order to protect clothes from contamination during meals (even the most careful eater is not immune from troubles like falling pieces of fatty food). They can also be used to wipe the face and hands after eating, but it is more convenient to use disposable paper napkins for this.

In turn, common tableware includes:

— Knife universal. General purpose kitchen knife. It is used not only during meals, but during cooking and serving: it is convenient to cut vegetables, bread, ham, etc. with this knife. Also in barbecue sets, it can play the role of a meat knife (see "For cooking").

— Swiss knife. Initially, a Swiss knife is called a folding knife (not necessarily made in Switzerland) of small size, equipped with various additional devices. At the same time, in picnic sets, this name may mean a device of a slightly different design, which is more of a universal opener, complemented by a folding knife blade. The "handle" of such a "knife" is usually made of metal, it provides a slot or a tooth for opening metal caps, as well as a corkscrew. And the blade when opening bottles can be useful for cutting foil or film from the neck.

— Cutting board. Cutting board for cutting various foods such as vegetables, bread, cheese, etc. The cutting boards supplied in picnic sets are usually relatively small, but even this is quite enough for its intended use. And barbecue kits can also include full-sized boards suitable for cutting a piece of meat into portions for frying.

— Thermos. A classic thermos is a container with good thermal insulation, which ensures long-term preservation of the temperature of the contents. Thermoses supplied in picnic sets usually have a traditional design and are intended for a variety of drinks. Such a container can be useful in order to carry a supply of hot coffee or tea with you in cool weather — or vice versa, to store a chilled drink in the heat.

— Set for spices. Table set for spices, usually consisting of two containers — for salt and pepper. Most often, these are classic salt and pepper shakers, with holes in the upper part, from which, when turned over, the contents spill out.

— Tablecloth. A tablecloth is a large piece of fabric that covers a dining table. Such a product protects the countertop from dirt, and also performs an aesthetic function: even a simple and not very beautiful tourist table with a suitable tablecloth can take on a rich and sophisticated look. Note that you should not confuse a tablecloth with a bedding / mat (see below): in this case, it means a product made of thin fabric intended for a table and not designed to be laid directly on the ground. At the same time, the tablecloth can be laid on a bedspread or other bedding, thus creating an impromptu table.

— Towel. A small towel that can be used, for example, for drying hands or fruit after washing, wiping countertops, or even as a makeshift napkin or lining for food. However, this item is considered far from obligatory for a feast in nature, which is why it is rare.

In addition to those described above, other food items may be included in the set, for example:

— Lighter. Usually we are talking about a lighter for smoking cigarettes or pipes, but such an accessory can also be useful for making a fire.
— A separate corkscrew for opening wine bottles.
— Food containers that allow you to conveniently pack some products.
— Toothpicks for cleaning teeth from the remnants of eaten food.
— A special cheese knife, usually with a serrated blade.
— Butter knife — quite wide, sometimes without sharpening at all.
— Metal flask for strong alcoholic drinks.

And some sets are even equipped with playing cards.

The material from which the supplied wipes are made.

Note that anyway, the material of table napkins is selected in such a way that they can be used normally for their intended purpose. As a result, the difference between the various options is mainly in the features of cleaning and washing. However, there are some practical differences as well.

— Cotton. A natural material that has long been used for cloth napkins, but has not lost its popularity even today. Cotton is soft, pleasant in appearance and to the touch, and is relatively inexpensive. Often, its “naturalness” is also recorded in the merits of this material, but this is a matter of taste and belief only. Among the disadvantages, we can mention that cotton fibers readily absorb dirt, and often for normal cleaning such products have to be washed at high temperatures, which can lead to shrinkage. However, shrinkage is not critical for table napkins. Also note that the service life of cotton is somewhat lower than that of synthetics, but this, again, cannot be attributed to serious shortcomings. Thanks to all this, this particular material is most widely used in picnic sets.

— Polyester. A synthetic fibre found in table napkins is much rarer than cotton. This situation is connected not only with the prejudice against synthetic materials (many believe that natural fabrics are better), but also with quite practical points. So, polyester is rather slippery and less pleasant to the touch...than the same cotton. Such material has good fat and water repellent properties, which, on the one hand, facilitates cleaning and speeds up drying, on the other hand, makes it not very convenient when wiping your face and hands after eating. As a result, polyester napkins have not gained much popularity.

— Fleece. A specific type of fabric made from the polyester described above. A feature of fleece is that it is actually a microfibre — a material made of very thin, a few microns, fibers. Due to this, fleece has some serious advantages over the classic polyester fabric: it is much softer to the touch, perfectly absorbs moisture and dirt, and at the same time is easy to clean and dries quickly. At the same time, even at picnics for table napkins, such properties are not particularly required; cotton also handles well with the main tasks. Because of all this, fleece is used very rarely, mainly in rather specific sets — for example, individual "lunch" sets for fishermen: while fishing, a fabric that absorbs moisture well and dries quickly can be very useful.

The working volume of the package in which the picnic/barbecue set is supplied.

This parameter is indicated for backpacks and bags (see "Form"). The working volume usually does not mean the total volume, but the capacity of the additional pocket (see above). It determines the amount of cargo — primarily products — that can be placed in a bag or backpack in addition to the main contents (kitchen and tableware).

When choosing according to this indicator, note that an additional pocket may have a different shape — accordingly, models with the same volume may differ significantly in actual capabilities. For example, in backpacks, an additional compartment can be made flat, “on the entire back”, and it can be difficult to fit even a small melon there, while in bags this is usually not a problem.

In this case, usually, the total weight of the kit ready to be carried, with all accessories and packaging, is indicated. This allows you to evaluate how convenient this or that kit will be in transportation. Note that many high-quality materials weigh relatively much — for example, steel plates (see above) are much heavier than plastic ones. However, if you don’t plan to carry the kit far — for example, if you buy it for “gatherings” in the yard of your own house or for trips out of town by car — you can not pay much attention to weight.