Repackaging items

[mike a]

Does anyone have a list or advice on repackaging size of items like boners soap, sunscreen, bug, chafe, hand sanitizer, water drops, etc….. I have read different peoples suggestions but there is not good context to show ounces or quantity for a number of uses. Like Boners soap- someone says they take .5oz but I do not know if that is good for 5 days or 20 days or 15 washes or 100 washes. I do understand it is subjective and each person uses items different but all advise is welcome.

Getting ready for a first backpacking trip this year.

Thanks, Mike

[Brad Rogers]

I repackage my Aquamira drops into smaller part A and part B bottles – I think they are .5oz bottles and I can get a week out of them.   I also repackage Dr. Bonners in a smaller bottle – I think it is .35oz and probably get 30 days out of it – a little Dr. Bonners goes a long way.  I repackage Hand Sanitizer in a .5oz bottle and get a week out of a full bottle.   I also repackage DEET – I should have used a .35oz bottle but used a .5oz bottle that some eyedrops came in a few years ago and it still feels full.  Mike Cleland! had an excellent post on here titled something Dinky things, that had great info on it if you can find it.

[Ken Thompson]

Here’s Mike C!’s post

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/17119/

[Brad Rogers]

Thanks Ken.   BTW I really miss Mike C! around here.

[mike a]

Thank you for the info and link. I will go check it out.

[Greg Mihalik]

Mike  C! was abducted by aliens.

I miss him too. I hope he returns soon.

[Russ W]

I know there are lots of sources for repackaging containers. My go-to has been Litesmith.com

 

[obx hiker]

Sawyer sells picaridin in a .5 oz. pump spray tube about like a fat ink pen. Handy and picaridin won’t damage clothing/gear, shoes, elastic…like anything stretchy…socks, gaiters. I take @ 1 oz of sunscreen for up to a week. Everything up-thread above sounds right. Clelland and those smooth flat teardrop shaped rocks  ;)

[Tipi Walter]

The OP’s question can only be answered by time and experience on the trail.  How Much Bronners to Take can’t be answered by anyone but you.

The subject of finding suitable small containers is a whole other topic—and easily answered by experimenting with over-the-counter containers like nasal sprays or eye/ear drop bottles etc etc.—reconfigured for your needs.

[Greg Pehrson]

One thing you can do to approximate amounts is to fill a small vial and use it at home as you would on the trail for a day or weekend, and then assess how much you used. For example, use the Dr. Bronner’s soap to brush your teeth and wash your hands as many times a day as you need to, then review how much you needed for that day. For sunscreen and bug repellent, some folks wear shorts and t-shirts and need a lot; I tend to use clothing for coverage so I need very little. Test it out on yourself at home–notice how much you need for a single application given your clothing choices, then multiply that out based on recommended reapplication times per day and number of days you’ll be out. This will give you a starting point that will be honed, as Tipi says, by experience on the trail.

[Mark J]

That link leads to something entirely else,

[Adrian Griffin]

Home-made tooth powder in a cosmetic sampler container is a good weight saver. The sample toothpaste tubes my dentist gives me are more than is needed. Toothpaste has to be bear-hung, another chore to be forgotten last thing at night.

There are many recipes on the web for tooth powder. I based mine on one at mommypotamus.com. I left out the cinnamon, peppermint oil, etc. etc. and mixed up a couple of cubic inches for stock. For trips, I fill a cosmetic sampler container–this is a snap-cap container about 3/4 inch diameter by 1/2 inch tall. Weighs almost nothing and is enough for many days. Spitting out activated charcoal, baking soda, and bentonite clay is much more LNT that spitting out white, peppermint toothpaste.

Also, to cut hanging needs, get a sample pack of unscented dental floss form your dental hygienist.

[Ken Thompson]

New link for Litesmith

https://www.litesmith.com

[Jason G]

The soap (Campsuds) in this photo is in a 0.3 fl oz eye drops bottle, and the amount shown here is what was left after an 8-day trip in the Rae Lakes area (same for the hand sanitizer). A little goes a looong way, and as noted, your mileage may vary.

I had also made toothpaste dots a few months ago, but I was nervous that they went bad and threw them out :(  Besides, who doesn’t love Olaf!

[Chris R]

We stopped taking liquid soap, I just cut a sugar cube sized piece from a glycerine soap bar and carry it in a tiny zipoloc.

[Roger Caffin]

Do you really NEED toothpaste? It will probably upset your mouth micro-biome, and recent research shows the upset can damage your brain.

We use very little soap at home and in the field, but those little packaged squares found in Motels are useful. We have a ‘few’ saved up. They do get used after either of us goes to the loo on a trip.

Cheers

[Adrian Griffin]

Tooth powder’s the way to go. I rebottle my stuff in 10 ml and 3 ml eyedropper bottles I got from Dutch.

Does anyone have any ideas for getting the labels to stay on?

[Kevin Babione]

It’s a bit of a pain, but the best way to keep your P-Touch labels from starting to peel off is to round the corners before you put them on.  If that still doesn’t work you could take a piece of clear packing tape long enough to go the whole way around the bottle and then back on itself and put that over the label.  Rounding the corners has worked well for me.  Labeling with a Sharpie did NOT last.

[Chris R]

tape over sharpie for labeling, or paint pen.

Most motel soap has too much scent for our liking.

I have sunscreen in a stick format- SunBum! I do worry about the banana scent but do bears like bananas?

[Roger Caffin]

Most motel soap has too much scent for our liking
Interesting. Oz stuff tends to be very plain.

Cheers

[Jason G]

I actually took a small SunBum mineral stick (coconut scented) on my trip instead of the “SPF” bottle in my photo. I only used it once (spent too much time looking at my feet one day), since I go with the long sleeve/pants and full-brimmed hat approach. I should’ve just put on the buff instead. The smell made me paranoid as it clung to my skin and shirt.

[Doug Coe]

I do worry about the banana scent but do bears like bananas?

I would assume bears like everything!

[Mina Loomis]

Haven’t used toothpaste, at home or on the trail, for 30 years.  Only toothbrush and water.  The dentist says my teeth look about the same as everybody else’s.

[BlackHatGuy]

Like Mina, I generally don’t take toothpaste to the field (though I do use it at home). I say generally because sometimes I forget I had some in there from when I used to take it and forget to take it out. Water is good enough for me when backpacking. I do take floss, and that gets put in with my food at night.

I carry a very small eye-dropper bottle of Dawn dishwashing liquid that stays in my bathroom kit, since that’s the only time I use it. I don’t use soap anywhere else but my hands, either at home or in the field. I’ve got it in a small opsak in my bathroom kit along with a small tube of clotrimazole cream and a small Purell hand sanitizer bottle. I don’t bother repackaging either. A small tube of sunscreen for face and lips is in my first aid kit. No deet or other bug stuff (other than permethrin treated clothing).

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