After months of using this kit, it is absolutely the most convenient, easiest, and efficient way to manage pooping in the wild. It is extremely compact and simple to use and it’s pretty much the cleanest way to manage nature’s call for both the user and the environment. It goes on all of my trips now—even just long day trips sometimes.
The kit was founded in Crested Butte, Colorado and it brings two key improvements to the table over the system I had developed for myself which was basically a 1-gallon Zip-lock bag with a trowel, toilet paper, a small brown paper waste bag in a quart sized Zip-lock, and a small bottle of hand sanitizer.
The Trowel
And while my titanium trowel was incredibly lightweight and had some nice serration to dig past small roots, the handle was not very comfortable and tough soils were, well… tough on the hands. The Pact trowel is made of aluminium and has a nice rounded handle shape, along with the serrated edges to get past the surface roots. It has also proved to be incredibly durable by getting through some very firm soil. But my hand did not get tenderized by the handle in this process even though it was arduous at times.
The Mushrooms
The most unique aspect of this kit are the mycelium tablets. Mycelium is a fungi root system and while mushrooms in general are nature’s great decomposer, Pact uses a mycelium species that thrives on human waste. This species of mycelium is native to North America and its life-cycle only lasts as long as there is human waste to decompose. Meaning, it’s non-invasive and non-aggressive. Basically, it’s going to do the job and is not going to spread and take over the ecosystem. The reason for dropping these mycelium infused wood-chip tablets in with the waste is it helps to decompose the waste ten times faster that without them. This kills the harmful bacteria faster and turns the poop into nutrients that can be used by the ecosystem much sooner.
The Wipes
This kit keeps the user cleaner than any other wilderness toilet system—the wipes come shaped in a small puck, about the size of a stack of five nickels. Just add a splash of water to a puck and it expands to a 9×9-inch wet wipe. The beauty of these wet wipes is they are all-natural. Many of the baby wet wipes on the market have all kinds of additives, including plastics at times while these provided by Pact are entirely made of plant-based cellulose. The wipes are scent-less and way more durable than toilet paper (especially if the TP is wet) and they decompose much faster—85% decomposition in 40 days. Toilet paper can take over two years to decompose. Granted, Leave No Trace ethics still state all toilet paper and wipes should be packed out, but it’s ultimately up to the user to decide.
The Exceptions
While this kit is amazing for a lot of the places we adventure, they do not override any pack-it-all-out regulations. Places like arid deserts, glaciers, and above treeline where there aren’t many, if any, microbes to decompose the waste, users still need to use a Wag-bag or similar system. Pact actually makes a handy Pack-out kit for these very circumstances and that includes some of the handy Pact wipes.
Between the biodegradable wet wipes and mycelium tablets, this is an incredible revolution for the outdoor recreation industry. This makes managing human waste in the wilderness much easier for the user and cleaner for person and planet. But, no matter how you choose to manage this part of your outdoor adventures, please do it responsibly, respectfully, and sustainably.
