While most of us would not think the humble spork needed a redesign, product designer Micah Baclig felt differently. After a degree from Rhode Island School of Design where he spent researching eating utensils around the world, Baclig decided to take a brand new look at the popular outdoor utensil with a focus on sustainability and portability.
The result is Kuma–a compact spork that fits in your pocket or the palm of your hand. Instead of the usual spork design where the fork tines sit along one edge of the spoon, the Kuma is more of a spoon one side-fork on the other. By forgoing a handle, the Kuma saves some weight and space in your pack, but it may also mean you get your hands and fingers pretty dirty when eating, especially if it’s of the standard dehydrated meal pouch variety.
Baclig originally focused on those of us that eat on the go every day. In this environment, the Kuma serves an alternative to the thousands of plastic utensils that get thrown away at places such as food trucks, Whole Foods, or even schools.
Kuma and all of its components are manufactured in the USA, with partners located across New England. The spork comes in both a hardcoat anodized aluminum and stainless steel version, as well as in a variety of colors (silver, blue, green, red). For $10, you can pre-order your Kuma spork over on Kickstarter. Add $5 to your pledge amount and Baclig will throw in a travel pouch to protect your spork.
Given the small dollar amount of each pledge, it’s pretty cool to see the Kuma close to funded ($18,000 goal) with 23 days yet to go.