Homemade Potty Trowel

Posted by: 4evrplan

Homemade Potty Trowel - 04/23/16 12:04 AM

I made a "Deca Spades", albeit a very ugly one. I haven't tried it yet, but I hope it will dig better than the plastic monstrosity I've been using. It's definitely a whole lot lighter and smaller. I meant to add the jimping along the spine of the handle like the designer did, but I forgot. Perhaps I'll get back to that
Posted by: aimless

Re: Homemade Potty Trowel - 04/23/16 12:45 PM

That should work just fine. For those like me who are less handy and want a cheap, effective, multi-use potty trowel, I'd recommend this:

https://www.rei.com/product/845328/rei-snow-stake

It was $2 until recently. Now it is $2.50. Still pretty darn cheap and very sturdy. Can also be used as a tent stake.
Posted by: bobito9

Re: Homemade Potty Trowel - 05/19/16 12:57 AM

that could also double as a very helpful prison shank if you are ever caught up in a riot while doing time in the pen
Posted by: Alf

Re: Homemade Potty Trowel - 05/16/18 08:41 PM

Originally Posted By aimless
That should work just fine. For those like me who are less handy and want a cheap, effective, multi-use potty trowel, I'd recommend this:

https://www.rei.com/product/845328/rei-snow-stake

It was $2 until recently. Now it is $2.50. Still pretty darn cheap and very sturdy. Can also be used as a tent stake.


But at 1 oz it's pretty heavy for a tent stake and not really wide enough to use as a proper trowel. I wanted a very lightweight but strong trowel, so I bought the middle one of these ultralight Titanium cat hole trowels by quiwiz: http://www.qiwiz.net/trowels.html It only weighs 0.6 oz (17g) and it's so thin it easily slices straight through tree roots like a knife through butter.
Posted by: troutstalker

Re: Homemade Potty Trowel - 06/04/18 04:13 PM

Please don't take this the wrong way, as it is only meant to be information to use. I have never used a trowel and just use my heel, a stick, a rock or anything nearby to dig with. It saves the added weight of a trowel in my opinion.
Posted by: Alf

Re: Homemade Potty Trowel - 06/04/18 05:46 PM

Originally Posted By troutstalker
Please don't take this the wrong way, as it is only meant to be information to use. I have never used a trowel and just use my heel, a stick, a rock or anything nearby to dig with. It saves the added weight of a trowel in my opinion.


A quiwiz ultralight Ti trowel, weighing just 17g, would be a lot faster and lot easier!
Posted by: OregonMouse

Re: Homemade Potty Trowel - 06/04/18 10:08 PM

It's kinda hard to dig a 6-inch deep hole (the rule most places) without a tool, especially if in a hurry. Any shallower, the waste will not be sufficiently buried.

I also have the QWiz titanium trowel. As Alf says, it's a lot easier and faster digging than boot heel, trekking pole point, or tent stake. It's lighter than the tent stake. And it can double as a spare tent stake in an emergency.
Posted by: 4evrplan

Re: Homemade Potty Trowel - 06/08/18 02:38 PM

Originally Posted By troutstalker
Please don't take this the wrong way, as it is only meant to be information to use. I have never used a trowel and just use my heel, a stick, a rock or anything nearby to dig with. It saves the added weight of a trowel in my opinion.
I've seen a lot of people write the same or similar, but my experience has been the opposite. With all the rocks(AR & OK) and roots (E TX, AR, & OK) in the places I've hiked, I struggle to get a sufficient hole even with a proper digging tool.
Posted by: Glenn Roberts

Re: Homemade Potty Trowel - 06/08/18 07:03 PM

Regarding OM’s’ “especially in a hurry” comment: I recently had one of those Homer Simpson “D-oh” moments. I think I was talking with another hiker (but it may have been a post I saw here), and I mentioned that there were instances where three inches was all I could get while dancing on one foot and clinching. The response: “You don’t have to dig the hole first.”

D-oh! (Forehead slap)

The method:

Step 1: “Bombs Away!”
Step 2: Dig a regulation hole beside the drop zone.
Step 3: Use a stick or flat rock to relocate everything into the hole.
Step 4: Cover the whole and carefully discard stick or flat rock.

The guy is brilliant!
Posted by: OregonMouse

Re: Homemade Potty Trowel - 06/09/18 01:25 AM

Had this happen several times with grandkids when they were younger.

While the QWiz titanium trowel slices through roots, nothing will slice through rocks! If the rocks are too large to be pried out, the hole will need to be dug elsewhere.
Posted by: CamperMom

Re: Homemade Potty Trowel - 06/09/18 04:00 PM

Yup. Another time to rethink the order is when the outhouse is occupied by bees. Not a good scene. "Go" onto some large leaves, then drop the whole mess into the latrine and clear out before the bees come after you...