The Best Gear for Going Poo in the Woods

Outside’s Gear Guy gets some pro tips from NOLS instructor Jared Spaulding and other experts on the best practices and gear for pooping in the woods. From investing in a trowel to unscrewing the caps of your soap and water bottles before doing your business, these simple reminders can make a serious difference to your comfort and health in the backcountry.

“Of all the gear I’ve covered over the years, I may have the most knowledge about stuff that helps you answer nature’s call outside. Having battled both giardia and norovirus on river trips, not to mention losing 40 pounds to waterborne illnesses during a six-month stay in South America, I can dig an eight-inch deep cathole in seconds and have my squatting technique down to a science.

But I’m a decidedly low-tech woods pooper—I’ll admit to using rocks as trowels. So I called on the expertise of three people with a combined 50-plus years of teaching clients and students how to go to the bathroom outside.”

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