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OPSAK
by Watchful Eye Designs
The newspaper wrap is one of the most basic methods of waste collection and removal. All you need are sheets of newspaper to collect the waste and plastic bags to contain the rolled up packages. The job of keeping the waste and its odors isolated isn’t one you’d want to trust to any resealable bag.
OPSAK resealable bags from Watchful Eye Designs are airtight, odor-proof and made of a transparent and highly puncture-resistant plastic film. The seal has proven watertight in immersions tests under pressure for as long as two weeks. The company is well known among adventure racers for its ALOKSAK, a resealable air- and watertight bag often used by racers for protecting their maps and charts.
The bags are reusable and recyclable, but they’re not designed as a disposable part of a waste system, as the WAG BAG is. They are well suited for a newspaper wrap waste system, keeping the wraps isolated until they can be disposed of in an outhouse or a flush toilet. The newspaper wrap, easily the cheapest personal waste system, is best suited where your newspaper can be spread out on a dry surface. If you’ve ever worked in a deli or had to wrap up breakables for a household move, you’ll have no problem securely wrapping up a tidy package and popping it inside an OPSAK.
The resealable OPSAK comes in three sizes with three to a pack for the smaller sizes and two to a pack for the bigger one. I tested the midsize (12.5 inches by 20 inches) and found ample room for three or four day’s worth of waste. The bags are easy to fill and close just like a ziplock. Instructions on the bag recommend you squeeze as much air out of the bag as possible and run your fingers along the closed seal twice to ensure a positive closure. Always double-check that the bag has been sealed—sometimes I found it hadn’t. Once sealed, the bags are easy to stow or manipulate into any spare space inside your boat.
OPSAK $7.79 (9 x 10 3-pack); $10.59 (12.5 x 20 3-pack); $13.29 (28 x 20 2-pack)
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OPSAK
by Watchful Eye Designs |
Watchful Eye Designs
800-355-1126
info@watchfuleyedesigns.com
www.watchfuleyedesigns.com
Restop 1 & Restop 2
by American Innotek, Inc.
These two waste disposal systems come from American Innotek, Inc.: Restop 1 for liquid waste; and Restop 2, for both liquid and solid waste.
Restop 1 is a small, disposable plastic bag containing polymers and enzymes that absorb up to 20 ounces (600 ml) of urine and convert it into a semisolid gel. The bag’s wide opening with its semirigid rim allows for easy use by men or women. An integral funnel acts as a one-way valve to prevent spillage should the used bag accidentally be dropped before the closure is sealed. Deodorants in the bag eliminate unpleasant odors. During my tests, the Restop 1 was very easy to use, seal and stash away safely in my boat.
Restop 2 has a silvery outer bag, which has a ziplock seal, and is made of a three-ply, gas-impervious plastic laminate. Its inner bag extends to wrap over a commode seat or can be spread on the ground to collect waste, which I did in my tests. The gray inner bag has a funnel-like, one-way valve design to seal in odors and waste, and polymers and enzymes deodorize and break down solids and liquid waste. When you’re done, cinch the inner bag closed with the strap built into the opening, stuff it back into the outer bag and secure it with the ziplock closure. Very quick and simple and, like the WAG BAG, can be safely used inside a tent and used multiple times. Both Restop 1 and Restop 2 bags contain some toilet paper and an antiseptic wipe.
A five-pack of Restop 2 bags comes with a Wilderness Waste Containment Pouch—a mesh bag that will hold up to five used Restop 2 bags. I also had no trouble fitting used Restop 2 bags inside the Metolius Waste Case and could fit two or three inside the Jinker. Restop bags are not biodegradable, but their treatment of waste meets requirements for disposal in landfills. Both Restop bags are available from most outdoor -retailers.
Restop 1 $3.99 (2-pack); $7.99 (4-pack)
Restop 2 $2.95 (1 bag); $14.95 (5-pack and pouch)
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Restop 1
by American Innotek, Inc. |
Restop 2
by American Innotek, Inc. |
American Innotek, Inc.
800-366-3941 or 760-741-6600
info@whennaturecalls.com
www.whennaturecalls.com
Porta Potty Lite
by Porta Potty Lite
If you’re setting up a base camp for an extended stay, or paddling in a group and a communal loo makes good sense, then the Porta Potty Lite may be a good option. The system consists of a rolled corrugated plastic sheet that serves as a 14-inch (36 cm) pedestal, and two 12-inch (30 cm) circular plastic seats that store tucked one inside the other.
Overall, the Porta Potty Lite takes up more room than any of the other systems tested here; however, it’s easy to set up and is surprisingly sturdy. Place one of the rings upside down on the ground, unroll the plastic sheet and set it inside the ring’s outer lip. Place one of the supplied 2.5 ml polymer bags inside the pedestal with six inches or so of the bag hanging over the pedestal’s lip, and set the second ring right side up on the top of the pedestal. Presto—you have a very comfortable seated toilet system.
When you have finished using the Potty, drop in an effervescent sanitizing tablet. To store the used bags away inside your boat, if you can’t dispose of them same day, you will need to ensure that you have a very good tie or knot around the mouth of the polymer bag, as they do not have a watertight closure system. The bag is too large to fit in a Jinker, but it could be stored inside an OPSAK or Metolius Waste Case.
When testing the Porta Potty Lite, it made sense to use the same polymer bag for a full day, especially if I didn’t break up camp for a day or two. The seat doesn’t have a lid, so placing a bit of driftwood across the seat or a second bag stretched over the top would close the Potty between uses.
This is also the only system tested where you don’t have to squat, so it was definitely the most comfortable waste system reviewed and could be a boon to paddlers with a few aches and pains.
The polymer waste bags supplied with the Porta Potty Lite are very tough, but unfortunately, they are not biodegradable. The WAG BAGs do fit the Porta Potty Lite pedestal, however, which would be the most environmentally sensitive way to take advantage of the comfort of the Potty.
Porta Potty Lite $24.95 (contact the company for quantity pricing for the polymer bags)
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Porta Potty Lite
by Porta Potty Lite |
Porta Potty Lite
720-488-1212
www.portapottylite.com
Wrapping It Up
All in all, you have a variety of systems here to choose from, suitable to a variety of usages and depending upon how much extra gear you wish to carry. Overall, I would have to recommend the WAG BAG system—with any of the storage cases, the Porta Potty Lite or by itself—as it is biodegradable and the magic waste-treatment powder minimizes the smell and spill factor.
The growing awareness of environmental sensitivity in relation to human waste and what to do with it, is helping ensure that the wilderness we enjoy retains the qualities that draw us to it. Paddling trails that are making an effort to address or prevent the damage done by human waste are now specifying that some form of waste-removal system be used. The Roanoke River Partners Trail, a local paddling trail in North Carolina, offers 12 camping platforms along its beautifully scenic winding river trails, and packing a personal human waste system with you is compulsory. As a result of the trail regulations, the camping platforms and surrounding waters are pristine. The Northern Forest Canoe Trail, an historic 740-mile water trail through New York, Vermont, Quebec, New Hampshire and Maine, is considering some sort of packing-out system, particularly for its campsites located in flood zones. Just as trail organizations are recognizing the value of removing human waste from the trail, we can personally take the initiative to adopt a similar practice even where the removal is not required.
I have always been a cathole person myself. Now, having accumulated some firsthand experience with what is out there on the market in terms of waste disposal systems, I feel no need or excuse to ever dig a hole in the wild again. If you can afford the gear you need to go paddling, there is no excuse not to pack something as cheap as newspaper and a ziplock bag. Any waste system, such as those reviewed here, should be a standard piece of equipment to add to your trip’s gear list. With these very cost-effective systems readily available on the market, we have the means to protect not only the wilderness but also the health of those paddling and camping with us and after us. It’s the right thing to do.
Kristen Greenaway has been relieving herself in the great outdoors for 46 years and now packs a personal waste system in her kayak. She would like to thank her one-year-old for all his help in contributing to this article.
Afterword: Kristen recently competed in the 2008 WaterTribe Everglades Challenge, the 300-plus-mile kayak race from Tampa Bay to Key Largo, Florida. She made a personal pledge to pack everything out. In the interest of weight reduction, Kristen took five WAG BAGs and a mid-sized OPSAK resealable bag. She managed to dispose of her used WAG BAGs at each racecourse checkpoint. Kristen came in first in her class (for both men and women) and beat the women’s record (which she previously held) by 22 hours, finishing the 320-mile race in five days, 10 hours and 15 minutes.
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