We are new to caravanning and are in the process of stocking our van we were going to buy melamine plates etc. but some friends suggested that Corelle may be the better option. Does anyone have any advice on which one may be more suited ?
BUT.. do not get plastic drinking glasses/flutes, whatever.
Double YUKKKKKKKk.
buy\take some Glass glasses for that. or you'll never appreciate your favourite tipple again.
I have my Crystal tumblers for the whiskey, and they go everywhere.
Plus a set of "double skin" glasses for hot climes.
Kept in delivery box for safety, and ice lasts in them forever.
We still have original Melamine set.
They get used round the Barby on rear downstairs deck.
Doesn't matter if you drop them or cat licks them.
To eat off I use Melamine but 'real' drinking mugs and glasses. I only have 3 of everything. I use proper cutlery too not that plastic stuff. I'm on my own and all works for me.
__________________
Live Life On Your Terms
DOUGChief One Feather (Losing feathers with age)
TUG.......2014 Holden LT Colorado Twin Cab Ute with Canopy
DEN....... 2014 "Chief" Arrow CV (with some changes)
We had Melamine to start, but apart from it feeling like eating off picnic plates, we also found it didn't handle the microwave and that the coffee mugs cracked after a short period of use. We changed to Corelle and real coffee mugs and have used that for years without problems.
Thanks to everyone there are some great tips here including the microwave friendly bit and the best place to buy. I think that we have been convinced that melamine although functional Corelle is probably the better option for us. One thing for sure I will be ditching the plastic wine glasses that I recently bought in favour of real glass and thanks to Aus-Kiwi utilising pvc pipe to store them while travelling.
After dropping and breaking a couple of Corelle plates (and the incredible shatter that goes with it - they're a type of glass), we switched to melamine even in our home kitchen. For guests and microwave we use good old china, which is too heavy for general use in caravans really. Shatters less radically though. So it's melamine for us for our caravan, with polycarbonate drinking glasses. Poly is super-strong and looks like glass until it gets old and scratched. We would never have Corelle in our van. It's slippery as when wet. Got to be careful when drying up. We were finding tiny shards in our kitchen for days after breaking them. But if you're careful and feel lucky, I'd say ok. For microwave we intend carrying a few earthenware items.
We've done a lot of rough bush camping with plastic crockery so I guess we're used to that sort of stuff.
its worth the search for Arcopal, was made by a french company that could'nt keep abreast of its inserts... the dinner ware is very excellent, I think it must be a glass related product, like pyrex, but surprisingly light and scratch proof. We bought ours before they sagged off the market, but I often see it available in OP Shops and on evil bay..... very up there and perky.
its worth the search for Arcopal, was made by a french company that could'nt keep abreast of its inserts... the dinner ware is very excellent, I think it must be a glass related product, like pyrex, but surprisingly light and scratch proof. We bought ours before they sagged off the market, but I often see it available in OP Shops and on evil bay..... very up there and perky.
Sarge
A quick search shows lots of it IN USA! on Ebay, at a price too.
Looks like one to keep an eye out for if you want something different & good.
Looks like it is made similar to Corelle. How is it weight wise?
we used to use corelle, but glass and crockery for drinking from. Hate plastic wine glasses when you can buy a white range of them from K Mart - 6 for about $5.
Then we got sick of plastic and bought crockery plates from K Mart - $1 for each item - dinner plate, dessert bowl, bread plate. Sure it weighs a little more than plastic, but nicer to eat off and the food stays hotter. All our plastic ware has been consigned to all the other stuff we first bought when starting nomading
__________________
Cheers Bruce
The amazing things you see when nomading Australia
we used to use corelle, but glass and crockery for drinking from. Hate plastic wine glasses when you can buy a white range of them from K Mart - 6 for about $5.
Then we got sick of plastic and bought crockery plates from K Mart - $1 for each item - dinner plate, dessert bowl, bread plate. Sure it weighs a little more than plastic, but nicer to eat off and the food stays hotter. All our plastic ware has been consigned to all the other stuff we first bought when starting nomading
ARCOPAL is quite light, I think the Corelle is what today is called a knock off....
Mr Google told me this :- Arcopal dinnerware is white opal, break-proof, tempered glassware that includes a fire-glazed finish. The material is 100 percent nonporous and fully tempered to resist thermal pressure. Arcopal dinnerware was fabricated by the French company Arc International in 1958. Some compare Arcopal to a French version of Pyrex.
Thanks everyone the response on our question was a lot more than I expected and the tips about storage & what people take with them was extremely useful hope others got as much out of this conversation as we did.
