REI sells the Sani-fem Freshette
I have failed miserably with this one although i gave up a little too easily. I understand it takes practice and is supposedly a good product. Might be worth a look-see.
That’s I think I have
Really have to look at the box sometime…
I have no problem with this standing up, just took a couple of practice tries.
For use sitting down, it might help to use it facing backwards. Certainly would be easy enough under regular shorts, may be a little dicier via a dry suit Pzip with that thick zipper. The part of the design that actually catches anything isn’t directional, and it’d put things in a better position re gravity.
I agree this one isn’t foolproof, but the alternatives are pretty much non-existent for women once you start adding in considerations like while in the boat.
Tinkle tavern to go…
I’ve looked at some of the devices out there for women and was wondering about them. I know this is going to sound goofy but I was worrying about overflowing the devices. At my age I have to go and go and go. I don’t want to have to go and have a full device and it spill in my yak. Even though I have a SOT I don’t want my perfume to be Crystal Tinkle.
The GoGirl?
This is a new product that I saw at Canoecopia; silicone, very small and portable, and forms a seal against your body. It’s not exactly what you’re looking for, maybe, as it doesn’t come with a receptacle for collecting urine, but it might be possible to adapt something. It’s certainly better than those horrible hard plastic things sold at the drugstore.
http://www.go-girl.com/
.
I believe it was a joke…lighten up!
Plastic molding - check for defects
In retrospect this is obvious, but I tried a new FUD, Whiz Freedom I think, without first checking the exit tube. Turned out that in the manufacturing process it ended up sealed at the exit end - overflows quickly that way! Easy to cut away the extra bit of plastic, but sure would have been less messy if I’d noticed that first.
For a minute there…
I loved that “Go Girl” and was like, man wish I got that instead with the soft silicone and how it’d fit there all nice…Then I watched the demo and realized, you still need a toilet with that! I thought for a second, hmm, does it go over the can…No…But hmm, can I use that can…Then I realized, that can won’t hold much…And you still need a toilet for that thing! So that wouldn’t be practical for me…Nor was it what she here was asking about, cuz again, not practical as you still need a toilet with it!
Go girl and a plastic bottle…
with a secure cap. That’s what I got for my wife.
Looks questionable with a dry suit
The Freshette has a longer tube you can pull out - it’s not clear from the ad whether the GoGirl has one. This is critical with a dry suit p-zip.
That said, the rest of the part looks nice. There is no reason to assume you need a toilet with this or any other of the ones like this - as above you can adapt a plastic bottle or bags to the end with a little thought.
I am also not sure about the softer rubber. It sounds good at first, but the harder plastic may be easier to manage in terms of keeping it sanitary over time.
Limiting part is the tube/funnel
Nothing works really well seated in a kayak and through front relief zipper. Basic problem is that the funnel is lower than the zipper and so what happens when you are done and want to get the funnel out…
Also, when standing up w/o a drysuit on, no matter if the funnel overflows or the tube doesn’t drain fast enough, worst case is that it drips on the ground… BUT if in your drysuit, makes for soggy long underwear.
Other option is to hold the funnel inside the suit, with the tube draining into a bottle. When done, remove the whole thing through the relief zipper… Hard to do but possible. Problem of course is that you can not see what level the bottle is filling to and also if you make a mistake taking the bottle out, it again leads to soggy long underwear.
One complication is that it is psychologically hard to pee seated with all your clothes on. Body doesn’t really want to “let go”. (Not everyone has this issue.)
My personal preference during the “season” is to use a drysuit with a drop seat and just squat. I can usually be done quicker than most men take to get out of their boats and open their relief zipper.
Suz
Maybe NASA
has a solution. Might be expensive though.
hah!
Almost slipped my me.
Lighten up cliff!
psst - a secret
(ladies: there really is no clean way for a man to pee while sitting in a kayak, either)
Really?
Not that is a dirty little secret…
well you know men…
…“dirty” is a relative term.
this has been most informative
I am going to eeek one more season out of my old drysuit - which has no zipper to pee… I have evolved the mantra - if ya gotta pee ya gotta pee and I have been able to do so in some of the most unlikely circumstances. The only thing that worries me is not the convenience of peeing- but having to possibly take layers off in bad weather (rain) and getting my underlayers wet, and thus getting chilled. I don’t think I like the idea of the full butt zipper. But, will keep an open mind as I make my decision on where to have a zipper.
that’s the real issue
“The only thing that worries me is not the convenience of peeing- but having to possibly take layers off in bad weather (rain) and getting my underlayers wet, and thus getting chilled.”
The above is the real issue - not the time it takes to do it although SOMETIMES if it takes too long, I no longer would need to stop:) Really though, there are times and places where taking off your pfd, opening the drysuit and pulling it down enough to squat or use some sort of FUD (female urinary device), you have compromised your ability to stay warm and dry.
Pulling the suit down?
– Last Updated: Mar-23-10 9:42 AM EST –
Do you mean that, if the suit does not have a drop seat, then then the suit has to be opened up for other functions than those suited to a FUD? I can't imagine why anyone would fully open up a suit to use a FUD with a p-zip. At least, I never have.
I also can't see how you'd use a FUD unless there was a p-zip. I know there are legends that it is possible in some manufacturer's suits to dispense with the p-zip because the main zipper runs lower, but I've never personally met anyone who could do that. I've met a few who have tried.
At the point we are talking that level of exposure, the only solution for both genders is a suit with both drop seat and p-zip, as some people have used for major expeditions. But if it is of help, I usually have a huge cag over the top of me when I open up the top of my dry suit. I often do that to vent sweat at lunch break. So I am still pretty protected, even with the suit open.
Same here, and don’t forget the skirt
I have no pee zip on my drysuit. This means I have to remove the PFD and sprayskirt, open the main zipper, plus extract myself from neck gasket and one wrist gasket.
My poncho over all would take care of the exposure problem, but doing the above under it is a fussier affair than I care to undertake.
It’s a good thing that wetsuits are an option for many places here, at least in summer. Then again, the long ones are a PITA to peel off for peeing. I haven’t been able to bring myself to just pee in the suit.
So no drop seat either then?
– Last Updated: Mar-23-10 11:04 AM EST –
Sorry ladies, but I am still confused. My own experience is that a drop seat handles both usual functions for women without taking down the suit, a FUD and only having to open the p-zip handles one function (also keeps you from getting wet or chilled), and neither a drop seat nor a p-zip means dropping the suit for both functions.
For guys, the preferred way to handle full service would be having both a p-zip and a drop seat.
Is that what everyone is saying?
I am mostly hitting on this one for those who may be new to dry suits. If I was one of those folks reading the last few posts, I'd be fairly confused about what was possible with what type of opening.