Complete thru-hike personal care and laundry kit

[Monte Masterson]

With any water source, be it lake, stream or spigot, I can take myself and my clothes from dirty and smelly to clean enough to board mass transit. Perhaps I might want to hitch a ride or go to a resupply town. If I’m clean I can feel confidant and not so self-conscious

The 10L Sea to Summit Folding Bucket (2.8 oz) is the centerpiece of the system. It allows me to wash hair and body or even shave, as well as clean any clothes (always far from water source). This is assuming I’m in the backcountry away from any showering facilities or washing machine.

Starting top left items sitting on red drying towel are Coughlan’s 3″ X 3″ mirror… an absolute must for shaving and personal care. Next is a Gillette triple blade razor. Right of razor is dental care with paste, brush and floss. Then wide tooth comb and 50 ml shampoo. Below top line is stick deodorant and small yellow Gossamer Gear scissors. Next is 20 ml liquid biodegradable soap in two 10 ml (white and black) bottles and fingernail clippers on the end. Bottom left 3 ml bleach in glass container and squeeze dropper. Next 50 ml (green) laundry detergent. Finally clothesline kit with 25′ spectra cord (2 mm) and 6 small wooden clips to hang dry clothes. Spectra can be multi use item. Green REI washrag used for face and body wash. Total weight (without ti cup) is 15.7 oz. Of course soap and toothpaste amounts are dependent on duration of thru- hike.

To shave I warm up 12 oz water to just below boiling and then repeatedly soak washrag and pat down face 12 – 15 minutes to soften up stubble. No shaving cream needed with a new Gillette triple blade. Makes things way cleaner, easier and lighter. I realize some people don’t shave though.

 

[AK Granola]

I like the STS bucket too, but I don’t bring it for long trips due to bulk and weight. It’s really nice if you have to haul water to camp from a distance; I used it on the Chilkoot Trail that way, since the water sources were always a bit of a hike from campsites. Nice for group camping too, or winter cabin camping; I would stuff it with snow and just let it sit in a warm cabin to melt for drinking water.

I use a 2 gallon ziplock as my wash tub/clothing washer most hikes. By the end of a few weeks of use the ziplock is toast though. I just use Campsuds for body, hair, hands, dishes, and clothing. And a small wash rag like yours. I prefer to wash every day, ideally before bed. Sometimes I’m just too dog tired! What do you do with the scissors?

[David D]

I wash my clothes in a ziploc as well.  Works dandy, near weightless.  For bathing, if I can’t jump in a lake, army shower with a little diy cap attachment on the smartbottle, usually stored in my med kit. Campsuds for all too.  1/2 a swedish cloth for bathing.  Hold a lot of water for its weight, dries fast, resists funk.  And a 1 oz cube of unscented deodorant, just because.  Shaving?  What’s that?

[Monte Masterson]

“What do you do with the scissors?”

Multi-use item. Keeps nose hair from getting creepy long, but also cuts moleskin for blisters and cloth medical tape/bandages (first aid).  Only weighs 5 g. https://www.gossamergear.com/collections/accessories/products/scissors

I wasn’t aware Campsuds covered all the bases, but I can drop weight by using it. I’ll pick some up at REI, thanks.

I’ve tried using large Ziplocs for washing but I found them not very durable and I felt as if I couldn’t do as thorough (or easy) job of washing clothes or body/face. When washing underwear I like place at least 8 drops of bleach into water (along with soap) to assure everything is sanitary. Bleach can also serve as water treatment backup.

Also tried using the S2S 10L Ultrasil Kitchen Sink to cut weight (1.7 oz) but found the 30D Cordura to be way too fragile. Didn’t last 3 days before it sprung a leak. Perhaps with a piece of Tyvek or silnylon underneath it might hold up but then the weight approaches the folding bucket. https://seatosummit.com/products/ultra-sil-kitchen-sink

S2S also has a 10L Ultrasil Folding Bucket (30D Cordura) that only weighs 1 oz but I wouldn’t trust it, especially when it costs $29. Not freestanding like the regular Folding Bucket either. https://seatosummit.com/products/ultra-sil-folding-bucket

[Thom]

Plastic bread bag clips for clothes pins.

thom

[David Hartley]

I own and have used the S2S Ultrasil bucket – it definitely holds water, but the handle is not very confidence inspiring when it is full. Also, it can be kind of difficult to fill because it is so floppy and formless, and as pointed out – it is not free standing so you have to find a tree with a low enough broken off branch to hang it on. It used to be part of my standard water kit, but I have since dropped it because I just didn’t use it enough to justify the ounce.

[dirtbag]

Ditch the deodorant! You just bathed and cleaned up,  you will be just fine unless maybe you are meeting up someone for a first date night who has not been out hiking or camping! Also, the toothpaste. I found mini toothpaste tablets, kind of look like tik tacs that work great for brushing and minty breathe.  No need to carry that small tube.. its dead weight and space!

[JCH]

I dropped the toothpaste for a small container of baking soda.  No need to spit, just swallow it all with the rinse water.  Leave no trace and dual purpose as it is a decent antacid as well.

[David D]

>Ditch the deodorant!

The trick is to cut off a small piece and wrap in wax paper & to use unscented, to not attract varmints. At 0.6 oz it’s well worth it to me, not for the social niceties, but to put a halt to the permanent stank that can build up and ruin poly shirts

I kept losing bread clips in high wind and felt guilty about that.  I’m slowly switching over to all blue and orange ones so I can see them when they hit the ground

 

[AK Granola]

It seems insane (maybe not on BPL), but has anyone weighed the wooden clothespins vs plastic? The wooden ones are super light. Plus if I do lose one, it’s not plastic in the environment.

My STS bucket stands find on its own, as long as you don’t fill to the brim. You can fill it at least 3/4.

[HkNewman]

Me? Mostly “wilderness wipes” from REI out there nightly. Soap-wise, an appropriate sized bottle of Dr. B’s unscented.  Done.

It works as both soap (in campground showers) and shaving cream.  I also put a budget Walmart disposable razor in every resupply .. primarily for first aid to shave any body hair away from bandage sites, assuring the area has been soaped and rinsed I carry 2 and use 1 to shave towards the end of a segment in case I need to hitchhike.

Towel? My hiking shirt unless I’m on a beach trip.  I used an old UL absorbing towel cut up into 4’s as a washcloth.  Sandal season and real dirty feet?  I add a cellulose pad (“Scandinavian dish sponge”) to scrub those.

I use a travel sized toothpaste and brush, but have thought about “toothpaste drops”.  May try the 2 gallon Zip-loc idea for a camp hygiene “sink”.

[David D]

Tried the S2S airlight towels at 2.6oz(L) and 1.2oz(S) but became a big fan of the lightload at 0.7oz.  They do everything the airlites do and dry much faster.

And dried out unscented baby wipes, 2g ea, for any “intense” cleanups of any kind.  Can often get 4 days out of 1 ripping off 1/4 pieces.

[Bill Budney]

Nice setup.

I like the free-standing bucket. You could use a Schnozzle or any dry bag for the same purpose. A zip-lock or dry bag could be free-standing with a frame formed by your CCF sit pad and some cordage but the S2S bucket is elegant.

I also like the idea of bleaching (or filtering) your laundry water.

Hand sanitizer or stove alcohol work for deodorant, if you carry either of those.

Toothpaste is unnecessary; it’s one of those things that they sell that isn’t important. Just brushing is sufficient to break up the biofilm that causes plaque.

If you carry coconut oil for nutrition, then you can “pull” a few grams through your teeth as a natural mouthwash. It kills the strep bacteria that causes cavities, while preserving the beneficial bacteria that are important in the nitric oxide cycle to keep your blood vessels healthy (regular mouthwash kills the good and the bad).

[Dan]

FWIW, I put tooth powder in a short wide-mouth plastic container with a snap closure. Refillable, light, and reduced waste.

[Monte Masterson]

Excellent tip David D just cutting out the usable part of the deodorant. And I didn’t think about an unscented type, but I guess you need to do everything possible not to attract bears, racoons, etc.

AK Granola, the small wooden clothesline clips weigh 2.8 g each or 1/10 oz.

I wasn’t aware of mini toothpaste tablets dirtbag. Seems like a great idea. Where do you find them?

 

[dirtbag]

Google or Amazon..  toothpaste tabs

[dirtbag]

[HkNewman]

ditch the deodorant

Another idea on a long weeklong or multi week hike is mail one of these hygiene kits to a post office (US) or a hiker-friendly business that allows packages very near trail’s end when food is low.

If getting picked up remotely, maybe have the driver or (Alaska) pilot bring one along with cold beverages.

Heck throw in one of those sun showers (w/thermometer strip) I hiked with in the mid-1990s.

[Moab Randy]

Just make your own toothpaste drops–just squeeze out toothpaste in dollops slightly larger than you would normally use onto waxed paper or a baggie and let them dry. To use, chew it up slightly before brushing.

Unless you’re going for a really long trip, skip carrying deodorant: before the trip use Lavalin for underarms, chest, and feet: shower, dry, rub small quantities in carefully, wash it off thoroughly the next morning. One application works for more than two weeks for me, keeps my gear decent.

[Rob Lee]

Put the bleach in one of the 10ml eyedrops bottles & ditch the dropper.  Cut off the comb handle.

[jscott]

Deodorant? So the bear isn’t offended when it eats you? Manners!!!

but seriously, how long can deodorant possibly work in normal circumstances out backpacking? Say, 82% and climbing two thousand feet towards a pass? Will your deodorant keep you fresh as a daisy up top?  Somehow I doubt it. And so I leave it behind, and bathe one way or the other every day in camp.

[Monte Masterson]

“but seriously, how long can deodorant possibly work in normal circumstances out backpacking”.

I like to apply it right before I’m going to get on mass transit such as bus/train or before hitching a ride (with a fresh clean shirt). I also like to put some on before walking into stores and restaurants at resupply towns. Deodorant is worth the weight to me if it can keep other people from being repulsed.  And David D makes the case how deodorant lessens the permanent smell that can develop on shirts when not using it.

“Put bleach in one of the 10ml eyedrops bottles and ditch the dropper”.

Good idea but I’ve had bad experiences with bleach and slow leaks (in plastic). The glass vile has a very tight leakproof seal and plus I just don’t like bleach in plastic containers. No sound reason as to why really. You’re right though Rob, the glass vile and dropper is more weight and hassle.

[jscott]

Monte: all good points regarding deodorant. My reluctance is also tied to my not wantng to carry highly scented items. The deodorant will melt in a bear canister: not good! So it has to go in my pack, where I can also imagine it melting. I usually just return to my car at the trailhead and drive home after putting on clean clothes left there just for that purpose. However I’ve also hitched rides back to my car,  and gone into stores for food for the drive home after a hike. I may well be a bit smelly! apologies to all present…

[David D]

jscott, check out my post, I share an unscented deodorant that works.  Several thousand feet elevation change a day, 8-10 hrs.  wash nightly. Its never melted in my pack in wax paper properly packed.  0.6 oz

Lavalin is only good for 48 hours (by spec, though Moab Randy has been able to get longer efficacy).  I do use something similar: anti-bacterial foot wash for a week prior to leaving.  It would also help in armpits but I don’t want to encourage fungal growth there (never had an issue on feet).

[Dan]

Several thousand feet elevation change a day, 8-10 hrs.  wash nightly. Its never melted in my pack in wax paper properly packed.  0.6 oz

What is the connection between elevation change and the melting of deodorant?

[Author]

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