useful hiking/backpacking item

[So Cal Shaggy]

Well, having suffered through a giardia ingestion a number of years ago I decided I did not want that to happen again nor would I ever want anything I did affect anyone else so I have been looking for a better way of doing natures business out in the wilderness. Like most others that have used the back country I did my business in cat holes but in the last decade with technological advances in gear the amount of people in the back country has grown and with the increase in people comes the inevitable problems. 10 years ago I was hiking here in Ca and crossed a stream but slipped half way across and splashed water onto my face which I did not even think about well to my surprise I caught giardia and it was the most unpleasant experience of my life. I later spoke to the rangers in the area and expressed my surprise that I caught it from this particular area and they told me that it has become an all too common problem with the increase of people and dogs. I now never use a cat hole to do my business and with the introduction a number of years ago of different products to contain human and animal waste (wag bags and biffy bags to name two) I set out to devise a way to carry the used bags without worrying about putting them in my pack or having to carry them until I can find a trash receptacle. Here is what I came up with, it is a variation on a "poop tube" that I found in a book. Their construction is cheap and simple, 4" ABS pipe in whatever length you prefer, threaded cleanout, cleanout cap and a cap for the bottom.

I made two sizes one for day hikes with the dog and another person or two and the second is an extended trip tube when I might have to carry the bags all the way through my trip.


the opening is large enough to allow you to place the bags in easily


I filled the void in the cap with glue to make it solid then drilled a hole through it to enable a small piece of stainless rod to use to tighten the cap really well just in case of a leak from a bag. The hole only goes through the solid area so will not allow smells or liquids to leak out.




That is it. The tube straps to my backpack in either a vertical or horizontal position and cost less than $20.00 for enough materials to make 4 tubes (I made more than one for some of my friends) in a bind it might even be used as a bear container. It would even be a great addition to a small boat that does not have a bathroom.