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

Wow, lot's of great ideas here. I think I'll skip the bucket and use some combination of cook pot, gallon ziploc, or ultra-sil dry sack, all of which I'm already bringing. I also like the suggestion of the bottom of a milk jug, which could serve as a scoop for filling my pre-filtered dirty water bladder. Also, I'll be avoiding deet and sunscreen to the extent possible, so I'll take advantage of rinsing off in water sources along the way.

Thanks again!
Rob

This is a theory– I have yet to ask of a scientist, but my permethrin treated poly/nylon clothes just does not harbor body bacteria very well. My biking clothes stink but my backpacking clothes do not. The only difference is permethrin.

And I don’t know if I should admit this; I haven’t used body soap since September. At least my coworkers haven’t said anything…. yet! My wife and I started using just this special wash cloth that’s embedded with silver to wipe ourselves down in the shower. Every couple of weeks we do a special washing of our wash cloth per its instructions.
http://www.amazon.com/Norwex-Antibacterial-Microfiber-Washcloth-Natural/dp/B003I2CRLM
If you can find a Norwex dealer, you may be able to get them at 3/$20.
And I use the same cloth at home and backpacking.

-Barry

If a product sounds too good to be true, it probably is a hoax.

"If a product sounds too good to be true, it probably is a hoax."

Bear in mind that the post you are refering to is most likely in the context of a home/office situation.

Unless you are rolling in the dirt, water alone is usually sufficient, especially if you are "vigorous" with your towel. Silver ions are a biocide, but whether or not the special "wash cloth" holds them and kills on contact is another story.

Also from personal experience, I can attest to a non-stinking body after months of no soap, aside from my face, hair and beard (As noted elsewhere, I'm a greaseball.)

But when I'm hiking, I'm using soap.

I'm not recommending Anything, just saying…

I've always used a cook pot and bandana for personal hygiene. Fill up the bottles near a water source and find a spot a couple hundred yards away. 2 pots for hair and 1 – 2 pots for the body.

A stuff sack or gallon plastic bag work well for clothes. They line dry overnight pretty well in most conditions, or at least well enough.

But that is me and I dislike special single use gear, unless it is my sleep system.

I try to stay fairly clean on a long backpack. My strategies are several:

1. swimming: I swim in a lake once a day, preferably at camp for the night. I go in with my clothes on. It is unbelievably refreshing, and has to clean things off a bit.

2. wet wipes: I wipe my face and neck with a wet wipe before going to bed.

3. I use a small wash cloth, with a few drops of soap, for arm pits, face, crotch, arms and legs. Feet get washed in the stream. I don't care if the fish die downstream.

4. clothes: I wear one set and carry a spare set of t shirt, underpants, and socks. Day one, I start out with clean clothes. Day 2, I wear the backup set of clothes, and in the evening, I wash the first set. Every day thereafter, I wash a set of clothes (t shirt, socks, underwear).

to wash clothes, I use a sil nylon stuff sack, with a dry bag closure (it also has a shower head). I put in a gallon or less of water, a few drops of soap, the dirty clothes, and I trap a bunch of air in the stuff sack, and seal it off. Then I shake it left and right, dump the water. Then put in rinse water, shake shake shake. lay them on a rock in the sun, wear the underwear to bed even if they are damp, if the other set is dirty.

I use the syl nylon stuff sack for other things, like for food or clothing.