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Yukio Yamai had a singular goal when he founded Snow Peak in the late 1950s: to create the best equipment for extreme mountaineering. Three decades later, he realized that specialty mountaineering equipment was a bit narrow, so the company pushed into the camping space with the same eye for clean, functional products that stand up to the elements.
Today, Snow Peak’s catalog is expansive. So much so, that with the release of its new Field Barista Set — which includes a kettle, coffee drip and hand grinder — you could effectively furnish an entire campsite in Snow Peak. But does the set warrant a $340 price tag? Here’s the skinny.
The Good: If you’re familar with Snow Peak, you probably have a pretty good idea of what the Field Barista Set looks like — heavy stainless steel body, wood handles and a tidy cloth bag to put everything in. You can plainly tell each piece is well-made by holding them for a few seconds. I especially like the tripod coffee drip, which is built from three conical plates and held together by its three legs. It builds up or breaks down in about 15 seconds and takes up virtually no space in the pack (tiny, durable black bands to hold it together included). The grinder is exceedingly simple to use as well and wasn’t ever overly difficult to turn (even at the smallest grind possible).
Who It’s For: Car campers or people who frequently venture on short hikes to camping areas they’ll remain at for a few days will get good use out of the set, so long as they also have fresh-ground coffee. Even when all bagged up, the set is entirely too bulky to justify the space it would eat up for an expedition with any serious distance to cover (this could be remedied by skipping out on the kettle, which is the only piece that isn’t compact or doesn’t fold into significantly smaller pieces), so proper hikers needn’t apply. The grinder also does not include any grind size measurements or reference points, so folks who are exceedingly picky about grind size should look elsewhere.
