Basic wash kit contents?

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Tom89

Tenderfoot
Jul 23, 2013
73
0
England
Hi, this may be a bit of a simple question for some but what should you include in a washkit for a two week trip in the field? I want to keep it as basic as I can.

Cheers
 

ex-member BareThrills

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Dec 5, 2011
4,461
3
United Kingdom
Bar of soap and dry baby wipes (lighter than wet ones if carrying). rehydrate baby wipes in a ziplock bag and use as flannels. Use simple soap and it will also wash cookware and clothes. Small pack towel if you want but i use more dry baby wipes to remove excess moisture.
 

British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
26,709
1,947
Mercia
Toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss (1,000 uses), nylon scrunchy shower thing, bar of soap. Ensure you have some way of keeping your toenails trimmed. Foot powder if you need it.
 

Teepee

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Jan 15, 2010
4,115
5
Northamptonshire
Dried baby wipes with hot water to rehydrate. Soap for washing clothes. Toothbrush with Eucryl tooth powder. I'll also spray some Savlon povidone iodine on the susceptible bits as a bit of prevention.

As Red says, nail clippers for longer trips. I've always used talc for my feet but have recently been warned about using it by a GP as it clogs the sweat pores up and promotes infection apparently.
 

oldtimer

Full Member
Sep 27, 2005
3,183
1,801
82
Oxfordshire and Pyrenees-Orientales, France
Small piece of soap in a tiny mesh bag to hang up in the shower or on a tree (useful tip picked up on this site), toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, loo paper, wet wipes, nail clippers. I also take a very small sponge in a plastic bag as it makes washing easier when water supply is restricted. Just in case a shower is possible I carry a very small bottle of shampoo which most often gets used for washing socks. A hand size pack towel does me if I do get a chance for a shower. All this in a mesh bag so I can see what's in it when I haven't got my glasses on. The bag lives in the lid pocket of my pack and is the same whatever the length of trip.
 

Shewie

Mod
Mod
Dec 15, 2005
24,259
24
48
Yorkshire
I carry ...

Mini toothbrush
Mini toothpaste
Mini deodorant
Mini pack towel
Mini dropper bottle of Dr Bronners soap
Calmex lip balm
Gehwol foot balm in small bottle
Boots foot powder in small bottle
 

rik_uk3

Banned
Jun 10, 2006
13,320
24
69
south wales
Soap, tooth brush and paste, new and clean small kitchen sponge and half a towel. Now I can only car/base camp I will take a solar shower for extended camps.
 

MikeLA

Full Member
May 17, 2011
1,955
319
Northumberland
Bar of soap and dry baby wipes (lighter than wet ones if carrying). rehydrate baby wipes in a ziplock bag and use as flannels. Use simple soap and it will also wash cookware and clothes. Small pack towel if you want but i use more dry baby wipes to remove excess moisture.

same just add talc powder, toothbrush, paste and small battery razor. Dont both with deodorant. Real men dont use:p
 
Nov 29, 2004
7,808
22
Scotland
"...a washkit for a two week trip in the field...I want to keep it as basic as I can..."

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Soap
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Razor
Small stiff brush for finger nails, ingrained dirt and cleaning clothes

A shemagh as a towel and possibly a small cotton hand towel for a quick 'standing wash'
Nail clippers (you will be surprised how fast they grow and how easy it is to damage them when out and about)
Dental floss (as has been mentioned it has a thousand uses)

Edited to add:

If it is winter I ditch the razor, I don't shave until spring. :)
 
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ex-member BareThrills

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Dec 5, 2011
4,461
3
United Kingdom
I dont class tooth brush/paste as part of my wash kit. That comes under my hygiene kit :) I tend to use tooth powder as it doesnt freeze. (most of my extended trips are cold weather) I never shave on trips nor do i take deoderant.
 

John Fenna

Lifetime Member & Maker
Oct 7, 2006
23,106
2,833
66
Pembrokeshire
As basic as possible?
Take nothing!
Tooth care - chew the end of a hazel twig until it becomes fibrous and use it as a toothbrush with wood-ash from your fire (or salt) as toothpaste.
Soap/shampoo - wash down with dry sand or water that has had wood-ash soaking in it overnight.
Toilet paper - leaves (Foxglove is my favourite - avoid nettles) or snow or moss or smooth rocks.

A civilised basic kit - small soap or travel soap (for everything from hair to carrots), T paste, t brush, "Magic Chammy" synthetic towel, footpowder, small roll-on deodorant, small comb (if you have hair), enough comfy bum and hand gel sanitizer, bic lighter.
Longer trips, solar shower (drybag type - multi -use item), nail clippers/ small scissors
 
Mar 15, 2011
1,118
7
on the heather
Small pack tissues ( for a two week trip better take a bogrole) a 50ml plastic bottle of Sanitising hand gel for after you know what and used before preparing food, a small 19ml or 22ml tube of toothpaste and toothbrush , for washing any nearby source of water streams, lochs , after use pots get scrubbed with wood ash, sand and grass refilled with water and chucked back on the fire for a quick boil and dry.
 
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santaman2000

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Jan 15, 2011
16,909
1,114
67
Florida
.....I've always used talc for my feet but have recently been warned about using it by a GP as it clogs the sweat pores up and promotes infection apparently.

A lot of people use talc or baby powder, I thought the purpose was to keep the feet dry (so maybe "blocking the pores" might be true?) but I've never needed it on my feet before. Now that I'm older and diabetic my feet tend to dry out on their own. In fact, now I need a skin lotion to keep them from drying out and cracking, particulary in the colder weather. I usually take that with me. I do take talc or baby powder fro occasional use on my groin however if conditions are favorable for jock itch.
 

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