If you have a drysuit with a pee zip, and were not cunning enough to order it with the pee zip moved down an inch (I wasn't), as above the Lady J device will probably not work securely. But if you are thinking orfordering one, please go with that modification.
If you are wearing pants and a top, as above it may take a partner to stabilize you, practice or finding some quiet water, but you can pull things down and use a female urinary device like the Lady J.
The REAL two kinds of paddlers are those with stinky boats/paddling wear and those who simply pee before paddling or pull into shore when they need to.
Seriously, how much time do you actually sit in your boat? Longer than in your car driving to your paddling destination? I can understand how this could be a problem in an “urban” paddling setting but how long are you actually paddling there anyway?
I just completed a 10-day 110 mile circumnavigation of Isle Royale National Park, and even amongst the rocks, cliffs, and Superior waves of this paddling jewel, we always found a place to stop every hour or two.
stop every 3 to 5 miles for the wife. every 10 for me. no need to "soil" yourself or your gear.unless you have a medical issue.
mater of fact peeing on yourself or in your boat or in the water you plan to drink should be discouraged not expected as part of any trip....you don't just pee on yourself as you drive down the road (I hope) or just pee somewhere in your car....I have only ran into a few times where all the landings became crashing death traps where the water ran way up into the tree line, even then I was able to hold out for 5 or 6 more miles, Not really sure why anyone would consider peeing on yourself as a routine act. are you crossing the ocean and there is no land in sight for days?
waste goes to treatment plants. with strict requirements before being released into any watershed. the reason that these plants are regulated and the wetlands have strict rules is directly related to the rivers and lakes being used as the ultimate “disposal” that is why we have clean-up etc. Please do your part. It doesn’t take that many people peeing in a lake to destroy or seriously change it. Just imagine going to a symposiumn where the people sponsoring the symposium just told everyone that the standard for the day was that you would just do all your peeing in the lake and then plan to draw your evening cooking water from that same lake…only 200 people at the symposiumn, so it really won’t affect anything…should be ok …right…after all there are only 200 of you…and you all did bring a filter , didn’t you?..this is exactially how so many of the rivers and lakes world wide have gotten into the state they are in today. It’s the old statement that I’m only one person right , it won’t mater…so it becomes stated that it rather a rule of thumb that you just pee in the lake if you kayak, think over your actions please
Besides, I can easily stink up a wetsuit without peeing in it. One starts to notice this around day four or five when you pop off your spray skirt and your nasal passages are assaulted by the pent-up smell of swetty neoprene booties. I can only imagine how bad it would be with stale urine thrown into the mix.
treatment Treatment plants remove “solid” waste and reduce bacteria, but urine passes through pretty much as is. In my neighborhood, that means it goes into the river where I often paddle.
AND I have made an adapter for it from a pop-up water bottle. I made some modifications to the bottle top and have a friction fit for the tubing to enter the bottle. With a small pinhole in the lid of the bottle to let air escape, I can pee via the Freshette into the bottle without losing a drop. Use it in my tent at night even. (Don’t forget to label the bottle “PEE” and NEVER use a lemon flavored Gatorade bottle - it’s just too risky!)
The front pee zip in my drysuit is lowered, so I don’t have to put the bottle inside, but with my setup you could put the bottle down one leg of the drysuit and go just fine. Are you releasing the waistband drawcord of your drysuit to give yourself some more room?
FYI - most all the ladies up here get front pee zips on the drysuits (lowered) and forget the drop seats. We wear drysuits much of the time 'cause the water never gets much over 55.
in canoe racing … I just usually go if I need to. Jump in the water when you get out of the boat to clean yourself up. Change clothes before you get into the car.
A couple points of interest regarding the peeing lifestyle. First, you should not only be looking foir a place to pee, but considering physiology in your paddling. For instance, those that pee at night are told by their docs to not drink after 6pm. Generally speaking, and you can try this for your own body, one will pee out liquid that you have taken in 4-5 hours previously. Generally, the receptors in the bladder wall will begin to sense a need to pee at about 250cc, and you will feel a raging desire to "shake the dew off the lily" at about 400cc; although these are post-renally processed amounts, you get the drift since a can of Coke is 12 ozs or 355 ml (one ml = one cc). So, drink a can of Coke or two and bammo, in 4-5 hours you'll be jonesin' for a pot to piss in. Second tip, avoid caffeine (and the equivalent in tea and ice tea, xanthine) and alcohol. These will make you pee larger amounts and very rapidly (ahead of the 4-5 hour schedule). Avoid these when paddling for extended trips or over open water. Also, if you are taking a doctor prescribed diuretic (eg furosemide, Lasix, spironolactne, etc), consider not taking the dose before you paddle; you will loose enough water via perspiration and not need to take a pee break just for the diuretic. Finally, and this is a fun factoid for all you backwoodsy types, and I swear this is true, if you get stuck and cannot find water--or if you are stuck out at sea and cannot drink salt water--you should drink your paddling buddy's pee and he/she should drink yours! Why? Each of your renal systems differ in what they are capable of extracting from the urine (ions, nutrients, etc), and pee is sterile (unless you have a urinary tract infection), so the rec in hard core survival parlance is to drink your buddy's urine, not your own. (Okay, now I KNOW none of you want to paddle with me anymore--). True.
The pee issue Tricky question this one… I am told a plastic baggie (zip lock) works well, but I have never succeeded in such maneuvers… Over the side takes no swell and practice. jumping out and in takes warm water and weather, pulling off the water is my only success story, and even that is negotiable depending on time of month and place… aaaahhhh the quest prevails.
salty food Try a few slices of bacon for breakfast, or add salt to your oatmeal if you’re on a multiday trip. It helps keep the water “on board” for a few more hours.
Disregard this questionable advice if you have renal, heart, or blood pressure problems. It works for me, though.
Most of the places I get to paddle regularly are surrounded by private property. People here tend to defend their property rights and are not afraid to enforce them. Many of you probably heard about the people shot to death by the tresspassing deer hunter here last fall. This happened right outside my hometown. I knew one of men who died that day. This incident was caused over trespassing. Although this was an extreme case, I’m not going to risk putting myself in that situation.
If you bother to stop on shore to take a leak, (as I think most of us do), where do you suppose it ends up? Back in the ground, back in the water table, and/or back in the lake. Runoff from our storm sewers is a much, much greater problem than urine. We are merely another animal. Urine from a healthy person is not a contaminant. Some perscription drugs that end up passing out in the urine are harmful to the environment, but this applies to the minority.
Holy crap… I mean holy pee !!! I’ll never take a normal pee again.
The next time I am in the woods behind my work shop taking a pee, I am going to reread all this good info and see which lasts longer: the pee or the BS !
I take breaks whenever I can. It’s nice to stop every few hours, get out and stretch the legs. I also have a Freshette, once referred to on P. Net as a paddling penis, as I recall. I fitted a extra 1 1/2 or so foot of plastic tubing around the outside of the tube it came with. Sorry, but that little tube wasn’t cuttin’ it. Now I can pee in a bottle or over the side.
I use it mostly for camping, though, when it’s too damn cold to get out of the tent.
long denim skirts Over the years I found that wearing a long denim skirt or dress worked out well for hiking and other outdoor activities.
Of course you have to aim well, be at the used McDonalds coke container from the back of your car (be sure the lid gets put back on tight and drop at nearest outhouse) or at the poison ivy (just kidding) you are standing astride.
There are lots of good suggestions folks have given here. Lasix hits me hard and keeps on striking. I find that diet pop goes through me quicker than regular coke. Salty food before a trip helps.
peeing while underway revisited… …thanks to all responders on this issue! Didn’t know it was such a hot topic, and I now have some good ideas and some interesting food for thought from a few of you!
