What different materials are there for camping dishes?

With a new motorhome or caravan, the question naturally arises as to which suitable camping equipment should be included in your beloved camper.

A few years ago, the selection was still very limited and everything was limited to enamel camping dishes or melamine camping dishes.

There is now a large selection of different brands, which do not necessarily come from the camping segment, but nevertheless produce very stylish camping dishes .

This blog article basically deals with the question of which different materials there are for camping dishes .

The most well-known camping crockery is made of melamine. Even though we already have a very detailed blog post about the harmful substances in melamine , it is still one of the most purchased camping crockery .

It is very light, easy to transport and shatterproof. At first glance, it looks very similar to ceramic. In addition, the large selection on the camping market means that the choice of different designs is very large and inexpensive. And they often come in great, different camping tableware sets .

Nevertheless, the issue of harmful substances should be in the foreground and many families are more concerned with the topic of “toxic-free camping dishes” .

Here you can find our overview of harmful substances in camping dishes , which unfortunately also includes the content of melamine:

The advantages are definitely very convincing, since enamel is basically part of the pollutant-free camping dishes and you no longer have to deal with the issue.

In addition, enamel has been used as a material for several centuries and is therefore well-tested. Enamel is considered to be food-safe and, above all, hygienic . Even high temperatures do not affect enamel and no harmful substances are released, as is the case with melamine.

The thermal conductivity of enamel is very high and so a hot cup of coffee or tea in an enamel mug can get very hot. The handles of the enamel mugs can heat up to almost 50°C and hot dishes or drinks can quickly become dangerous for children.

One point that cannot be projected onto every enamel dish is the material underneath the enamel. The dish is only provided with an enamelled surface and other materials are hidden underneath. In the best case, there is stainless steel underneath and it does not rust. But that depends on the manufacturer, as other materials can also be hidden underneath.

However, the design of the enamel camping dishes is very one-sided and offers little choice. If it falls down, a corner quickly breaks off and is very noticeable.

Often the biggest criticism of enamel is that the dishes are reminiscent of Boy Scouts. But as we all know, taste is subjective. From a health perspective, however, it is still highly recommended.

Tips & Tricks: Do not clean enamel camping dishes with scouring powder or rough steel sponges, as these can scratch the surface of the dishes. It is best to simply use a soft cloth and warm water to clean enamel.

Polypropylene is a thermoplastic. Also simplified as PP, polypropylene is not to be confused with PE, which stands for polyethylene. In contrast to PE, polypropylene is more rigid and hard. PE is one of the most commonly used plastics in the world and is used, among other things, for the production of plastic bottles, films and bags.

The stronger polypropylene is therefore more suitable for use in camping dishes . In addition to camping dishes, polypropylene is also often used for:

• Furniture
• Automotive industry
• Yoghurt cup
• Straws
• Reusable containers such as thermal boxes
• Child seats
• Bicycle helmets
• Containers for acids and alkalis
• Sports & outdoor clothing
• Internal parts of a dishwasher

In contrast to PE, polypropylene can withstand temperatures of up to +140° for short periods and is also food-safe. In addition, polypropylene is free from hormonally active substances such as BPA and free from plasticizers. This is particularly reassuring for consumption, because alkalis and acids do not affect polypropylene and the material does not oxidize when it comes into contact with them.

And unlike melamine, camping dishes made of polypropylene can be used for hot filling of drinks and can even be hot sterilized.

Yes, and that makes it a great sustainable alternative to melamine camping tableware.

Since polypropylene is very durable and designed for long-term use, camping equipment does not need to be constantly replaced like other materials. In addition, it is much more environmentally friendly than other plastics, since polypropylene hardly produces any pollutants in nature and therefore does not harm the groundwater or the environment.

Of course, it is a plastic and if it is not disposed of properly, microplastics can enter the environment through UV decomposition. However, it should also be noted that polypropylene is so easy to recycle that the production of new products using recycled polypropylene requires significantly less energy than the production of new plastic.

Anyone who has already looked at Koziol camping dishes will have come across the term natural cellulose. In some other blogs, however, the material is referred to as thermoplastic.

Yes, that fits together. Why? Because plastics are made from materials such as cellulose, coal, natural gas, salt and petroleum using a specific process. This means that the origin of the plastic in this case is natural cellulose.

Never heard of it? We only came across the material Tritan during our research and please do not confuse it with titanium, as there are also a lot of these in the outdoor sector.

Tritan has very similar properties to polypropylene and is free of plasticizers and BPA, food-safe, heat-resistant and shatter-proof. Tritan copolyester is also a thermoplastic and was only developed in 2007 by the US company Eastman Chemicals.

We haven't actually been able to find any camping dishes made of Tritan yet. But since there are already drinking bottles for outdoor use and baby bottles made of Tritan, it's probably only a matter of time before the first manufacturers start using the innovative material Tritan.

The only disadvantage of Tritan is its low resistance to UV radiation. Tritan copolyester is therefore not suitable for long-term exposure to the sun, as it would otherwise become brittle and fragile. So there is nothing to stop you from having lunch in the sun or drinking coffee in front of your camper.

We are excited and will stay tuned.

In addition to enamel, polypropylene or melamine, bioplastics are also available as camping dishes. The brands chicmic , ajaa! and Zuperzozial in particular rely on bioplastics in camping dishes. The basis for this is often renewable raw materials such as sugar cane, palm leaves, bamboo or corn.

In the worst case, there are products in which the manufacturer mixes the natural raw material with melamine resins as a filler. Therefore, attention must be paid here and one must pay close attention to the composition.

In fact, researching Resylin turned out to be very difficult. The information that was available was mostly only from the manufacturers of Resylin products or retailers who sell such camping equipment.

There were neither scientific studies nor recommendations from the consumer advice center or other independent institutions.

Resylin has often been equated with ABS plastic. However, upon closer research, ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) appears to be only the basis for Resylin. However, it is unclear what the final product is made of.

Resylin is said to be very similar to melamine, except for its higher heat resistance. Instead of the 70 degrees that melamine can withstand, Resylin can withstand a heat of 90 degrees, but it is not dishwasher or microwave safe. No reason is given for this and since there are no scientific studies, it is likely that formaldehyde can escape at too high a heat, as is the case with melamine.

Resylin is also said to be BPA free and food safe.

As already mentioned, the research on Resylin was very limited and we do not want to commit ourselves to any content here due to the very thin data available.

A very rare term in the camping industry and yet there are also kitchen utensils made of PBT plastic.

PBT stands for polybutylene terephthalate, is also a thermoplastic and belongs to the polyester family. It is very similar to PET in terms of chemical structure and properties, but the basic material is less solid and stiff than PET. However, as with many plastics, additives can be added during the manufacturing process to create increased rigidity or strength, for example.

The fiber-reinforced PBT plastic has an increased heat resistance of up to 200 degrees due to the additional process, is dishwasher-safe, microwave-safe and robust.

PBT plastic is often found in cooking appliances such as egg cookers, coffee machines, toasters, but also hair dryers and vacuum cleaners.

So far we have only been able to locate one manufacturer that produces camping dishes with PBT plastic .

Since we have neither test reports nor statements from the consumer advice center, we are still cautious about using PBT plastic camping dishes.

This means that opal glass is much more robust than ordinary ceramic and is therefore often used by children or in retirement homes.

The camping dishes made of opal glass are therefore ideal for travelling in a motorhome. They are also food-safe, dishwasher-safe and microwave-safe. They are free from harmful substances and should be treated like porcelain dishes.

Of course, it is still not plastic and even shatterproof opal glass has its limits. If you throw it on stony ground or drive over gravel roads for a long time, cracks can appear in the opal glass and eventually break.

Conventional tableware is twice or three times as thick as opal glass, so it can definitely convince in terms of weight.

You can read exactly what the harmful substances in camping equipment mean here.

For more details and how bamboo tableware is constructed, see our separate blog article.

We therefore advise against using bamboo dishes for camping, as contact with hot food is almost unavoidable.

Both stainless steel and aluminum are often the camping equipment of choice among backpackers. After all, it is very light and easy to transport. However, aluminum is also often criticized for being harmful to health.

But what is behind it?

Aluminum is generally absorbed in small, harmless amounts through food and drinks. It is only when the limit values ​​are exceeded that it can cause damage to the nervous system.

This means any uncoated aluminum, such as aluminum foil, can lead to increased aluminum absorption.

According to the consumer advice center, it is clearly advisable to switch from aluminum to stainless steel camping equipment.

If you still don't want to do without aluminum, you can play it safe and use coated aluminum. Many pots and pans for camping kitchens are made of aluminum and come with an extra coating.

During our camping trip in Lofer (Austria) we made stuffed peppers in tomato sauce in our Omnia oven . Afterwards, the surface of our Omnia dish was completely damaged.

To be on the safe side, please use either the silicone mold for such dishes or use the coated additional mold !