One of the tricky things that being out in ‘the great big nature’ throws at you is keeping personal hygiene standards to a decent level. I don’t mean washing your sweaty sports socks, that’s not so tough to figure so long as you can find a stream or river at some point.
The tricky thing is washing yourself. Again, not so tough if you happen across a nice warm sunny spot at the base of a beautiful waterfall. That isn’t filled with dozens of other sweaty hikers all skinny dipping and soaping themselves up in your personal paradise. You can get quite far with nothing more than a packet of wet wipes though, which are ideal for hiking, climbing, camping type trips. Though keeping your hair clean if it’s long is a bit of a nightmare without wasting a lot of water. And despite what I’ve heard, hair does not eventually balance and clean itself – it just gets more greasy and smelly and nasty.
Anything you can do to keep weight down is obviously useful if you’re carrying gear (tents, climbing ropes, food, cooking equipment etc etc). I don’t tend to obsess but I know a lot of people who do. One recent trick I’ve picked up is for teeth cleaning – this one reduces water use and saves a little weight. It’s a neat little liquid teeth cleaner and mouthwash all in one called Oram Plus. And if you read the reviews of Oram Plus you’ll see that it’s not only super compact, lasts for ages but it’s also all natural ingredients too (which I happen to care about). The fact it’s an all-in-one makes it even more valuable if you normally can’t help carrying 11 different teeth cleaning products. You can even share 1 bottle across everyone in the group as it lasts for months. I can tell you it makes you mouth feel incredibly fresh. Someone should tell the ADA about it.
This is slightly off the point, but interesting nonetheless. Did you also know that regular mouthwash can show up on a breathalyzer test! That’s because of course most of them are alchohol based. Just watch this video from an attorney in will mouthwash show up on a breathalyzer. Now obviously you don’t drink the stuff, but the fact the alcohol is still all over your mouth and therefore appears in your breath can make you fail a roadside test. Bizarre but true. Not that you’re going to be worrying about that mid adventure trip in the forest, but on the way to the golf course in the morning proud of your pleasant minty breath it could be very embarassing.