Just like a metal bowl, you actually only need one eating utensil.
The spoon. It can pick up bite-sized solid food like a fork, eat soups and cereals, and can cut like a knife (in a bind). Why carry three separate utensils when one can do it all without the sharp edges of a spork? Plus, you are most likely already carrying a proper full tang fixed blade knife or folder, so the extra cutlery is not really necessary.
My preference is a shorter handled spoon, over a long-handle, because it is easier to pack.
The best cutlery set, that I’ve found is a titanium set from Titaner, although I really only use the spoon. The simplicity of the set is perfect. There are no fancy holes CNC’d out of the handles to weaken or lighten the utensils.
I found this particular set to be made out of a thicker titanium sheet that makes it feel closer to regular cutlery, but the shapes are downsized and proportioned just right. It is not like the typical “stamped” super-thin titanium cutlery that litters ebay and outdoor stores. The utensils do weight a little bit more, at 13g/0.46oz each. All three pieces in the set are exactly the same length (154mm/6″ ) which is beneficial when packing them. The picture above shows the spoon from this set.
APRIL 2021: it appears Titaner has discountinued this cutlery set, but Amazon carries hundreds of other titanium or plastic cutlery sets for camping purposes.
If you want a very heavy-duty spoon, then consider the USMC issued spoons from the 1960’s, available on eBay. They are military grade, and very solid.
