Sometimes at the end of a long day one just does not want to squat due to being sore...as to smell: Not if you take a moment to rinse after use. We cannot all put in a long day of hiking and end the day without some soreness.
Sometimes at the end of a long day one just does not want to squat due to being sore...as to smell: Not if you take a moment to rinse after use. We cannot all put in a long day of hiking and end the day without some soreness.
I don't think squatting is a big deal...been doing it for 46 years. BUT the p-syle has been a game changer--it's VERY convenient!!!! I don't even have to take off my pack or pull down my pants!!!!! I imagine it'll be even better when the cold wind is wailing or it's pouring down rain... It's not at all heavy, and it doesn't smell because you just rinse it off. I don't even have to use my "pee rag" (the p-style technique allows you to "wipe and shake" if you will).
Oh my gosh!! I saw these in a camp store a year ago and I thought it was a gag gift!! I'm gonna try one! I'd love to not have to take off my pack and drop my drawers, not cause I'm lazy and don't want to squat but more cause of mosquitos and to use in outhouses/porta potties etc.
Dear Creek Dancer,
One reason to use this would be so that you don't have to take off your backpack each time you have to go. The men don't have to do that. Another reason is squatting hurts when you have sore muscles in your legs. AND you could possibly squat on poison ivy unawares if you are not careful.
Ive been thinking about how to make one. I like the idea of using a dressing bottle, but I think I'm going to cut out a shape from one of thoes naked juice square bottles. If you cut it on one of the edges, it would be shaped ver similarly to the pics of the pstyle. I'll let you know after I try it.
As to what Creek Dancer says... I think she was reffering to the actual urinal in the original post. Those would be cumbersome and not a very nice thing to hike around with. The pstyle and things like it are definitely different. Not having to take off pack and pants will be awesome.
Dear Catch Up:
I realize you wouldn't have to take off your backpack everytime you go. I just don't see that as such a big problem that I would have to carry around a device for urinating. I am woman. I squat. Also, over time, I don't think that water alone would sufficiently sanitize or deodorize something like this and I really wouldn't want to take the time to use soap and water several times per day to clean something I don't need anyway. My legs are sore too at the end of the day, and sometimes throughout the day, but I don't see that as a reason to carry yet another piece of gear. I've peed in the woods hundreds and hundreds of times and never had a problem with poison ivy. You just need to educate yourself about what the stuff looks like, so that you will know to stay away from it whether you are going to the bathroom, gathering firewood or looking for mushrooms. But like someone said, PYOP!
Peace Out, Girls!
Some people take the straight and narrow. Others the road less traveled. I just cut through the woods.
urine is sterile
I have the PStyle and love it. It takes some getting used to, so I suggest trying it in the shower a few times until you get the hang of it.
I'm doing 2 weeks on the AT next month and it will definitely be with me!
First Section Hike in April 2012!!
.Hike your own hike.
Somehow I learned to pee with my pack on, and not squatting too low. You just have to pay attention a little to get your pants and shoes out of the way. I have a friend with the pstyle and she loves it.
Personally, when hiking I pee quite often because I'm so seriously hydrating so I just pop over to the side of the trail and pee. No wandering in the bushes. Guys don't wander in the bushes, so I don't either. There's ticks in them thar' bushes!
"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" - Mary Oliver
http://wildandwhiteblazing.com
While hiking with John Rambo last spring I noticed the funnel dangling from a carabiner on the outside of her pack. "Is that funnel for what I think it is?" I asked. "Do you use that so you can piss standing up?"
Yes she did, standing up and wearing her pack! She said she picked up the funnel, which had a rather narrow oval mouth, at an auto parts store. We snickered because the auto parts store called it a "tight spot funnel." It fit well and she was able to adjust it somewhat to direct drainage. She said after using it she just rinsed it with a little water, then applied soap in the evening. I thought it was brilliant, although whenever I was anywhere near an auto parts store after that I was too distracted by the Chinese buffet or whatever else was going on to get my own funnel. Maybe on my next hike...
Hi: Read the poison ivy post, ouch! I am planning a 2013 thru-hike and just ordered "GoGirl Feminine Urination Device from KLH Products through Amazon. $7.50 + $4.99 shpg. This one you rinse so you use some of your water but I think much better than carrying out all the cardboard "Urinelles" with your trash. Good luck, A.Watts
I have used a GoGirl and a PStyle. Both are good, but the PStyle is much easier for me to use beacuse I can keep my pants up and don't have to work hard at keeping the device in place.
I have never had trouble finding a good spot to pee while backpacking, and try to stay out of any kind of weeds. If another hiker walked up and caught me unawares, I would rather be squatting than standing up trying to pee. Also, I don't think I would waste any of my purified water rinsing a device every time I used it.
I beg to differ: I LOVE my go-girl! As long as I'm standing on level ground. I can't pee a straight stream to save my life - it always runs down my leg somehow. I don't understand why gravity can't be my friend when I'm trying to pee in the woods. But I tell ya - My go girl is in my pack.
…speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee… –JOB 12:8
It's difficult to write your name in the snow while squatting.
That's the kind of info that is helpful! I have tried Go Girl and P Style. Go Girl requires completely dropping your clothes because it is too flexible and collapses inside clothes (bad), and then is difficult to point away from them when the clothes are down around your ankles. It's really great on a boat, and I am a big fan of it in this instance. But for hiking, if you want to keep your clothes on, go with the P Style. Definitely practice at home first. It's great with pants or skirts that have a fly zipper, and just move underwear to the side. I read a suggestion of wearing men's boxer briefs, with a fly, and that might be a good option. Might check it out. But I really like my ex-officio underwear, which works fine with P Style.
Come sail away, come sail away, come and sail away with me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wf3yw...ure=plpp_video
I used a Freshette when I hiked and I love it. I kept it in a double ziploc bag. That way I didn't have to touch the tube with my hands. I just pulled over the leg of my shorts when it was hot and used the fly in my pants when it was cold.
I totally freaked out a guy friend on a climbing trip one time. He didn't know I had it and saw me peeing standing up in the woods. His face was priceless when I walked back into camp.
Katie
Gimp AT 2001
~900 miles
"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear."
-- Ambrose Redmoon, U.S. writer