The usual night time stroll....

[Rich3rd]

After several fine cask conditioned ales and roundhouse imbibements at last week's Chiltern winter bivi, there was no surprise that nature was calling as soon as I got cozy in my bag. Not wishing to have yellow snow in the porch, I tried to put my biking shoes on to go for a little `midnight stroll'. That's was no easy job as my now frozen winter boots were a nightmare to get into, so much so that I couldn't be @rsed so went out in my socks (not 'just' my socks may I add ) , bad idea, now got cold wet feet and 'spaniel ears' ice balls on my socks. So, other than plastic bag socks, any top tips for dry feet?

[BigdummySteve]

What ever you do don’t pee in your riding boots accidentally,avoid getting out of the bag by using a wide neck bottle (depending on personal circumstances/aim) slightly gross but then again bikepacking does tend to readjust social norms

[ScotRoutes]

Put your boots/shoes in plastic bags and keep them in your bivvy bag

[slarge]

Bare feet, then put your warm dry socks on before you get back in your bag. Socks will wick away the dampness from your feet, and dry out as you sleep

[Ray Young]

,avoid getting out of the bag by using a wide neck bottle (depending on personal circumstances/aim) slightly gross but then again bikepacking does tend to readjust social norms

Don't think I'd risk this after several fine real ales as chances of spilling, missing or filling the bottle before finishing would be quite high in my case. Sleeping in a urine soaked down bag doesn't appeal somehow, .

[voodoo_simon]

The joy of using only a bivi bag for shelter, get out, walk on top of it to the toe end and piss from there. Turn around and get back in

[johnb]

Put your socks under your arm pits. Helps dry them out and there warm when you put them on.

[johnb]

Most drink bottles are adequately wide enough to pee into. Even for me! Alas they are not big enough for an old mans 3-4 pees a night. At home I use a large sweet jar left on the top of the toilet seat.....not really practical in your case.

[sean_iow]

The joy of using only a bivi bag for shelter, get out, walk on top of it to the toe end and piss from there. Turn around and get back in

On the rare occasions I need to get up in the night this is what I do. If under a tarp I shuffle about in the bivi bag until the foot end sticks out from the side of the tarp before I get out of it. Then duck under the tarp on the way down to the end. Shuffle back under the tarp once back in the bag.

[pistonbroke]

At home I use a large sweet jar left on the top of the toilet seat.....not really practical in your case.

Why the f#@! do you not just pee straight into the bog? Are you saving it for some weird League of Gentlemen apple bobbing ceremony. Some people are very odd

[MuddyPete]

At home I use a large sweet jar left on the top of the toilet seat...

Eh? Surely if, at home, you've walked all the way to the toilet you may as well just use the toilet, rather than using a sweet jar kept on top of the toilet...

This adds an extra level of complexity I'd not previously considered .

[voodoo_simon]

At home I use a large sweet jar left on the top of the toilet seat.....not really practical in your case.

Why the f#@! do you not just pee straight into the bog? Are you saving it for some weird League of Gentlemen apple bobbing ceremony. Some people are very odd

Means you can drink it in the morning

[ScotRoutes]

If you need 3-4 visit a per night then I'd advise getting yourself to a doctor. And if they ask for a sample, a very small amount will do


If you are struggling to pee into a wide necked bottle then try standing closer.

[ZeroDarkBivi]

,avoid getting out of the bag by using a wide neck bottle (depending on personal circumstances/aim) slightly gross but then again bikepacking does tend to readjust social norms

Don't think I'd risk this after several fine real ales as chances of spilling, missing or filling the bottle before finishing would be quite high in my case. Sleeping in a urine soaked down bag doesn't appeal somehow, .

'Swamp Bottle' - I find an innocent fruit juice 900ml perfect - in the bag is far better than faffing around outside in cold/wet weather. I did read Bear Gryll claim he had an incident with his bottle leaking into his down bag whilst on Everest, which would be somewhat annoying...

[RIP]

Hmm. Thank you for raising this delicate subject Rich, the likes of which we discuss all too infrequently compared to non-essentials like gear ratios, pub locations, routes etc. The bottle-in-the-bag strategy seems a little high-risk to me, especially in an over-imbibement situation with the consequent likelihood of inadvertent spillage/flooding.

My overnight accommodation is usually tarp, with sleeping bag on mat on tyvek. I also have a plakky bag or two for clothing and equipment storage, plus a small sheet of tyvek for aiding bag egression. If it's morning I'll slide out of the bag onto the tyvek on my bum and dress in that position. If it's a night-time wee, the tyvek also comes into play. Despite my over-refreshed state on the CWB I can remember the exact sequence I used during an 01.30hrs comfort break, which I am prepared to air here for research purposes since there is no requirement for feet-coverings at all: roll over onto tum in bag, unzip bag a bit, slide out so top half is on small tyvek, get knees out onto tyvek still using the "slide" method, hand-walk out onto bare ground, [ladies present, please listen-away now. Or not] continuing until one's relief-valve is positioned away from tyvek over said bare ground. At this stage it gets interesting/comical. Relief-valve operation can be effected by a swift one-handed-press-up on the ground. After a quick hand-wash on the grass, a simple reversal of the aforementioned procedure will see one's person returned to the cosiness of one's bag.

The quick-thinking amongst us will have spotted that this technique relies quite heavily on the porosity of the ground at the chosen relief location, thereby allowing a swift soakaway. It's quite easy to forget that at rare times of the year the strata may well be porous, but covered by a thin layer of, er, non-porous ice......

PS> I too, please, would like further clarification of the sweet-bottle-on-the-karzi....

[Moder-dye]

I usually just step out bare footed and do it.

Or if there a midge/mosquito fest going on I just pee in my mug and then fling it from the mug away from camp and rinse my mug in the morning.

The new League of Gentleman series was ace

And yes, why pee in a bottle if you're already at the toilet??

[MuddyPete]

So, other than plastic bag socks, any top tips for dry feet?

It appears not: but lots of advice about how to go to the toilet .




(For the record, boots/shoes in plastic bags & keep them in your sleeping bag/bivi bag works best for me. For "other matters", I prefer to maintain a certain air of mystery... ).

[TheBrownDog]

Best, Thread. Ever.

[johnb]

At home I use a large sweet jar left on the top of the toilet seat.....not really practical in your case.

Why the f#@! do you not just pee straight into the bog? Are you saving it for some weird League of Gentlemen apple bobbing ceremony. Some people are very odd

Means you can drink it in the morning

Never thought of that.

[johnb]

At home I use a large sweet jar left on the top of the toilet seat...

Eh? Surely if, at home, you've walked all the way to the toilet you may as well just use the toilet, rather than using a sweet jar kept on top of the toilet...

This adds an extra level of complexity I'd not previously considered .

First, use it in your compost bin. Pee is the best compost starter you can get.
Second pour it in after a "poo" therefore, one maybe two flushes a day. Massive reduction in water use and less stress on the ceptic tank....we ain't all got mains. Water bill £6 a month. £5 to much.

[johnb]

If you are struggling to pee into a wide necked bottle then try standing closer.

I'm not, I was implying I am over endowed.

[johnb]

PS> I too, please, would like further clarification of the sweet-bottle-on-the-karzi....

If it's brown flush it down if it's yellow let it mellow. My method is an improvement on the latter.
The money saved equals "Penny's make pounds, pounds buy beer". The landlord at my local agrees wholeheartedly with the latter.

[Rich3rd]

Mmmm, well not quite sure what I've learned here ; I always thought 'Driver Tizer' was the preserve of long distance HGV drivers, I need a sweet shop jar on my bog lid (where the heck did that come from), or perhaps I need to learn Tyvek origami? I think it's back to plan A and half inch some veg bags from Tesco, I'm sure that I can turn the handles into laces

[MuddyPete]

Mmmm, well not quite sure what I've learned here

You've learned...to be careful what you ask ...

I've learned...

...I'm sure that I can turn the handles into laces...

...a fabulously practical way to accessorise my footwear .

[sean_iow]

I think we may have gone off topic as re-reading the original post the issue was the frozen shoes? A way is needed to stop them from freezing unless you plan to stay in your bivi bag until such time that the sun has come up and thawed them out so you can put them back on. Putting them in bags in your bivi or leaving them in a way that even if they freeze you can still get your foot back in should work.

If that fails and they are frozen in the morning you could always wee in them to thaw them out