Words by: Josie Collier
As I crossed the Golden Gate bridge for a weekend of car camping, my stomach groaned. I was desperately hungry for some decent food, and equally famished for some time away from the city hustle.
Luckily, the YETI Rambler Insulated Bowls were a useful upgrade for my normal car camping meal set up. The bowls—1 quart, 2 quart and 4.5 quart-sized—were practical for a family style campsite meal like a salad and also a personal meal—as I did for my on-the-road breakfast bowl. Even after a day of driving, the bowls’ double-wall vacuum insulation technology kept the foggy air out, and my breakfast warm, while at the same time keeping salad crisp and fresh for a late afternoon lunch at Rodeo Beach.
Parked at the beach, I left our setup for the day and explored the black sand below. A couple surfers floated in a choppy lineup while the mist persisted. As I set up a small picnic, the bowls’ sealed lids were essential. Keeping out the dew from above and the black dust from below, these vessels saved our lunch.
White fog swallowed the Marin Headlands hills around me and heavy waves crushed the coastline. Taking it all in, I couldn’t help but notice that the bowls’ navy blue coat blended into the Pacific Ocean landscape. Growing up in California, the color was nostalgic of road tripping up and down Highway 1 from Los Angeles to San Francisco, and I pictured them bumping along in the backseat of my family’s Toyota 4Runner in place of the typical soggy sandwiches and fast-food stops. But, if you’re more of a high desert or snowy mountain type of camper, the bowls also come in cape taupe and white. Sometimes you just need to match your environment, right?
The durable bowls are not necessarily meant for throwing in your backpack during a hike, but they are great for basecamp. Plus, I am notorious for losing things while camping, and these YETI bowls helped my cause. When I discovered the stackable feature of the Rambler bowl set, I knew it was a sign from the “camp gods” themselves—there’s no option but to be organized. I stored some cutlery and napkins in my spare bowl and stacked, adding practical ease to an otherwise chaotic car-camping setup.
When it was time to pack up, the bowls’ stainless steel was easily restored to its pristine state with a quick rinse and wipe (we even left the soap at home). No hassle for digging out food from awkward crevasses of other Tupperware and nowhere to hide the random woodchip that spontaneously appears in every piece of camping gear. Instead, I left camp a bit more organized, my brain (and appetite) fully satiated.
