Somedays I really wish they made Dr. Bronner's in a powdered form since it is great to use as toothpaste and soap.

The bar form of Bronners is less messy and packs smaller than a powder would. You can always file off some powder though.

I prefer Kirks Castile over Dr. Bronners because its cheaper and unscented. I don't want any kind of scent on me to attract bugs and/or critters when I'm in the outdoors.

Tried it once after a night of overindulgence as toothpaste. Wretched like there was no tomorrow once that mint hit my tongue. Never again, Bronners as toothpaste that is.

Powdered Boraxo soap works well, not as toothpaste though.

The toothpaste while tasty is not really needed. Just brush.


v Brian I just waved the container over my toothbrush, but yuck!

Edited by kthompson on 02/05/2012 08:08:07 MST.

"The toothpaste while tasty is not really needed. Just brush."

This is what I do. I don't like having to manage where I spit in regards to attracting bears either so I just forgo the toothpaste while backpacking.

Bronners comes in unscented pure castile, thats what I use. The trick to using it as tooth paste is you need to use an extremely small amount -like a fraction of a drop.

Never heard of this Dr. Bonners "miracle" liquid soap until I read these BPL forums. So ordered a litre of Peppermint from REI along with some other heavyweight items just to see if REI would really ship ~10kg of stuff to Japan by 3-day for only $30. They did! But to cut to the skinny, this Dr. Bonners is overpriced, underperforming, and over-rated for my common hiking needs.

Shampoo/Body soap...FAIL! Takes too much to lather, ~3x more than other liquid soaps I use here. Leaves white residue in hair too.
Toothpaste..YUCK that's NASTY...FAIL! I'll stick to mini-travel tubes of real toothpaste.
Detergent/Pot Cleaner...FAIL! Again, takes too much and doesn't cut dissolve grease.

Finally in freezing temps it turns into a white, waxy sludge.

Dr. Bonners = New age hokum.

NIX NIX NIX!

Edited by rmjapan on 01/31/2012 18:57:38 MST.

I really like the Dr. Bonners because it leaves less residue when washing your hands and will get grease of your hands after working on a car or bicycle chain in one wash only a few drops. When you using Dr. Bonners soap it is highly concentrated soap you only need a few drops. If use it as body wash use a wash cloth.

The Dr. Bonners factory is in San Marcos,Ca. In my town they have environmental low impact store. They have gallon jugs with pumps to fill up a container with Dr. Bonners in different scents. I can fill up bottle I would normally pay $2.00 for 0.75 cents.
Terry

Lugging liquid soap isn't very UL. Why carry the extra weight of the water.

As stated before, Dr. Bronners isn't any better than other soaps and heavy to boot.It really is a scam.

If you want an environmentally friendly castile backpacking soap, unscented Kirks bar soap can't be beat for it's weight to cleaning power ratio.

"As stated before, Dr. Bronners isn't any better than other soaps and heavy to boot.It really is a scam."

Its not ideal for backpacking, but that doesn't make it a 'scam.' Its good soap and that is what its marketed as. I've never seen any advertisement, let alone ads directed at outdoor use. I use it when I'm traveling and on trips. Just a few drops and I can bathe myself and wash my hair. A couple more drops and I can do a meals worth of dishes. It works pretty well as an all around soap. But yes as a backpacking soap there are better options.

Other than Kirk's then is there another good biodegradle powered or bar soap?

Edited by bpeugh on 02/04/2012 12:00:43 MST.

I find it's good at degreasing, which means it dries out my hair and skin terribly. The citrus version makes a nice hand soap for the kitchen though.

I'm currently experimenting with Kiss My Face olive oil soap. Literally nothing but oil, salt, and a base.

I used to love Castile soaps like Dr. Bronner's as an adolescent because they would cut acne-inducing facial grease so well. I now find that a generic bar soap does well on a camping trip, and I would rather not have the extreme grease cutting ability of castile with the associated dry skin. For me, it is less of a hassle to carry a solid soap rather than a liquid which might leak or spill. Note that essentially all soaps, both personal as well as laundry are now biodegradable. On a recent trip to our local grocery, Wal-Mart, there was not one soap which was not biodegradable. There may be some speciallized industrial cleaners which are not biodegradable, but they are not likely to ever be found in a backpack, and probably not sold in local stores either.
Jim

Ive used Dr Bonners in the same small container forever and never had a leak.
Dr Bonners also comes in bar form. I don't see how its heavy? Thats more a function of how much you bring. Bonners is a concentrated soap so you literally only need a few drops at a time. Another reason I like Dr Bonners is social responsibility is something they have always taken seriously. It would be interesting to see how other soap companies compare on those grounds.

>looked up Kirks bar soap and it says its made with coconut oil, which I IMHO think is the best oil, better than olive. So it has that going for it.

Edited by MAYNARD76 on 02/04/2012 14:12:53 MST.

Dawn is gentle enough to clean baby birds in oil spills and the such, and a dollar of every purchase goes to habitat restoration. Not social as much as environmental, but still responsible. Just sayin'

Jury is still out on Bronner's for me. I've used it and love how much it degreases but I'm still working out kinks of just how much to use. As posted above I find it often takes a lot get full coverage, and having long hair it causes a mess of tangles. I may try the bar form.

Although for cleaning I find some fine sand and a stream with a deep enough pool to rinse seems to work pretty well on short trips. I rarely use bug spray or sunscreen (proper LS and pants work well in my area) so don't have to worry about chemical pollutants as much. Not so great for long hair still.

I think the big problem I have with Dr. Bronner's unscented liquid or bar is the price. It's just plain old castile soap, it shouldn't cost so much. You can get other unscented castile soaps for one third the price.

I was thinking about powdered soap too.
I will pickup some Boraxo. Phosphate free, fragrance free.
Easier to pack a powder than a liquid.
A wet bar is a mess.
No reason to carry a liquid.

Background -- I went through TSA last week and they asked me for my liquid bag. I didn't have one since I was using toothpaste powder and homemade, dry deodorant. This lead me to dry soap.

Spelt wrote, "I'm currently experimenting with Kiss My Face olive oil soap. Literally nothing but oil, salt, and a base."

That's what i use also--i find it's often a better deal financially too, as they make a pretty big bar for just a couple bucks and some change. However, i'm not sure i like the fact that it's shipped from Greece (i believe, at least it used to be) as i try to be eco-conscious.

I confess i do bring some baking soda in a baggie to brush my teeth, but then again, i never claimed to be an ultra'lighter.

Oregon soap company is hands down the best castille soap on the market. I take their lavender liquid soap when travelling and it actually works as shampoo. Well, bronners 'works' as shampoo too but it dries out my hair like NO OTHER. I also use it as dish washing, laundry soap etc etc. I like bringing a little liquid soap or a bit of a shaved bar soap for cleaning cuts (ouch, but the best thing to do), washing hands and the occasional dish, but I stick to baking soda for tooth paste.

If you are looking for another soap company to try: Oregon Soap Company