"Cleanliness Is Next To Godliness"...

timberweasel

timberweasel

Joined
Jan 5, 2011
Messages
6,194
Let's talk about field ablution kits. Say you're heading out on a week long trip... what will you bring to keep yourself clean, healthy, and not smelling completely like wet yeti arse? What products work best for you and how do you pack 'em? Have you tried anything that was a total fail? Do you consider your ablution kit an extension of your FAK?

Please share your experience! :)
 
I carry a small container of concentrated dish detergent - evaporated to the point where it will just flow out when the container is squeezed. It's the GP cleaner for pots, pans, and me.

Also a natural sponge, Weighs next to zip. Compresses nicely. Allows sponge baths to reduce level of crude.

Wouldn't want to attract Yeti. ^___^
 
I have taken numerous baths in rivers and lakes.The first time I dropped the bar of soap off the end of a boat ramp and couldnt recover it. Now ,I always take a bar of ivory soap because it floats.
 
dipbait said:
I have taken numerous baths in rivers and lakes.The first time I dropped the bar of soap off the end of a boat ramp and couldnt recover it. Now ,I always take a bar of ivory soap because it floats.
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I have to place a mental check with that one and adjust my soap purchases accordingly, thank you. :D
 
A lot of guys use unscented baby wipes. They come in a little plastic box and are good if you are in the middle of the woods for a week.
 
Dr Bronners. I haven't found anything else that rinses as well in cold or barely-warm water.
 
I also use baby wipes for quick clean ups and Dawn Dish soap for a proper bath. My understanding is that Dawn is also phosphate free like camp soap.
 
Dawn, inscented baby wipes, plain old cotton washcloth.
Safety pin it to the outiside of pack to dry if needed.
Toothbrush and Crest. I always feel cleaner if I brush my teeth.
 
non-scented dr bronners, a very small dropper bottle full does me a week- the stuff is very concentrated; used to wash my hands, body and clothing

toothpowder in a small dropper bottle w/ a small disposable (it's disposable, but lasts a week fine) wisp brush

small MSR Nano towel

total weight - 1.0 oz :)

toiletries.jpg
 
A small bottle of Dr Bronners
A washcloth
A very small towel
Toothbrush
An end of life tube of toothpaste

SAK Classic in my FAK for keeping my nails clean

AND very important cleanliness.
A small piece of Scotchbrite with the Dr Bronners for my cup and pots
I use sand or earth to first clean then final with scotchbrite and soap
 
Dr Bronner's is the best all natural soap i have found. It rinses easy and gets me clean. It can even be used as tooth paste, but i always carry a tooth brush cut down to size and a small thing of tooth paste. other than that i carry a small thing of floss and some baby wipes. TP is usually stuffed away somewhere, but i have been known to make do if worst comes to worst.
 
gadgetgeek said:
How does Dr Bronners compare to Camp Suds? anyone use both and have a preference?
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I've used both. Camp Suds is difficult to rinse off in primitive bathing conditions, doesn't cut grease as well, and doesn't smell as nice.

Dr Bronners is great for body, shampoo, dishes, and laundry. I've even tried Dr Bronners for toothpaste, although I don't recommend it.
 
Very interesting. Never heard of "Dr. Bronner's" before, but I like what I've read on their website. I'll have to give it a go... Thanks guys! :thumbup:
 
houdini28 said:
I also use baby wipes for quick clean ups and Dawn Dish soap for a proper bath. My understanding is that Dawn is also phosphate free like camp soap.
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Don't wash with dish soap. Dawn may be milder than most, but as a general rule dish soap will suck the oils right out of your skin. Not so noticeable on your hands, but put it on your face and balls and it will suck. Skin dries up and flakes off and will be irritated all week.
 
I’ve really down-sized my back-country toiletry kit:

Dr. Bronner’s
Small tooth brush and travel tooth paste (could for 7-10 days)
Travel pack of baby-wipes
TP and small bottle of hand-sanitizer in a Ziploc bag

Dental floss is in another kit and handy when you get that piece of food stuck in your teeth…it’s extremely handy.

A small container of Gold-Bond or Monkey Butt powder is a good idea depending on your activities. I’ve used it for long road marches and it some very hot/humid hiking conditions.

I’ve used a little alcohol rub on my feet which is good to dry them out if they’re wet and wrinkled from being immersed in water. I use to pack a small alcohol stove for field use and a cotton ball and some mineral spirits (stove fuel) worked great on the feet...drying them out and cooling them off.

Chapstick is a must in my kit and part of my EDC. More for protection than hygiene, but I consider it a part of my hygiene kit; Burt’s bees is my preference. I know it’s not an essential, but I keep a small pair of flat folding nail clippers (combination with Sliver Gripper tweezers) in my kit. I like to keep my nails trimmed…just a pet peeve, but a cracked or torn nail can hinder your ability to manage small item tasks and could potentially get infected.

That’s pretty much it. I use my cravat/banana as a washcloth and when it gets to the nastier crevices, I’ll use the baby wipes. I don’t pack a towel often as I’ll dry pretty quickly in the south. I do my major washes at night right before bed, so it’s less of an issue unless it’s really cold temps.

Field hygiene and sanitation is critical to maintain your health and sanity. I’ve spent many a tactical field exercise where your daily routine was to take care of your teeth, feet, pits and crotch. I was getting really good at taking a full sponge bath, shave and brushing my teeth using a full canteen of water and canteen cup (jet boil used to heat the water for the mandatory field shave).

ROCK6
 
Frankly, I don't worry about how I smell when afield. I carry a small bottle of all purpose detergent and a bandanna. I can wash if I want, skip it of that suits me.

I do carry my toothbrush and toothpaste. Gotta keep the pearly white's pearly white.
 
I carry a small bottle of "campsuds" (me, dishes, clothing if needed), and half of a "adventure towel".
 
one thing worth mentioning is that hand sanitizer pales in comparison to soap- especially when it comes to cleaning after "doing your business" :)

hand sanitizer is great (and makes a great fire starter), but not really a substitute for soap

also if you hike in bear country, I'd strongly suggest non-scented soaps
 
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