I recently took an informal inventory of my gear to try and figure out what piece I鈥檝e used the most over the past three months. A favorite pair of and a were near the top, but as I finished the tally, it became clear that individually sealed wipe packets, like those from and , led the way by a longshot. I’ve used them countless times in every scenario imaginable, and trust me, I’ve never regretted carrying one with me while playing outside.
One standout moment was during an epic backpacking trip with my kids in the San Pedro Parks Wilderness; my wife and I relied on wipes to keep their faces (somewhat) clean during three days in the dirt. Another was the weekend I spent camping out of a car at Overland Expo West, where a morning face wipe-down was equally as important as my daily coffee鈥攁nd much easier and more effective than washing in the sink of a public restroom.
But the majority of my wet wipe uses, and the biggest reason I now find them indispensable, have come while running. At the ripe old age of 44, I鈥檝e decided to go all in on distance running鈥攁nd I鈥檝e quickly found out that the more miles I run, the more often I have to poop.
I鈥檝e visited the Porta-Potty that sits in the middle of my run loop so many times I almost take ownership. When a wind storm knocked it over for a week, it completely changed how I organized my day because I had to find another route and an accessible bathroom.
As runners know, a dirty bum, especially combined with sweat, is an easy way to increase your chances for butt chafing. And yet, toilet paper sometimes falls short in its cleaning duties. Through lots of testing (haha), I鈥檝e found that the added moisture in the wipe does a much better job cleaning so there鈥檚 as little chance as possible for chafing鈥攚hich is why I now carry a wipe on every run, no matter the distance or location.
Moisture and butts is a topic that America is actually converging around in a big way at the moment. After decades of wipes being just for babies, tons of companies now offer adult wipes for butt health. One of them, , echoes my recent revelation on its website, 鈥淵ou wouldn鈥檛 wash your face with a dry washcloth, why would you clean your butt with dry toilet paper?鈥
One problem I鈥檝e had to overcome, however, is how to dispose of the used wipes. Companies claim that their wipes are 鈥渇lushable,鈥 and it鈥檚 technically true that the wipes will go down your toilet. But once they reach the city鈥檚 sewer system, the wipes don鈥檛 break down fast enough, so they cause backups and shutdowns (). Non-plant-based wipes not only cause blockages but also leak micro-plastics into the water system. Wipes, whether plant-based or not, stand almost where I live, so they鈥檒l be a hazard if left in the wild.
The good news is that there鈥檚 a fairly simple fix. At home it鈥檚 been as simple as using the wipe and then throwing it in a special plastic-bag lined trashcan. The trashcan never smells, thanks to a lid, and when the bag is full I tie it up and throw it in the outside trash, where it will eventually be taken to a landfill and have time to biodegrade. This process feels a little gross at first, but after the 100th wipe, I鈥攁nd my family鈥攃ame to treat it as normal.
国产吃瓜黑料 of the house, things get a little messier, but with a little practice, the process is totally manageable. Any time I have to use a wipe in the backcountry or when visiting the Porta-Potty, I put the soiled product in a sandwiched-sized plastic bag and either throw it away at the trailhead or at home. It can be weird to hike or run with a poopy wipe bouncing around in your pack or shorts, but there are usually bigger things to worry about (e.g., don鈥檛 trip, where鈥檚 the trail, look at that stunning sunset), so it鈥檚 easy to forget the baggage.
In terms of brands, I鈥檓 pretty agnostic, but have gravitated toward companies like the ones from that are made from plant-based ingredients so that I鈥檓 not using petroleum products and putting more plastics into a landfill. At home, I鈥檓 a big fan of because they鈥檙e cheap and come in bulk.
It鈥檚 ironic that as a gear tester, I show up to a run or a hike decked out in the newest shoes, the fanciest shorts, the most powerful GPS watch, even high-performance socks鈥攂ut secretly feel completely unprepared unless I have a wet wipe in one of my pockets. I would certainly survive my run or backpacking trip without these moist towlettes, but I鈥檓 glad I don鈥檛 have to.