Cult water bottle maker Hydro Flask has a new line of outdoor kitchen gear

Certain pandemic habits are bound to stick. Some aren’t. Product hoarding? Lose it. Washing your hands more frequently? Keep it. Doom-scrolling? Leave it behind. Getting out into the great outdoors? A total keeper.

Hydro Flask—the brand behind those colorful vacuum-insulated water bottles that are found on hiking trails (and VSCO girls’ feeds)—launched a new Outdoor Kitchen collection to assure that you don’t go hungry while in the wilderness. Whether you’re camping or picnicking in the park, the company’s multi-piece dining collection has all you need to serve, eat, and preserve any leftovers.

The full collection includes an insulated set ofstackable bowlswith lids, utensils, plates, and a 12 oz tumbler—perfect for morning coffee or a late-night fireside cocktail. (Or, you know, a stealth beer in the park.)

Hydro Flask’s design and research teams developed the collection through backyard experimentation. They decided upon design elements, like serving bowl sizes, via cookouts and outdoor adventures on their own Bend, Oregon campus.

Industrial designer Jarett Volkoff says the collection is meant to fill a need in the campsite experience. “There are two worlds for dining and camping products: either hand-me-downs that are 20 years old or paper plates and plastic wares,” he explains. “We wanted to design new and unique forms that weren’t compromising on usability.”

Except for the utensils and serving spoons,every Outdoor Kitchen itembenefits from Hydro Flask’s double-wall insulated TouchShield technology, which keeps hot foods hot, cool foods cool, and your hands at room temperature. It also means you can safely travel with your vat of potato salad while you bask in the sun. (Just me?) And since everything is made with stainless steel, your kit stays stain- and odor-free, even if it’s abandoned in the back of your RV for the weekend.

The Outdoor Kitchen collection also features clever multi-tasking design quirks—or as Volkoff puts it, “hidden delightful elements.” The Outdoor Tumbler has internal markers so that it can double as a measuring cup, the plate has a silicone sound dampener to reduce the clanking of utensils while you eat. The bowls are sized to stack together like a Russian doll. But the full-size utensils are just utensils. “We didn’t want to create a Swiss army knife,” Volkoff explains.

The idea was to create a true-to-life dining experience, rather something that feels like roughing it. This extends to the collection’s colors, which Hydro Flask director of design John Cupit selected to give variety but also elevate the design. Unlike Hydro Flask’swater bottles, which dominate VSCO girl culture in neon shades and patterns,the three Outdoor Kitchen colors—neutral Birch, traditional Olive, and bright and friendly Pineapple (a soft canary yellow)—were chosen to seamlessly blend into their customers’ lifestyle.

“Hydration is more about the personality of the user,” Cupit explains. “These products are built for duration. We want them to still look fresh and new five years from now.”

Hydr - Fro

Fast Company’s Recommender section is dedicated to surfacing innovative products, services, and brands that are changing how we live and work. Every item that we write about is independently selected by our editors and, wherever possible, tested and reviewed. Fast Company may receive revenue from some links in our stories; however, all selections are based on our editorial judgment.

Recognize your brand’s excellence by applying to this year’s Brands That Matter Awards before the early-rate deadline, May 3.

Explore Topics