Ever for the reason that automobile was invented, we’ve used them to flee town in the hunt for recent air and scenic views, and after we get to the vacation spot, the pure factor to do is have a picnic. You could possibly merely throw some plates and cutlery right into a bag together with the meals, however the chances are high that none of it’s going to survive unscathed by the tip of the automobile journey. As an alternative, you should buy a devoted picnic set, which is able to package deal up all that you simply want for a civilised al fresco meal. A bag will defend your meals, whereas particular storage compartments will cease your crockery from rattling on the journey. They can even make it far simpler to hold all the things out of your automobile to the picnic and are additionally good for consuming at automobile exhibits, festivals and when tenting. Which set ought to have a spot in your rug, and which is able to hamper your efforts to have a calming picnic?
How we examined them
There are bespoke picnic hampers from high-end automobile makers that price hundreds of kilos, however we focused on the units which price £50 or much less and make sense for these of us who solely eat away from dwelling just a few occasions a yr.
We judged the usefulness of the contents, how simply all of it packed away, portability and the house supplied for foods and drinks. We additionally thought-about the worth for cash utilizing costs we discovered on-line or in shops.
Verdict
The Greenfield hamper may not be the most affordable, however it provides the very best high quality right here and usable options which is able to make a picnic a lot posher. We additionally appreciated the completely different choices on the web site to help you tailor a set to your wants, so that you’re not losing cash on gadgets you may have already got. If that’s too dear for you, then the Woodluv was an actual discount discover, costing lower than £20 regardless of having comparable contents to others right here costing twice the value. The Mountain Warehouse XL provides respectable worth for a four-person set too and takes third place.
- Greenfield Tremendous Deluxe Backpack Hamper
- Woodluv Luxurious 4 Individual Picnic Backpack
- Mountain Warehouse 4 Individual Picnic Set XL
Evaluations
Greenfield Tremendous Deluxe Backpack Hamper
- Value: £44.99
- Place settings: 2
- Ranking: 5 stars
- Contact: greenfieldcollection.co.uk
It’d look a bit dear in contrast with among the hampers right here, however we nonetheless suppose the Greenfield provides nice worth for cash as a result of it packs loads of high-quality package into the helpful backpack.
The checklist of contents contains stainless-steel mugs, a waiter’s pal bottle opener, desk material and even a folding cloth garbage bag. The cutlery and plastic glasses really feel way more substantial than the cheaper rivals right here too, and a picket chopping board provides a contact of sophistication. The bag itself has a big, insulated storage space and two bottle-holders. We tried the two-place-settings model, whereas doubling up prices one other £10.
Woodluv Luxurious 4 Individual Picnic Backpack
- Value: £19.99
- Place settings: 4
- Ranking: 4 stars
- Contact: ebay.co.uk
This was the nice shock of the take a look at, providing an terrible lot of helpful options and content material for lower than 20 quid. Firstly, the rucksack itself is tasteful sufficient and is completely snug to hold about.
Unzip the entrance compartment and also you’ll discover 4 place settings, together with wine glasses and a waiter’s friend-style bottle opener and corkscrew.
The rear part is foil-lined and insulated, and has simply sufficient room in your chilled picnic necessities. You could possibly even squeeze a bottle of wine in (for the non-drivers, clearly). It’s merely good worth for cash.
Mountain Warehouse 4 Individual Picnic Set XL
- Value: £39.99
- Place settings: 4
- Ranking: 4 stars
- Contact: mountainwarehouse.com
We actually appreciated this set in our final take a look at and have been to see what modifications have been made for this yr. The primary aspect is the look, as a result of it now has a brand new sample used for the bag itself.
The contents are the identical and embrace a plastic chopping board and chopping knife, condiment shakers and a detachable, insulated bottle-holder. The insulated meals storage space is huge, so there’s loads of house in your sandwiches and an ice block, too.
Nonetheless, the general high quality isn’t as much as the usual of the Greenfield and it’s had a worth rise since our final take a look at, however it’s nonetheless ok for a suggestion.
John Lewis Lemon Print Stuffed Picnic Cooler
- Value: £50
- Place settings: 4
- Ranking: 3.5 stars
- Contact: johnlewis.com
This bag’s cooler part is essentially the most helpful right here as a result of it’s each giant and effectively insulated. The highest of the bag additionally opens up utterly, making it far simpler when placing meals inside.
The opposite compartment homes a number of reasonable-quality cutlery, a chopping board with a cheese knife, and 4 tumblers, that are extra sensible and fewer more likely to spill on tough floor than stemmed wine glasses. Whereas there’s nothing unsuitable with this John Lewis set, there are different backpacks right here which supply extra content material for much less cash.
Summerhouse Coast 4 Individual Picnic Backpack
- Value: £52.99
- Place settings: 4
- Ranking: 3 stars
- Contact: halfords.com
On the plus facet, the Summerhouse pack appears to be like shiny and fashionable, and has beneficiant, effectively insulated house in your picnic meals. A bottle-holder clips on to the facet of the bag, and it’s insulated too, though utilizing it does make the pack uncomfortably unbalanced to hold for any distance.
Unzip the entrance part and there’s an inexpensive quantity of helpful package, together with a plastic chopping board and corkscrew, however there are not one of the different good extras we’d anticipate at this worth stage. In reality, the crockery and cutlery aren’t any higher than others right here that supply extra for a lot much less cash.
Mountain Warehouse 2 Individual Picnic Set
- Value: £8.99
- Place settings: 2
- Ranking: 3 stars
- Contact: mountainwarehouse.com
That is the most affordable set on take a look at, and it’s straightforward to see why – there’s merely not a lot to it. The zip-up bag is upholstered in a sample that appears one thing like nineties’ resort curtains, however it comprises two plastic plates and a correct steel knife, fork and spoon for you and a pal.
These are the very fundamentals, in fact, but when you have already got a cool field or insulated bag and are simply on the lookout for some neat picnic crockery and cutlery, this set shouldn’t be way more costly than shopping for disposable plates.
Apollowalker Picnic Backpack
- Value: £19.99
- Place settings: 2
- Ranking: 2 stars
- Contact: amazon.co.uk
The Apollowalker provides a lesson in why it’s best to all the time take note of the size of merchandise earlier than ordering them on-line. The backpack appears to be like like one thing a five-year-old baby may take to highschool, and the gaudy colouring simply provides to the toy-like look.
Inside, the pair of plates are solely somewhat bigger than a CD, and the spoons are tea somewhat than table-sized. It does have some insulation, however there’s little house for meals inside. Until you’re under the age of seven, there are higher decisions, even at this worth.
Need to maintain your picnic additional cool whereas on the transfer? Try our checklist of the best 12v cool boxes
