6 Best Compact Vegetable Slicers That Barely Register on a Scale

You’re four days into a backcountry trip, crouched over a log that serves as your cutting board. Trying to get thin, even slices of carrot for your soup with a camp knife is proving clumsy, slow, and a little bit sketchy. The result is a pile of uneven chunks that will take forever to cook, wasting precious fuel and testing your patience. This is where a tiny, specialized tool can transform your camp kitchen from a chore into a joy.

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Why Pack a Slicer for Your Next Outdoor Adventure?

Elevating your trail food is one of the biggest morale boosters you can get. A compact vegetable slicer isn’t just about making pretty food; it’s about efficiency and flavor. Uniformly thin slices of potato, onion, or zucchini cook faster and more evenly, which means you use less stove fuel—a critical consideration on any multi-day trip.

Some will argue that any extra gadget is dead weight, and for the hardcore ultralight purist, they might be right. But for most of us, the tradeoff of two or three ounces for significantly better meals is a massive win. It’s safer than wrestling with a small knife on an unstable surface and allows you to prep ingredients for a group in a fraction of the time. This isn’t about glamping; it’s about smart, efficient camp cooking that makes your time outside more enjoyable.

OXO Good Grips Mini Slicer: Camp Kitchen Staple

When you’re setting up a kitchen on a wobbly camp table or the tailgate of your truck, stability is everything. The OXO Good Grips Mini Slicer is designed with exactly that in mind. Its thoughtful construction, including a non-slip handle and foot, provides a secure base on less-than-perfect surfaces, making it a reliable and safe choice.

This slicer is the quintessential workhorse for weekend backpackers and dedicated car campers. It comes with a food holder that protects your fingers—a feature you’ll appreciate when you’re tired and cold at the end of a long day. While it isn’t the absolute lightest option on this list, its blend of safety, durability, and packable size makes it a foundational piece of gear for any well-stocked camp kitchen bin.

Kyocera Ceramic Slicer: The Ultralight Choice

For the thru-hiker or minimalist backpacker who counts every single gram, the Kyocera Ceramic Slicer is a game-changer. Swapping a steel blade for ceramic and using a bare-bones plastic frame brings the weight down to almost nothing. It’s the kind of tool you can tuck into your food bag and completely forget it’s there until you need it.

The ceramic blade brings significant advantages for backcountry use: it’s impervious to rust in damp environments and holds a razor-sharp edge far longer than most steel. However, this ultralight performance comes with a critical tradeoff: ceramic is brittle. A hard drop onto a rock can chip or shatter the blade, rendering it useless. It often forgoes a food holder, demanding more caution during use, but for the experienced adventurer, the weight savings are well worth the required care.

Gefu V-Slicer Violi 2.0: Precision for Gourmets

If your idea of camp cooking involves more than just rehydrating meals, the Gefu V-Slicer Violi 2.0 is your tool. Its signature V-shaped blade configuration slices through firm vegetables like sweet potatoes and even soft-skinned tomatoes with effortless precision. This is the slicer for the adventurer who believes a good meal is a non-negotiable part of the experience.

This tool shines on trips where weight is less of a concern, like paddling expeditions, overlanding, or base camping. It features adjustable thickness settings, allowing you to go from paper-thin cucumber slices for a sandwich to heartier potato slices for frying. It represents a small step up in weight and complexity, but for the culinary-focused adventurer, the level of control and the professional-quality results are unmatched in a portable format.

Zyliss 2-in-1 Slicer: Dual-Blade Versatility

Why carry two tools when one can do the job? The Zyliss 2-in-1 Slicer embodies the multi-purpose ethos that is so valuable in outdoor gear. One side of the tool provides a straight blade for standard slicing, while a quick flip reveals a serrated blade for creating perfect julienne strips. This simple design unlocks a huge range of meal possibilities.

Imagine prepping a fresh, crunchy slaw for trailside tacos or adding finely julienned carrots to a soup for texture and quick cooking. This slicer offers that creative flexibility without a significant weight penalty. It’s an excellent middle-ground option for the backpacker who wants more culinary options but is still mindful of what’s going into their pack.

Kuhn Rikon Piranha Peeler: The Minimalist’s Hack

Sometimes the best tool for the job isn’t the one designed for it. The Kuhn Rikon Piranha Peeler is, first and foremost, a vegetable peeler. However, its wickedly sharp, serrated blade doubles as an ultra-minimalist slicer, creating delicate, paper-thin ribbons from zucchini, carrots, or hard cheeses. It weighs less than a single energy gel and takes up virtually no space.

This is the ultimate hack for the ultralight thru-hiker who wants to add a touch of freshness to their meals. It won’t give you round onion slices or potato coins, but for shaving vegetables into a wrap, a salad, or a pot of ramen, it’s brilliant. Its dual-purpose nature—peeler and ribbon slicer—makes it a powerfully efficient piece of kit where every gram and every function counts.

Benriner Mandoline: Pro Slicing for Car Camping

Let’s be clear: you are not taking this backpacking. But for any adventure based out of a vehicle—car camping, van life, or a multi-day rafting trip—the classic Benriner Mandoline is the undisputed champion. This is the slicer you see in professional kitchens for a reason: its Japanese steel blade is legendarily sharp, and its simple design allows for unparalleled speed and consistency.

When you’re feeding a large group at a campsite, the ability to turn five pounds of potatoes into perfect, uniform chips in under two minutes is a superpower. It includes multiple blades for different cut styles and offers micro-adjustments for thickness. The Benriner is an investment in your frontcountry or basecamp kitchen that pays dividends in saved time and incredible food quality.

Key Features for Your Backcountry Veggie Slicer

Choosing the right slicer comes down to matching the tool to your trip style. There’s no single "best" option, only the one that best fits your needs. As you decide, weigh these factors carefully based on where and how you travel.

• Weight & Packability: For thru-hiking, every ounce matters; a sub-2-ounce ceramic slicer or peeler-hack is ideal. For car camping, a more robust, feature-rich model is perfectly reasonable.
• Blade Material: Stainless steel is durable, forgiving if dropped, and can be resharpened. Ceramic is lighter, stays sharp longer, and won’t rust, but it’s brittle and can shatter.
• Safety Features: A food guard is crucial for preventing injury, especially when you’re tired or working in low light. Non-slip feet or handles are a huge plus for stability on uneven camp surfaces.
• Simplicity vs. Versatility: Do you just need thin slices, or do you want options for julienne cuts and adjustable thickness? More features typically add weight and complexity, so choose only what you’ll realistically use.

Ultimately, the goal is to find a tool that makes your time outside better. For a solo backpacker, that might be the lightest possible option for adding a few carrot ribbons to a meal. For a family at a state park, it’s the safest, most stable slicer that helps everyone get involved in making dinner. Choose what serves your adventure.

In the end, the perfect gear list is a myth. The right slicer won’t make the mountain smaller or the rain stop, but it can provide a moment of comfort and satisfaction with a hot, delicious meal when you need it most. So pick the tool that makes sense for you, pack your bag, and get outside. That’s what really matters.