Trail Hygiene

So your heading into the backcountry, your gonna get alittle smelly but there are ways to stay clean and “Leave No Trace”. Fairly new to New Zealand is the use of a Bidet on trail. This cute little fella is becoming more popular as long distance hikers realise the benefits of not carrying toilet paper.

The Holey hiker bidet is incredibly straight forward and simple to use. All you need is a plastic or reusable water bottle like a pump water bottle or Cnoc 28mm, a Trowel and the bidet.

You dig your cat hole and do your business like normal. Then, you insert the bidet into the opening of your water bottle and squeeze, water dispenses through four little holes, not a single small stream…for a real deep clean!. Pressure depends on how tightly you squeeze your water bottle. At the end of it all, cover your cat hole and keep on hiking!

Biodegradable soap or hand sanitiser is always a good idea. Just be sure to keep the soap (along with your poop) away from water sources. 

Summit Suds Powdered Soap is perfect for the outdoors! It’s Biodegradable, fragrance-free, mess-free, Use For Hands, Body, Hair, Clothes, Dishes. Pure water has a pH level of 7 and so does this soap. Summit Suds is as harmless as water!

When it comes to teeth some gram counters chop there tooth brushes in half or drill holes to save weight and if you are that way inclined you may want to check out the Trail Stuff Trail Brush. This lighter-than-a-gummy-bear toothbrush attaches to the handle of a typical long handled spoon and reuses that handle rather than making you carry another one.

For cleaning I prefer Toothpaste Tablets. They are super convenient for hiking. No exploding tubes and they don’t take up as much space as toothpaste because you can simply count out as many as you need.

And lastly for the ladies the Kiwi Ultralight Bush Cloth. A Bush Cloth is essentially reusable toilet paper for drying off after peeing in the backcountry. Using a Bush Cloth is a great way to keep yourself clean and again cut back on toilet paper usage.

Happy Hiking and remember to “Leave No Trace”