Pfft, pee bottle? I just get up and go outside. Makes you feel alive when it's coming down hard with rain/snow and you're out in your boxers having a slash ...

if you're too lazy to get up and go outside to pee, how did you ever manage to get out in the wilderness in the first place ???

a great opportunity to look at the stars or feel the rain/wind/snow in your face.

...and catch a cold. I think I'll try peeing in a pot in the comfort of my sleeping bag the next time I'm out in the freezing cold. Great idea!

"...and catch a cold. I think I'll try peeing in a pot in the comfort of my sleeping bag the next time I'm out in the freezing cold. Great idea!"

so I can assume you arrived at your location in a climate controlled bubble. and waited impatiently inside while your entourage set up your tent ?

After putting and the effort and cash into lightening my load, I'll risk the cold and just get out of bed. I'm lucky in that I almost never have to go in the middle of the night, regardless of where I am.

There is that feeling of wanting eyes in the back of your head while answering nature's call when solo. It can seem a little vulnerable standing there under the stars in the dark and your attention focused on not getting wet feet rather than listening for the cougar creeping up behind you. Then again, getting a face full may take care of the cat :)

JUst got back from a (to us here in balmy sunny QLD Australia) cold weekend of camping at about 1200m. The ambient temp wasn't that bad around the zero-3 or 4 degrees celcius but the windchill made it uncomfortable enough that even with all my clothes on sitting next to the fire I said to my crew stuff this I'm going to bed. It took me a little while to get inside my sleeping bag and pull the 2 shoulder and head drawstrings tight and get comfy and then i needed to pee. What to do what to do what to do, I can't possibly last all night and so I clambered out then and again before the sun rose.

Having said that I still do not feel comfortable in peeing inside my sleeping bag trying to not spill. I am a person that feels the cold easily (most others in my party wear half the warm gear on a cold night than I do) but will no way risk a spillage inside the bag....I don't want to sleep on a 'wet-spot' lol. I however have no qualms in unzippiong the bag turning to the side and emptying my bladder in a bowl or something that can be emptied then or in the morning.

While recuperating from my hip resurfacing I couldn't get out bed readily for around a month. Having several empty urinals standing on the bedside table was very comforting. LIke all endeavors one undertakes- practice makes perfect. There are several ways one can end up with wet areas that are unpleasant. I recommend trying this out in the comfort of one's home bed before even contemplating the incredibly advanced skill of doing this in a mummy bag. I might add that cheap men's urinals are very light and shaped to make the job easier. Not that any ULer would even contemplate hauling something like that along.

Me-I love getting outside and seeing the stars and feeling the cold air. Way less shocking than rolling in the snow after a sauna at 25 below.

I always start out a trip with a 1L bottle of Gatorade that converts to my pee bottle when empty. Light weight, wide mouth, can't be confused with my Platy bottles. I hike a lot in the wet Pacific Northwest and use it when it is raining. In good weather I would rather take a few minutes outside and enjoy the stars.

Last trip I brought an empty mayonnaise jar to use as a pee bottle. Wide mouth top (good target) and wide bottom (hard to tip over), smooth sides for easy cleaning (I used it as an extra water carrier at camp), the lid seals tight, and the jar was both light and basically free. It was pretty easy to prop up on one elbow, lean into the jar and do the midnight pee without making any messes. At 30-32oz depending on the brand, it's big enough to hold two bladder's worth, if necessary. I used it during a cold, windy night up on Copper Ridge in the North Cascades NP, and I must say it was quite convenient.

I use freezer bag 1 Gal ziplock. All jokes aside "size" isn't an issue seal as far as needed dump after use. I use duomid and bivy. Never had an issue with 30+ uses. I mark with black X to easily recognize, always water rinse during day fill up (dumping 200+ ft away from source, in my mind that's "really leering it clean and soak up") keep on exterior pocket. Simple and efficient.

In winter, after plenty of hot drinks to rehydrate and stave off frostbite and when the
cold seeps into your bag and bladder pressure overwhelms bag suction, a 16 oz wide mouth
nalgene is ALMOST enough. It is funny only later.

Better to go with 20 oz or larger.

Being very nearsighted, I used to bring a square nalgene to differentiate it from my
drinking ones.

Wide mouth Mtn Dew bottle works.

Edited by oware on 09/10/2012 15:27:49 MDT.

I sure hope that mayonnaise jar was plastic, not glass! Nutella and peanut butter also come in wide-mouth plastic bottles and hence double as better mixing bowls because they are easier to clean.

Are there steel cans (for nuts, maybe?) with a resealable plastic lid? Better yet, something in aluminum (big catfood can, pate'?). Then in additional to a bowl and pee bottle, it could function as a cheap cooking pot (without the plastic lid). I'm sure you could eventually find a snap-on plastic lid for a particular steel can if you look widely enough. And/or for an aluminum/Ti BP cooking pot so you could set it aside with less risk of a pee spill.

Not going with the Nalgene canteen. I filled it with hot (not boiling) water and it sprung a leak.. Not even a year old.

One trick I've heard but not used for winter camping is to pee in a condom.
Tie a knot in it and let it freeze... deal with it in the morning.

Personally I'd rather just go outside rather than risk fouling my nice down sleeping bag.

As a frequent male urinator, I've come to like the following 2 methods: The most recent is using my ~27oz Klean Kanteen w/ stainless lid. I roll on to my side to pee...but rather than dump it, I keep it in my bag with me as a heater. Stainless is very conductive and it feels great. When the need arises again, I dump outside my tent and do'er again. In the morn, I rinse the Kanteen well and prepare my tea in it. The Kanteen is then my water bottle throughout the day. Bottle/urinal/tea pot/bag warmer in one!

The other method is a wide mouth plastic bottle...~16oz. During the day, I use it to contain my Ti stakes. I've come to prefer the former though.

Steady hands and total cerebral focus mandatory.....

How many times I wished I had a large ziplock with me in the tent...especially when I first started hiking with my dog a few years ago. If I left the tent in the night, in the rain...he'd run right out and want to play...then get back in the tent all wet and muddy. Now, he lifts his head, MAYBE pokes his snout out the door to see that I'm not doing anything he cares about, then goes back to sleep.

I would never trust my skills to pee in a bag/bottle in my tent. Way way too much possibility for mess. But boy have I wanted to.......

Sleep in a quilt, under a floor-less shelter. Simply roll over, lift, and let go. :-)
And have a dump under cover before you leave in the morning.

Edited by MikefaeDundee on 03/09/2013 09:22:38 MST.

I have SO badly sometimes wondered if I could without actually getting anything on my stuff. Again...not enough aim on my part. And usually if I have to go that badly it seems like its going to be a lot more than David's 16oz........

Why not practice with a Shewee, Jennifer? I know you use a quilt.

You do know about stuff like this? http://www.whizproducts.co.uk/en/whiz_freedom.aspx

I have something like that kinda built in, so never used it. But it comes at 18 g which seems okay if it's cold and wet and muddy outside. They also sell matching bags, but I personally use a dedicated (drinking from a bottle where my urin just spend 6 hours inside is really not for me) 1 L Nalgene wide mouth in winter. In the summer I just go outside.

Edit: Added missing letters.

Edited by karl-ton on 03/09/2013 09:50:42 MST.