BWCA ok....a poll. Boundary Waters Gear Forum

Chat Rooms (0 Chatting) | Search | Login/Join

* BWCA is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Boundary Waters Quetico Forum

Gear Forum

ok....a poll.

Author

Text

kanoes

12/29/2008 09:25PM

ladies and gentleman. serious question. pee bottle in the tent?

pro or con?

im pro. but a 32 oz. NOT a 16 oz. :)

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

quetico152

12/29/2008 09:28PM

pro. i like not having to get out of the tent.

and i agree, 32oz!!!

"One swallow does not make a summer, nor does one day; and so too one day, or a short time, does not make a man blessed and happy" ~ Aristotle

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

Jimi

12/29/2008 09:31PM

Outta the tent. Geesh, I'll wake up buzzed to take a leak at home. I won't take a leak in my bedroom in the woods. Not even sober.

Great poll kanoes!

Jimi

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

Kiporby

12/29/2008 09:33PM

No pee bottle. I prefer to mark my territory.

There is a light and it never goes out. Morrissey

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

L.T.sully

12/29/2008 09:35PM

I don't bring one so....!
Usually I hold it at night....

The creation of a thousand forests is in a single acorn- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

mongo65

12/29/2008 09:44PM

Con. I'm barely awake in the middle of the night when I wake up to pee. The woods are easier to hit than a pee bottle.

Sit back, relax, have a home brew.

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

ILikePike

12/29/2008 09:45PM

con wouldnt want to empty it in the morning

“Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit” -Edward Abbey

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

canoe212

12/29/2008 09:50PM

Still young with a healthy bladder, no pee bottle for me.

“Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt.” John Muir

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

rogerson

12/29/2008 09:59PM

I'm with Kip, marking territory is primal.

"I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me." Hunter S Thompson

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

fishguts

12/29/2008 10:04PM

Where do bears pee?......Me too.

fishguts

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

wetcanoedog

12/29/2008 10:35PM

nice nite--outside
rain nite --inside..
and my Crazy Creek Lounger is a triple fold--back,seat and legs.so i can set it just outside the door and knee-walk at least six feet to the nearest tree--

it's just a level trail thru the woods.

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

shoreviewswede

12/29/2008 11:00PM

Ummm... gee... no pee bottle.
Go right before you sleep... should be alright. Else, git yer butt out of the tent!

PS- Kid once peed outside the tent while still standing inside of it. That was swell.

Be Nice -Swede

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

BigZig

12/29/2008 11:19PM

Never used one - not even in winter. Just get up and go.

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

timberwolf

12/29/2008 11:41PM

pee in a bottle, not me. I like to write my name in cursive though.

"RANGERS LEAD THE WAY"

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

mr.barley

12/30/2008 12:22AM

Always outside. On a clear night, you may have a shot at some auroras.

serenity now

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

UncleMoose

12/30/2008 12:57AM

Con. I was just about to say the same thing as Mr. Barley. That's the best way to see those northern lights.

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

andym

12/30/2008 02:29AM

No, too much extra weight. Must be a double-portaging thing.

Seriously though, no.

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

dogwoodgirl

12/30/2008 03:52AM

no way...that's what separates the kids from the big folks, we can go outside at night to pee!

~On to Fort Chipewyan before the snow flies!

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

Unas10

12/30/2008 05:40AM

It depends on the weather, weather or not I can swipe my brother's water bottle.

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

snakecharmer

12/30/2008 05:43AM

Depends. :)

Seriously...I like to get up and see the stars.

"Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing it is not fish they are after"
~ Henry David Thoreau

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

uigreyjay

12/30/2008 05:54AM

no pee bottle. the night sky is always a treat to get up and see, if you have to pee.

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

bogwalker

Moderator

Moderator

12/30/2008 06:51AM

con for three seasons.

I don't mind getting out, marking my territory and watering the vegetation. No, I don't usually make it to the latrine in the middle of the night if I get up.

I might be convinced to use one in the winter when temps were -20 or more outisde. If I brought one, 16 ounce would probably be plenty for now.

"When a man is part of his canoe, he is part of all that canoes have ever known." Sigurd F. Olson WWJD

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

Obergut

12/30/2008 07:53AM

I thought that's what the 5" diameter zippered flap was for. My wife says that one of these days I'm gonna get lucky peeing out of that.

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

hexnymph

12/30/2008 08:13AM

Con, who wants to carry pee around?

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

moose plums

12/30/2008 08:27AM

No pee bottle for me. I can wait till morning. Mommy taught me to go potty before bedtime.

"I am haunted by waters"~Norman Maclean "A River Runs Through It"

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

Merganser

12/30/2008 09:05AM

No bottle. I mark my territory. Rain gear is always in the tent at night so rain isn't an issue.

"That sort of thing is my bag baby."

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

whiteh20

12/30/2008 09:08AM

I always bring a black sharpie in hopes that you folks who pee in a water bottle used black to mark your PEE bottle with. Huh? which bottle did I really pee into?

"With an ax, you can build a life. With a stove, you can boil water. That is if nothing breaks and you don't run out of fuel." -Samuel Hearne

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

izzy

12/30/2008 09:20AM

There is a zipper in a tent for a reason. Outside. Izzy

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

crumpman

12/30/2008 09:34AM

This was one of my 81 year old father's concerns this summer. I brought an empty Simply Lemonade bottle for him to use, it was a perfect pee bottle. It took up a little room, but no significant weight, and a tight lid. I get up and go outside if the need arises.

"Fine figure of a man, yes?" Jeremiah Johnson

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

kennk

12/30/2008 09:36AM

For those of you who do use a pee bottle ... its a really good idea to wrap the outside with friction tape so that you can tell the difference between the pee bottle and the potable water bottle in the dark.

Ken

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

Kurps

12/30/2008 09:46AM

Get up and go outside, even in the winter.

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

Boppa

12/30/2008 09:52AM

outside unless raining - 32OZ.
boppa

"Yesterday is the past, Tomorrow is the future, Today is a GIFT, that is why it is called the present".

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

Bannock

12/30/2008 11:34AM

Oh for heavens sake ....

For those that use one, you must have a different kind of tent than me. I'd have to use it while laying down, or at best, propped up on one elbow. I don't think physics allow for a lot of success in my case.

Bannock

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

Arkansas Man

Moderator

Moderator

12/30/2008 12:03PM

Due to medical problems and having to get up 3 or more (sometimes up to 10 times a night...) I do carry a hopital Johnny Bottle. In my opinion it is more respectful to the person staying in the tent with you. How would you like to be awaken that many times with someone getting out of the tent?

Just me!

Bruce

Good Paddling, Great Fishing, and God Bless All...

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

Unas10

12/30/2008 12:46PM

Bannock, I have an older brother who uses a pee bottle and sleeps in a Hennessy hammock. I don't know how he does it and I don't think I want to know.

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

airmorse

12/30/2008 01:12PM

Outside to pee. Rain, shine, or dark of night.

"In wilderness is the salvation of mankind." Thoreau.

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

Bannock

12/30/2008 03:37PM

This is a little off-topic, but whenever I get home after a longer trip I always find it odd to go to the bathroom inside the house. It just doesn't seem ... right. Fortunately I live in the country and have no neighbors. :)

Bannock

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

muskrat

12/30/2008 04:30PM

Con, Its always nice to get up and see whats going on in the middle of the night !

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

bapabear

12/30/2008 04:52PM

Wait until some of you young pups get older!

Have used pee bottle (very secure lid - think about it - and bottle different shaped than drinking bottle) in the past. Depends on weather and temperature on whether I use it or not. To save weight this summer I was thinking about a clothespin.......

My superhero name is TYPOMAN. Writer of wrongs.

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

gbusk

12/30/2008 05:26PM

How about a condom catheter??

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

Jeriatric

12/30/2008 05:49PM

Haven't used a pee bottle before but after the all-night down pours of my last trip, I may reconsider.
Perhaps kanoes can research some plastic bottles, try them out, you know, and sort of rate them for us. I'm sure that weight, volume, depth, mouth diameter, accessories such as funnels, and other criteria (is duct tape easily adapted to the neck for people like Bannock) could be evaluated.
Drinking a lot of water followed by an Everclear chaser might be a big aid in this endeavor.

I will wait on the edge of my toilet seat for the results.

The business of life is the acquisition of memories. In the end that's all there is. ___Mr Carson (Downton Abby)

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

kanoes

12/30/2008 06:02PM

hands down winner....the original blue and white nalgene.

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

snakecharmer

12/30/2008 06:05PM

clothespin? Possible new use for BDBs? :)

"Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing it is not fish they are after"
~ Henry David Thoreau

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

bapabear

12/30/2008 07:02PM

I have GOT to get me some of those BDB's!

My superhero name is TYPOMAN. Writer of wrongs.

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

OBX2Kayak

12/30/2008 09:15PM

Outside ... all seasons. My tent is not conducive to pee bottles.

"I go because it irons out the wrinkles in my soul" -- Sigurd Olson

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

motdur

12/30/2008 10:41PM

winter camping only

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

TomT

12/30/2008 11:19PM

I'm a pee bottle convert for about 10 years now. I use a original blue/white nalgene but it is rectangle shaped (opposed to standard round ones we drink from) and has a piece of duct tape with PEE written on it.

I love my pee bottle. Would never go without it.

I do like to joke in the morning and ask my trip mates if they'd like some apple cider with their breakfast. :)

"Life is not about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself." --- George Bernard Shaw

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

shoreviewswede

12/31/2008 11:20AM

Arkansas Man... you're killing me! Peeing into a cup 5 feet from your buddy's head is more respectful than getting out...
...ah, you're killing me.

Do you pee like, real quietly? :)

Be Nice -Swede

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

gutmon

Guest Paddler

12/31/2008 11:50AM

I was fishing with one of my buddies a few years ago using his father's boat. His dad had an old Downy bottle in the boat for use as a pee bucket. I was a little worried about putting my unit into a bottle labeled as "softener"...

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

overthehill

12/31/2008 08:42PM

Holding all night days are usually over for me. Pre-dawn visit to bathroom is becoming a ritual, and camping? The bathroom is outside for me.

Not to Hurry-Not to Worry

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

bumabu

12/31/2008 11:26PM

Would rinsing said bottle in lake be legal?

I prefer to get out and feel the night. Maybe a bottle if it is really cold out.

Who I am precedes what I do, not the other way around.

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

highplainsdrifter

01/01/2009 09:19PM

LOL. Good one Kanoes. I just discovered this tonight.

ya know, this pee bottle question is about as bad as that post made about your "Favorite Latrine".... who did that one anyway? :) Favorite Latrine

I never make it though the night. I get up, but there have been nights when the rain has been coming down in sheets..... it don't get worse than that (almost like the old camp trick of the hand in the warm pan of water)

"Boredom, Tyler - that's what's wrong. And how do you beat boredom, Tyler?... Adventure...(Never Cry Wolf, 1983)

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

Arkansas Man

Moderator

01/02/2009 08:03AM

Swede,
First of all it is not a cup, it is a Hospial issued 1 liter urinal bottle, with a lid that seals it securely. If I were young and did not have the problem I have I would do as I have done in the past and get up and go out. However now... There is considerably less noise and disturbance by me using a bottle (3 or more times a night) than me getting up in the middle of the night and going outside (3 or more times a night). And I am usually either solo or my wife is my partner... This past summer the guy that went with me and stayed in the tent (Eureka Timberline 4XT so plenty of room with two people) had no problems with it and as far as I know, never woke up!
Trust me I wish I did not have to go, and go, and go, and go in the night... but maybe after a while longer I won't have too!
Bruce

Good Paddling, Great Fishing, and God Bless All...

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

Big Tent

01/02/2009 10:35AM

I'm with Mr. Barley, for now it's nice to see the night sky. We have seen the aurora 4 or 5 times while outside to answer natures call.

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

shoreviewswede

01/02/2009 11:23AM

I'm just playing, Ark Man. Don't take any umbridge to me. I just saw a humorous angle to your phrase.

I've been lucky so far... no downpour that I could not avoid; gettin' soaked at 3am would make a bottle look pretty good. :)

Be Nice -Swede

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

hiawatha

01/02/2009 11:35AM

my most memorable night time sky watches, (stars, moon, aurora borealis), have all happened during the Midnight call of Paul Revere.

The man who goes alone can start today; but he who travels with another must wait till that other is ready. --- Henry David Thoreau

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

HighPlainsDrifter

01/02/2009 01:29PM

Ok, men. Beware of narrow neck bottles
I stumbled upon this article in a place called "The body Odd", and I immediately thought...... This information could save save someone's wilderness trip". So in an effort to promote wilderness safety, I provide a link to a most unusual (unfortunately true) story.

What is stuck where?

"Boredom, Tyler - that's what's wrong. And how do you beat boredom, Tyler?... Adventure...(Never Cry Wolf, 1983)

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

shoreviewswede

01/02/2009 02:02PM

Niiiiice!

I don't think I'm at great risk. :)

Be Nice -Swede

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

Arkansas Man

Moderator

01/02/2009 04:15PM

Not to worry Swede, I was just giving clarification...

Bruce

Good Paddling, Great Fishing, and God Bless All...

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

Dbldppr1250

01/02/2009 05:14PM

Outside, my man.

My enlarged prostate calls me once or twice every night, but I still go outside. I like to get a look at the campsite, the campfire area, and the bear hang (as well as my students or whoever is with me).

For debate's sake, I could possible understand having one on an ugly rainy night.

Walking School Bus

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

T_Flo19

01/02/2009 05:46PM

no pee bottle, i get up and pick a target, i think i hit a snowshoe hare once.

T_Flo19

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

marc bates

01/04/2009 01:02PM

No pee bottle. I don't think I have yet to get up and pee in the BWCA during the night. I think the good air and my own exhaustion keeps from happening. With my luck I would be half asleep and I would accidentally loose control and hit my camp mate with a stream. This would piss him off more than me opening the tent. Besides I like the night and the view is better outside the tent.

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

stubs

01/05/2009 11:30PM

I've never used a bottle, but i'll consider it in the future.

You gotta love the young camper who doesn't want to take more than a few steps, so he goes right outside the tent...on the uphill side.

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

Pirate

01/06/2009 06:39AM

Wow... Once again I am speechless.

Arrgghhh!

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

gannettpk97

01/06/2009 11:35AM

I always go outside...too much to see in the middle of the night

"Dance Between the Raindrops"

Dance Between the Raindrops!

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

Voyageur

01/06/2009 01:29PM

I 'm with shoreviewswede that's too funny.

Always outside: rain, sleet, -7 It doesn't matter. For those worried about the cold think what a fumble or spill would do to your sleeping bag temp rating. Outside and at least 10 feet from the tent.
The night sky is nice and you can check your gear.

Remember this is fun... and your having it.

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

HowardSprague

01/06/2009 08:54PM

Have never used one and will never consider it.

"Enjoy every sandwich"

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

soledad

01/07/2009 11:32AM

I sleep in a hammock- peeing in a bottle while lying on one's back would not be a good idea.

One night while camping in Tiger Bay, a friend of mine (Jessie) woke up after a solid day/night of drinking, turned "toward" the closest tree and started peeing. In his drunken state and likely with his eyes closed he forgot that his canoe partner (Brent) was sleeping in a hammock tied to the same tree. His brand new down sleeping has never been the same and Jessie still denies that it ever happened.

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

ZIMTLSA

01/07/2009 12:30PM

I might be switching to PRO as of last years trip. My last 3 trips have had ????? weather so on this last one I brought a bottle in at night and am glad I did. I hate getting wet at night. I've heard that some people us color coded Nalgenes for this purpose. Guess what color. Todd

Semper Fi

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

shoreviewswede

01/07/2009 08:56PM

Oh My Lord... peeing on a guy sleeping in a hammock. That's priceless! If my buddy ever sleeps in a hammock... I got my excuse to do him in!

Be Nice -Swede

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

Toby

01/07/2009 09:13PM

No pee bottle for me. I go before bed and never have to get up....

I don't want a large Farva... I want a GD liter-a-cola!

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

Jeriatric

01/07/2009 11:42PM

You guys that use the blue and white Nalgene bottle for fluid emergencies, is that the same bottle you use to take in the leeches or is that a second blue and white Nalgene?
If it is the same bottle, do you write "leech" on one side and "pee" on the other side of the bottle? Or, do you just write leech and figure that label safely covers all bases?
If you take a second bottle, just for pee, how many Nalgene bottles, of all colors, are you taking into the BW?
Hey! There's another poll.

The business of life is the acquisition of memories. In the end that's all there is. ___Mr Carson (Downton Abby)

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

BlackBear08

01/08/2009 09:21AM

I always make SURE i go so that I'm less likely to wake up in the middle of the night having to go. Being female, I can't go in a bottle inside the tent, doesn't work that way for me. I would get up and go just a few feet from the tent or something. Even if I was a guy, I think I would still go outside.

If there's a place, canoe there. -Brent Kelly-

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

Jeriatric

01/08/2009 12:29PM

kanoes,
Aren't you concerned, using a blue and white Nalgene in the dark to pee, you might contaminate your Everclear?
Can peeing ever be a substitute for Gatorade?

The business of life is the acquisition of memories. In the end that's all there is. ___Mr Carson (Downton Abby)

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

gutmon

01/12/2009 07:45AM

I was on Basswood a couple of Septembers ago and sat through more than a day of torrential rain. We sat under our tarp in the pouring rain, playing cribbage, laughing about the fact that there was a fire ban in effect (we couldn't have started a fire if we had wanted to) and emptying the contents of our Nalgenes (blue for booze, by the way). Ended up crawling into the tent around 6:30pm and was glad to have the empty Nalgene in the tent rather than having to go out and getting soaked when nature called. Don't know about our particular location, but saw after the trip that a nearby area received 12" of rain that day...
Was also glad to have kept my mind and not thought in the morning, "Wow, I've got a full bottle of booze left!"

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

OBX2Kayak

01/12/2009 10:35AM

Gutman -- I saw that 12 inches of rain in the weather records ... early August, right? What was it like? A constant downpour with no let-up or, brief periods of very heavy rain? And, did it not turn very cold as the rain lifted? Sounds like the definition of misery.

One must get to know their mates very well during a day like that.

"I go because it irons out the wrinkles in my soul" -- Sigurd Olson

Print Top Bottom Previous Next

gutmon

01/12/2009 12:42PM

Would have been the first or second week after Labor Day, 2007. It was steady,very heavy rain with brief periods of even steadier, heavier rain. It was very tiresome under the tarp to listen to all day- extremely loud. At least it wasn't windy so we were able to stay dry under the tarp. And since there was a fire ban in effect we had set up the tarp over the fire grate so had some great seating anyway and a flat surface (the grate) for the stove and cooking. Glad all trips aren't like this one.

Print Top Bottom Previous Next