I keep a lot of stuff in my truck that I do not use every week. A tow strap, a tarp, a set of jumper cables that have saved two strangers and one neighbor. But the thing that earns its space more than any of it is a pair of SLSON collapsible bowls. They weigh almost nothing, they take up less room than a sandwich, and they have saved me from a dozen small disasters on camping trips with my dog Tucker. Here are ten reasons they belong in your truck too.
The two-bowl set that rides in my truck every day
SLSON makes a simple 2-pack of collapsible bowls with carabiners. One for water, one for food, both flat when you are done. I have used mine on every trip for two seasons and they still look like new.
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Folded flat, each SLSON bowl is about the size of a large smartphone and maybe an inch thick. I keep both bowls plus the two carabiners in the door pocket of my truck, and I forget they are there until I need them. A rigid ceramic bowl or a metal camp bowl eats real space in a truck that already carries a cooler, a camp chair, and a bag of firewood. These disappear.
They turn any rest stop into a proper water stop
Tucker runs hot on a long drive, and a dog that cannot get water on a 6-hour trip is a dog I am failing. Before I carried these, I would pour water into my cupped hands and watch most of it run through my fingers. Now I pop a bowl open, fill it from the jug I keep behind the seat, and Tucker drinks his fill in about a minute. We are back on the road before the truck even cools down.
The carabiners mean the bowls are always where you left them
Each bowl has a small loop, and the set comes with two carabiners. I clip one bowl to the outside of my pack and the other to the tie-down loop in the truck bed. When I stop for the night, I unclip, fill, and set them down. When I pack up in the morning, they clip back on before I can walk off and leave them. I have lost exactly zero bowls in two years, which is more than I can say for a camp mug and a folding knife.
They are tough enough for a dog that chews everything
Tucker is a 55-pound hound mix who has destroyed a plastic food scoop, a rubber toy, and part of a garden hose. The SLSON bowls are made of a flexible silicone material that has survived two seasons of him eating and drinking out of them twice a day on trips. He has tried to pick one up and carry it off exactly once. He dropped it when it folded in his mouth. The bowl was fine. He has not tried again.
They clean up faster than anything else I have tried
At the end of a day, the food bowl has kibble grease and drool in it. I rinse it under the camp spigot, wipe it with a bandana, and it is dry in the time it takes me to hang the hammock. The water bowl gets a quick shake and it is done. I have tried rigid bowls that needed soap and a scrub brush, and I have tried paper bowls that fell apart on the first bite. Neither is worth the trouble when a rinse does the job.
They double as a spare water dish for the bed of the truck
I sleep in the truck bed under the topper on cool nights, and Tucker sleeps on a blanket beside me. He gets thirsty at 2 AM just like I do. A full rigid bowl would slosh on every bump. The SLSON bowl sits flat on the bed mat, holds a good two cups of water, and does not spill when he drinks. I have woken up to a dry bowl and a dry blanket more times than I can count.
They keep the campsite cleaner than a bowl on the ground
A rigid bowl on bare dirt collects pine needles, grit, and the occasional ant. The SLSON bowls have a flat base and low sides, so they sit steady on a picnic table bench or a tailgate. I feed Tucker on the tailgate most nights, and I sweep the crumbs off with one hand when he is done. The campsite stays clean, the ants stay away, and I do not spend the next morning picking kibble out of the dirt.
They are cheap enough to replace and sturdy enough not to need it
I am a retired mechanic, so I know the difference between a tool that is worth repairing and a tool that is worth replacing. The SLSON set costs less than a tank of gas, and after two years of regular use, I have not needed to replace it. The silicone has not cracked, the seams have not split, and the carabiners still snap shut. I would buy the same set again tomorrow without thinking twice.
They work for food, water, and everything in between
I have used these bowls for dog food, drinking water, and a dozen other camp jobs. They have held a handful of kindling while I walked from the wood pile, a batch of soapy water for washing dishes, and once a small collection of wild blackberries I did not want to crush in my pocket. The low sides make them easy for a dog to reach, but the same shape makes them handy for a person too.
They make you the prepared camper at every site
The first time I camped with a dog, I forgot a water bowl entirely and fed Tucker out of a frisbee. It worked, barely. Now the SLSON bowls live in the truck full time, so I am never the guy at the next site over asking to borrow a dish. Being prepared with a two-ounce bowl is a small thing, but it is the difference between a smooth trip and a scramble.
What I'd Skip
If you are looking for a bowl that will hold a gallon of water for a full day at the lake, skip these and buy a rigid bucket. Collapsible bowls are for travel, not for a permanent water station. I also would not use them as a chew toy. The silicone is tough, but it is not indestructible, and a determined chewer can put a hole in it. For normal camping and road trips, they are the right tool. For those two jobs, they are not.
Two seasons, dozens of trips, and I have not lost a bowl, cracked a seam, or fed my dog out of a frisbee since.
Put a pair in your truck before your next trip
The SLSON collapsible bowl 2-pack is small, cheap, and ready to go. I keep mine in the door pocket year round, and they have paid for themselves a dozen times over.
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