Is a bucket/basin worthwhile for personal hygiene on trips more than a couple of days?

Hi Robert,

I'll sometimes pack in baby-wipes and use them to clean up. I've gone as long as a month without access to a bath or shower this way.

I'll also clean up just using a bandanna I've brought for that purpose and just rinse off with my water bottle. Bandanna has become and EDC item for me when I travel overseas as none of my $10 hotel rooms in India provided a washcloth so my bandanna saved the day.

no you don't need a bucket, go swimming. no soap.

or if you want a soapy bath use your cookpot or waterbottle or water bladder to carry the water. no need for a single use item.

cheers

If you're already using a bear can, dump out the food and use that. If not, a large Ziploc would probably work for minimal weight.

As for me, I'll usually give myself a once over each night with a damp bandanna rinsed frequently.

On long trips I do a head-to-toe sponge bath every day with my 1 liter water bottle, and then every 5 days wash my 9.5 ounce pants, a 9 ounce hoody, and my kerchief .

On wash day I use 2 Hefty OneZip 1 Gallon bags –

You can get bigger bags, but the weight and balancing them becomes an issue. The "slider-style" zip assures closure for a one-handed carry.

I carry the 2 bags far away from the water source and nestle them in any sort of natural corner. I wash my body first, then my clothes in the "body water" and then rinse in bag #2. My pants and hoody, separately, have plenty of room for sloshing.

here is KRUDMEISTER’S post on chafe but he goes into a lot of detail on regular hygiene on the trail.Here is another BPL thread Personal hygiene and another one How often do you take showers (and deal with hygiene) while in the woods? or this one Personal hygene (the naughty spot question)

+1 with GM. Approaching a week, I will take a sturdy Glad bag for "bathing", fill it with water, and carry it away from the water source. Mix a little with Dr. B's unscented and get the visible dirt off, .. general and also trying to get under fingernails . Then I use a Coleman biodegradable wipe after rinsing. Never had to do "laundry" as stream crossings and not bothering with a rain shell have kept my clothes sorta "clean". Maybe a 2 week trip?

If I don't have a good swimming hole option to clean my socks & boxer briefs, I'll use a gallon ziploc half filled with water. Shake, knead and dump; repeat until water is relatively clear.

That same ziploc is used to keep toiletries & meds together when I'm hiking, but they're individually packaged as needed against moisture so I don't care if the gallon bag gets a little beat up.

If you’re already using an Exped schnozzel pump bag, then this is an option:
http://www.exped.com/usa/en/product-category/mats/shower-schnozzel-schnozzel-pumpbag

HTH

KJ

I hate to say it, but that was one good thing about the Army. Virtually everyplace we went, we had to wear a steel helmet (a "steel pot"). Whenever we stopped for the night, we could fill the steel pot with water and do a quick sponge bath. Of course, in the winter in Korea, we did this once a month whether we needed it or not.

–B.G.–

Stuff sack washing machine

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=73249

My husband and I are both very keen on washing up before bedtime. We've tried a number of different things:

Bucket — IF self-supporting (which is heavier) it's a really nice luxury. But it IS a luxury. I keep thinking about trying to MYOG a cuben one…

Plastic Freezer Bag — can be awkward as a wash basin, but usually works quite well. Absolutely great for laundry.

Platypus with push-pull cap — works quite well as a "portable shower", allowing you to slowly pour water over yourself. I'm also thinking about drilling some holes in a regular cap, to create my own "showerhead".

Baby wipes, unscented, substitute for soap.

If we're near water, we just rub down (no soap, and we wear no insect repellant or sunscreen) with a bandanna directly in the stream.

I use the S2S 5l kitchen sink.
Worth the weight for me.
(dishes the right way, body wash and clothing inside out)

"Platypus with push-pull cap — works quite well as a "portable shower", allowing you to slowly pour water over yourself. I'm also thinking about drilling some holes in a regular cap, to create my own "showerhead"."

I drilled holes in a standard Playty top and it works great as my shower. If I get to camp early or am out on a day hike I will lay one or two Platy out in the sun on a warm rock covered with very thin black plastic from a cut up garbage bag… then I'm set up for a warm shower… (a luxury in the high mountains where the water if freezing) been doing this for a few year now.

For laundry, I take a light weight 'dry bag'… fill with water, add cloths, close the roll top, shake rattle and roll… empty bag, wring out cloths, hang to dry.

Billy

I like to bring baby wipes, cut in half. I also always have one or two bandanas , sometimes one around the bun in my hair and one on my belt loop. I also bring an extra pair of underwear so I can wash and dry the other.
I mostly hike in areas that have water so I have been able to get by with the above and never feel all that dirty. I don't mind dirty, as in soil dirt, but I don't like the stink dirt.

I use a gusseted bottomed sugar bag as a water scoop and freestanding bucket.

I got a Sea to Summit sil bucket. Weighs almost nothing. I use it not for hygiene but to put out those abandoned campfires I seem to be so good at finding. In the event we are able to have a fire, I hang it full nearby to put it out when we are done. One trip I used it to wash hair. It's mostly so I don't have to tear apart my pack when we are hiking along and run across a fire – I have other things that will do to carry water, but it's much quicker to pull the bucket out of a pocket, tote water, put it away and hike on, than to empty out a bear can and put the pack together again.

I use wet wipes to clean up once a day before dinner, to get off the grime and sunscreen. We don't always camp right next to water sources.

I have a S2S 10L Ultra-Sil 1.7oz bucket. But I have to admit that I rarely carry it. Even then, it's not for hygiene- for that, as others have said, I just use a wet bandana. Seven days without a wash is pretty easy for me- I have a high squalor tolerance. But I sometimes do bring it along for convenience when I may be doing more camping and less hiking. It's handy for hauling a lot of water back to camp for you and your buddies to treat, cook, etc. because we all camp 200 feet from water sources, right? Also, it's handy to use as a container for murky water to settle or floc in. (*snicker*) So for instance I took it in the Grand Canyon for that purpose. Yes, there are lighter things you can use like a large plastic bag, but the Ultra-Sil is pretty damned light and I find it much more convenient. Any leaks that spring can be repaired like any other silnylon.

While hiking the PCT I got pretty good at giving myself a quick leg and foot wash with a bandana and about half a cup of water. No basin needed.

A friend of mine uses pleated bottom ziploc freezer bags as a basin. They stand up on their own because of the pleated bottom.

I found out when some food spilled inside my zpacks shoulder pocket and had to wash it out that it, too, stands up on its own and also holds water. With such a wide opening, it makes a great little basin.

> I got pretty good at giving myself a quick leg and foot wash with a bandana and
> about half a cup of water. No basin needed.
Yep, if not near water. Takes very little water really.

Otherwise – that's what the creek is for. Can be rather 'high-impact' when the water is near 0 C of course, but very refreshing… Just don't stay in too long.

Cheers

I agree with a combo of unscented wipes and swimming to keep yourself presentable to, um, yourself. Also helps if all your clothes are treated for anti-stink, that makes a huge difference. If you really want a wash basin, to the suggestions offered already I'll add using the cut-off bottom of a gallon milk jug, sturdy and only about 0.8 oz with 3" walls.

I found disposable folding dog bowls that make a great basin for sponge baths. Weighs only a few grams, and cheaper than Doug's cuben dog food bowl. May lack the same panache, though.

I sometimes carry the bottom 4 inches or so of a gallon plastic milk jug. It fits over a stuff sack inside my pack, weighs very little, and makes a handy sink.

I like Ken-Bennett's idea best.

+1 on the milk jug bottom. Very multi-use and recyled and can be recyled after. Its pretty easy to fill it with odds and ends so it doesnt take space in your pack. The 1/2 gallon size fits around a pot and keeps the soot contained. Great for berry pickin'.

A stuff sack is fine for clothes washing.