What is a Camping Toilet?

A camping toilet was like nirvana for me when it was created.

I’m a girl. I can sleep on the ground. It’s okay even if I don’t get to take a hot shower. But one thing I have an absolutely hard time tolerating is answering nature’s call by simply digging a hole and squatting. It’s just not…right. It just doesn’t make me feel good.That was one of my greatest pet peeves when I used to go camping with my parents as a kid. It made me feel no better than the pets we had at home. Thankfully, camping design and technology has greatly evolved since then and we now have numerous, modern, and human-appropriate camping toilets. Further, we actually have several options to choose from. How great is that?!!!

If this has been preventing you from enjoying a camping trip then you don’t have to suffer any longer.

Bucket Toilet

This is the simplest and most affordable type of camping toilet available on the market. It’s functional, period, so don’t expect any frills. A bucket toilet consists of the following:

• A toilet seat
• A toilet cover or lid
• A 5-gallon bucket with handle

Bucket Toilet Pros

As mentioned earlier on, bucket toilets are cheap and extremely simple to use. They’re also very low maintenance since you’ll most probably use a camping waste bag with them. When you’re done, you just throw the waste bag in the appropriate area, replace it with a new one, and that’s it. You’ll only need to clean it maybe once or twice a day or every other day if you’re not too fussy.

Bucket Toilet Cons

You didn’t think it was going to be flawless, did you? Now, bucket toilets may be the cheapest in price but they’re definitely not the lightest in weight. As such, they’re not your best choice if you’re planning to hike or backpack throughout the day. You’ll also have to maintain your balance or support yourself and the bucket when it’s placed on an uneven or rough ground.

Collapsible Toilet

You may also hear people refer to this as a foldable camping toilet. The majority of them come in compact designs since they’re not just fold-able – they also use extremely lightweight materials, which make them suitable for backpackers and hikers.

Collapsible Toilet Pros

Like the bucket toilet, they can be fairly low maintenance when you use camping waste bags with them. They also come in a variety of designs and use a variety of materials as well. The simplest ones look no different from a stool while high-end models could double as a comfortable high-backed chair.

Collapsible Toilet Cons

Because of the materials they’re commonly made from, collapsible camping toilets aren’t as durable as bucket toilets. They’re also more difficult to clean than bucket toilets if you use them without disposable bags for any reason.

Portable Flush Toilet

This is the queen of them all – we are talking about the empress of toilets! Portable flush toilets come in a variety of sizes and designs and basically consist of the following:

• Toilet seat and lid
• Water tank
• Waste tank
• Hose
• Flush

The size of your water and waste tanks will determine the number of times you can use the portable camping toilet until you have to eliminate waste and refill the water tank. And don’t worry about the smell since its waste tanks utilize chemicals to reduce odor.

There are a few cons but they can easily overlooked by the fact that you can actually use a FLUSH even when you’re camping in the wild. There are certain parts – like hoses – that may need to be replaced once in a while. And because you can’t use disposable bags, you’ll have to perform daily or periodic cleaning and maintenance. But again, who cares? You have a flush!

Still – you know what? There’s something even better than the “Flushable Toilet Empress”, but we’ll talk about it next time!

Trail Program Maps What Kind of Camping Lantern Do You Need?

Tagged as: bucket toilet, camping toilet, collapsible toilet, portable camping toilet, portable flush toilet