Description
The Problem
During longer backpacking trips where all food must be carried, we identified key meal preparation challenges through user interviews:
Difficulty preparing meals on uneven surfaces
Cooking tools are hard to access at once in a packed backpack
Limited compatible dehydrated or pre-packaged food options
Design Iterations
To provide an even surface that supports food preparation, we focused on adjustable legs and built-in cutting board area that accommodate crooked terrains often encountered while backpacking.
However, user feedback with told us we were focusing on the wrong direction. Here's what Kaelynn, a backpack lover and trip leader who stoock with us throughout the project, said:
How Might We…
So we adjusted our design problem to:
How might we design a cooking kit that is accessible for beginner backpackers or for backpackers who want more than just boiling water for dehydrated, pre-packed food?
To achieve this, we:
Removed adjustable legs, realizing a flat surface doesn't need to be perfectly even to work well
Replaced the embedded cutting board and disposal compartment with nested essentials: a pan, bowl, utensils, and a lightweight stove—focusing on tools users need
