How To Poop Outside? A Chat With PACT Outdoors

How do you properly poop outside on a bikepacking trip? And when should you pack it out versus burying it in a cat hole? In our latest video, Neil chats with Pact Outdoors Founder Noah Schum to get the details on best practices while also sharing the PACT Outdoors kit, which uses some unique technology to help break down bacteria that endangers our backcountry.
This video was supported by Surly Bikes. Learn all about Surly's 15 original dirt friendly platforms here. surlybikes.com?.com&
Outline:
Intro: 0:00
Why The Poop Game? 1:12
How Did You Get Started? 3:03
Whats In The kit? 4:38
Best Practices Pooping Outside. 9:02
When To Pack It Out? 10:10
Can I Pee Anywhere? 11:00
What Does The Future Hold? 11:49
Related Links:
LEAVE NO TRACE FOR BIKEPACKERS - bikepacking.com/plog/seven-pr...
PACT Outdoors - pactoutdoors.com/
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::About The Host::
Neil Beltchenko ( / neil_beltchenko )
Geometry: 150lbs, 5'9.5", 32" inseam
Wearing: Escalator Merino Henley Med - www.kitsbow.com/collections/m...

[@markbritten3053]

A topic very few are willing to discuss...so thanks for putting this together

[@jpalmer1967]

I love all in one solutions that are in a smart package. Convenience is my spirit animal, so I'd buy it. Good video.

[@VeloObscura]

I like the design of the shovel - Looks like you could really exert some force on it when the ground is hard - Maybe stand on it? On their website they sell the wipes and tabs in a bundle. It would be great if they were available to purchase separately, as the mycelium tabs seem like a great idea, but I don't have any interest in the wipes (Not that they won't work great for some).

[@koreydeese6899]

Felt the same way about the bundle.

[@sagehiker]

I like they are marketed to the new comers to the outdoors. For me, I will stick to kit I have evolved with over the years. I like their science and design. I appreciate the caveats about the alpine and desert. Desiccation is real. BUT this is the perfect gift and intro kit for friends and family.

[@ImTheDudeMan471]

Packing out poop: I use the XL doggie poop bags and the thickest industrial zip-locks in an outer puncture proof fabric pullstring bag.

[@6robertsonj]

It looks like a brilliant, well thought-through product. If I may offer some constructive feedback: I see some excellent opportunities for the whole pack to be made more compact (looking at the product as a whole, there is a lot of unused space when it is closed up). It might be worth tweaking the design so that everything fits into the shovel when not being used for example. Looks great though and a fantastic idea.

[@JethroJessop]

What's the deal with the mycelium outside the US? He says it is native to but what if someone buys this kit and then takes a little trip abroad with it? will Europe suddenly vanish under a quivering mountain of invasive fungus or is it a global species? Or is there a market for region specific tabs that use local species? Cool idea though and the trowel design looks great.

[@yiucycle]

i was thinking the same thing. Im pretty sure its might be a native in specific area in the US and not the whole US. And what kind of effect it might cause, nobody knows. Why not let the nature do its job without adding more stuff to it.

[@GTDrummingman]

Have a drink every time he says Back-Country

[@jasondunlap9823]

Wow, really cool.

[@GeekonaBike]

It would be great it you could just buy the tabs. The wipes while nice & compact seem a little excessive when septic save TP (dirt cheat at ur $ store) should break down at apx the same speed & also makes a good fire starter.

[@WhatxKeepsxUsxHere]

Is it coincidence that there is PACT coffee in UK ? One call another i guess ? :D

[@karlstine2065]

Step one. Pull pants down. Step two. Hold onto tree. Step three. Squat. Step four. Poop.

[@ApostolosChionas1]

I poop Very often under the orange trees. It's a nice fertilizer. All I do is cover both poop and toilet paper with some soil with a shovel. And my work is done !!!

[@dougnevitt2257]

Any thoughts on a bidet?

[@shanecavlovic4521]

The only thing this kit is missing

[@LiamBarbershop]

My dad sent this to me

[@erics9214]

Probably just pissing into the wind, but here goes. This product looks like it may, slightly, improve the ethic of pooping in the woods. Bottom line is that the National Parks, Forest Service, and other land managers are going to at some point need to give up the pretense of "the American wilderness". Most areas just see far to much usage for people to continue pooping in the woods. And, we as back country users are going to have to step up and be willing to pay fees that will support systems of appropriately built, composting waste facilities in the so-called wilderness.

[@spendlove57]

Why three tablets?! You designed it, make the tablets three times larger?

[@1jakethomas]

Multiple inoculation points to get the fungi growing. More points of growth = faster decomposition.

[@DonnieX6]

💩👍

[@olympic-gradelurker]

Errr... You can just get a UL trowel for $12 on Amazon and biodegradable wipes at your local store (or ziplock baggies if you have to carry it out. This is bulky and unnecessarily expensive.

[@BIKEPACKINGcom]

I get your point, but its pretty exciting technology and I'm looking forward to the lighter offerings coming down the pipeline. This kit makes sense however for a first product. Especially with the data they received in their survey, how people simple don't know what to do when it comes to pooping outside.

[@koreydeese6899]

@@BIKEPACKINGcom agreed. While expensive it is better for people to be educated, especially newbies, and try to do better than be ignorant. It does make sense for an “intro” project and is the tabs and wipes and stuff are pretty cool from a size aspect especially. A lot of “biodegradable” stuff still takes a lifetime. Like all the people throwing banana peels away. Generally takes years to actually break down.

[@pgreenx]

$50 for shovel and tablets. Maybe this video wasn’t such a good marketing campaign

[@koreydeese6899]

The shovel itself is $20 which isn’t really unreasonable. The wipes and the tablets are a good bit of it. Throw in the bag and the hand sanitizer and isn’t really that bad. It does seem steep at first glance, but if you were buying similar items separately, it probably wouldn’t be wildly cheaper.

[@pgreenx]

@@koreydeese6899 Deuce of spades weighs 0.4 ounce and been around in countless backpackers packs for decades. No need for packing or carrying the other stuff. Kind of insults us saying the shovel needs a redesign. I use a tent stake or stick. Too many people popping I. The same spot is the problem regardless of what tablets you dump in there.

[@koreydeese6899]

@@pgreenx I agree the Deuce is an excellent and lightweight option. My comment was more IF somebody was going to buy all this stuff, then it isn’t crazy overpriced like it seems at first glance. Different strokes for different folks.

[@JeanFrancoisDesrosiers]

That's what I hate about new backpacking products; they use your sentiment of being culprit of using the outdoor or your fear/insecurity of not being able to find solution on the fly to get more money out of you. You get 1lbs of mycelium powder for few dollars at gardening center, dryed wipes are just non alcohol baby wipes pack left open for too long and the shovel can just be anything rigid your hand can take. And no I won't carry that nicely sewed and folded pouch in my already full backpack.