The Underrated Camping Hack That Keeps You Eating Well All Weekend (Plus Recipes!)

Nutritionist Jess is passionate about eating proper food while camping (put the mi-goreng down and back away slowly) but she’d never considered the big impact Hydro Flask food storage containers could have on her experience.

Editor’s note: This piece is not sponsored aside from some supplied products, but it has affiliate links should you decide to buy anything featured. We wrote this piece with total editorial independence. 

It’s 5pm, the temperature’s dropping, and the stew of random veggies and rice that’s been living in your food camping tub for god-knows-how-long is finally ready. Unfortunately, half the group isn’t at camp, and you need to decide whether to burn the crap out of it ‘keeping it warm’ or let it go cold while you run hot rounding everybody up.

This exact scenario has repeated itself so many times on camping trips that I’ve lost count. From stew that cools instantly the moment it’s moved from the big pot over the fire onto my plate, to marshmallows that somehow can’t survive the half a metre journey from the fire without returning to room temperature… keeping food warm outside is more complicated than it seems! 

Enter Hydro Flask. And probably a number of outdoor brands to be honest, but they sent me a bunch of their products which spawned the idea for this article, so stick with me!

Hydro Flask has a trail range of lightweight insulated drink bottles, cups that double as insulated coolers, and, importantly for those of us who hate cold dinners, insulated food canisters. 

They also have a bunch of outdoor recipes, just in case you’re unsure how to fill your canisters. As the Hiker’s Nutritionist, this was highly unlikely to be a problem for me, but I love a new recipe, so I decided to give them a go too! 

Hydro Flask Food Jars

These food jars are my greatest outdoor find this year. High quality, indestructible, and they keep food warm or cold for hours – and the canister itself never gets hot or cold. If you’ve got little ones who like to help around camp, this is a huge benefit (no burnt hands!). The only downside is you’ll need to remember what’s in each.

I’ve been using these for both hot and cold food. While you could definitely take them hiking, they’re on the heavier side, and as an ultralight hiker, I reserve them for camping, fishing, and single-day microadventures (beach here I come!). 

I used them with hot soups, stews, fruits, and snacks. The 18/8 pro-grade stainless steel genuinely does keep flavour fresh, and there’s no residual smell like I’m used to with the lighter-weight plastic Tupperware containers I typically reserve for camping. 

236ml Insulated Food Jar

Used For: Dehydrated Vegetables 
Diameter: 8.8cm
Height: 9.3cm
Weight: 254g
RRP: $54.99

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I’m just a baby!

This is the smallest of the insulated canisters available, and I absolutely love it as my snack jar. It works just as well for trail mix as it does for dehydrated vegetables, jerky, or even a refreshing snack of cold strawberries if you wanted to be very fancy on a hiking food break. 

While small, it’s still pretty heavy, so I only take this camping or on day hikes and quick overnight trips. Upgrading from a Ziplock to this canister means I get individual M&Ms instead of a kaleidoscope-coloured lump, making it 245g I’m happy to carry!

354ml Insulated Food Jar

Used For: Trail Mix
Diameter: 10.8cm
Height: 8.89cm
Weight: 362g
RRP: $59.99

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The 354mL canister has a much wider mouth

These insulated food jars are the ideal vessels for protecting food that would otherwise get crushed. As well as using it for snacks like chips or dehydrated vegetables, the 354ml size is a good one to have on hand when half the packet of BBQ shapes is eaten and you don’t want the rest to go stale. Sure, stale crackers are a taste I’ll forever associate with the last day of a camping trip, but it doesn’t have to be! 

I’ve mostly used this one to carry a two-person portion of trail mix to last a couple of days. For anyone who likes chocolate on the trail but hates that it melts, this is your solution. 

I’ve also used this to store Debs’ Potato powder and used it as a receptacle to mix it up, as a place to keep my matches and some paper towel dry on rainy trips, and to pop partially eaten protein bars to save for another day. Being both airtight and insulated makes these canisters remarkably handy. 

592ml Insulated Food Jar

Used for: Smoky Campfire Sweet Potato Soup
Diameter: 10.92cm
Height: 11.81cm
Weight: 436g
RRP: $69.99

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A pint of warm soup on a cold day is mwah

When I try recipes from product brands, the last thing I expect is to actually like them. Normally, they’re bland or a bit boring, with nothing surprising or novel to add. And with something as basic as a soup, I wasn’t expecting much beyond flavoured water. Well, I was proved wrong. I’ll be making this dish to eat indoors, not just outside. 

It’s creamy with a hint of spice and makes a generous serving for two people. My one criticism of the recipe is that it doesn’t tell you the expected yield, so it was very much trial and error the first time I cooked it. I fit slightly more than half the recipe inside this 592ml canister with enough leftover for a generous second serving that I popped in the fridge. The amount in the canister is enough for two people with a small appetite, or one person after a big day. 

Ok, so the recipe made heaps

The canister not only kept this soup hot and steaming for four hours, but the canister itself stayed cold to the touch. You wouldn’t even know it had something in there aside from the weight increase. For families with little ones who like to ‘help’, these canisters would be a godsend to prevent burned fingers and make lap dinners at camp a lot more comfortable for everyone. 

This felt like the most versatile size for regular use on my camping trips and is the one I now reserve for meals or as a substitute bowl (it holds heat better than camping bowls with the lid off). 

793ml Insulated Food Jar

Used for: Hearty Hiker’s Lamb & Barley Soup
Diameter: 11cm
Height: 14.9cm
Weight: 505g
RRP: $79.99

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A hearty meal for the big kahuna

After my initial recipe success, I was very excited to prepare meal number two: the Hearty Hiker’s Lamb & Barley Soup. This recipe needs to be simmered on low heat. I had mine too high and accidentally simmered off all the liquid! After adding more stock and water, I managed to rescue it. 

Again, this made slightly more than the capacity of the 793ml canister – these recipes are very generous. It stayed hot and steaming for four hours (for food safety, I wouldn’t want to push it too much further, especially if you’re using these to take into the backcountry or for a hiking dinner where you’ll be in the middle of nowhere…). The stew was everything you want in an outdoor meal – hearty, flavoursome, and filling despite the minimal ingredients and very easy prep. 

You might have to resist eating it before storage

Once again, the canister stayed entirely cool to touch. The seal on the lids is fantastic – even when I let it tip upside down, there wasn’t any food in the flange or thread of the lid, so it was all very clean. I also appreciate that the internal bottoms of each canister are rounded so they’re easy to scrape out with the edge of a spoon. It’s basically impossible to get food stuck inside. 

Hydro Flask Cooler Cups

Key Facts:

• Stainless steel
• BPA-free
• Dishwasher safe (but keep away from stoves, freezers, and microwaves!)
• 3 sizes: 354ml Standard & Slim versions, and Tallboy

All the common sizes are covered

It’s high time the iconic stubby holder got an upgrade, and this is it. These cooler cups are way more impressive than I expected. These kept drinks from my fridge noticeably cooler than the air temperature for 24 hours. 

Not only that, but they come with silicone rings (Hydro Flask calls them a ‘flex collar’) which prevent them from falling over. The number one cause of spilt drinks on camping trips is absolutely unsteady fabric stubby holders failing to stay upright. Whereas these require genuine effort to knock over. 

Technically, the flex collar is there to provide a better seal around your drink and lock in the cold for longer (for cold drinks), and to prevent you from burning your mouth on hot drinks, but it slides down to become a base if you’d prefer to use it as a big insulated cup instead. This is something I wouldn’t have really understood the value of without using it firsthand, it’s nifty!

I appreciate any product that performs multiple tasks, even more so when it does it well. My only gripe with these is that they don’t come with a lid as standard, as that would make them even more handy as a small food storage container or just a way to make carrying random armfuls of stuff around camp a bit easier. You can order lids separately for the 354ml Cooler and 473ml Tallboy cups, but none suit the slim cooler cup.

Buy Cooler Cups & Accessories

• 354ml Slim Cooler Cup – $39.99 (holds mini slim cans of drink)
• 354ml Cooler Cup – $39.99 (holds a standard size can, akin to a stubby holder size)
• Small Closeable Press-In Lid
• 473ml Tallboy Cooler Cup $39.99 (for your standard corona or glass kombucha bottle)
• Medium Press-In Straw Lid

Hydro Flask Lightweight 946ml Trail Series Bottle

Used for: Berry Sunrise Boost Smoothie
Diameter: 8.1cm
Height: 29.9cm
Weight: 346g
RRP: $79.99

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Ok, so I forgot to get a good pic of this one

I didn’t understand how much I’d appreciate having cold water during a hot hike until I took this bottle out on a 25°C day. The 346g weight suddenly seemed negligible in my hiking day pack.

Just like the canisters, the thread and lid close with an excellent seal. I’ve had this rolling around on the floor of my car, sideways in a backpack, and completely upside down while shaking it – and it hasn’t leaked once. 

Before heading out on a midweek microadventure, I whipped up the Hydro Flask Berry Sunrise Boost Smoothie, popped it in my bottle with a couple of ice cubes and set off. After three hours, when I opened the lid to enjoy the smoothie as my dessert, the ice cube I’d chucked in on top of the very thick smoothie was completely intact. It hadn’t even melted. I’m convinced this would have still been cold if I’d left it overnight. 

Final Thoughts

When I’m escaping to the outdoors for a camping trip, it’s typically because I’m overwhelmed and tired, and just want to slow down. I didn’t expect these canisters to change much (they’re containers, let’s keep it real), but it did surprise me how much stress it removed having food, drinks, and bowls organised before leaving the house. 

By packing food into them before I leave, I don’t come home with a massive bag of rubbish and a car that needs an afternoon to clean. I’m that much closer to feeling (and I may be jinxing myself right now) organised. 

These Hydro Flask food storage containers are an investment, yes, but I’ll never throw them out. I use the smaller canisters every day for snacks and all of them for camping trips. The cooler cups are a bit more niche, but quality is high, and they’re versatile. The trail bottle is my new MVP on every hike. So I rate them as great value for money if the use cases I’ve mentioned sound like they’ll work for you.

If this pic pleases you, you need to upgrade your camping food storage

FAQs Hydro Flask Food Storage Containers

What is 18/8 pro-grade stainless steel and what does that mean for me?

18/8 stainless steel is the good stuff. The numbers just mean that it’s made with 18% chromium and 8% nickel. It’s tough, rust-resistant, and doesn’t mess with the taste of your food or drink. Whether you’re chucking it in your pack, leaving it in the sink overnight, or filling it with last night’s curry, it won’t corrode, stain, or flake out. 

What other items do Hydro Flask have that would be useful for camping?

If you’re partial to a glass of red around the fire (let’s be honest, that’s most people!), then you should absolutely check out the Hydro Flask Wine Gift Set. Your only problem will be needing to buy more of them to accommodate the whole group.