Again in 2014, I spent 22 days mountaineering the John Muir Path. Previous to that, the longest backpacking journey I had been on was 5 days, so there was loads I didn’t know.
A kind of issues was understanding easy methods to cope with peeing and wiping on the path. Utilizing rest room paper and packing it out was not a superb choice since I’d have to hold a ridiculous quantity of TP for 22 days. So it appeared the one sensible factor to do was to drip dry.
Now let me be actual. Drip drying for 22 days with out a correct bathe left me feeling totally disgusting down there. What was I pondering?!?
A number of years later I used to be backpacking in Alaska and my backpacking information taught me the trick of utilizing a small quick-dry washcloth or bandana to wipe after peeing. It was a sport changer in comparison with drip drying or coping with packing out rest room paper, however this methodology nonetheless had some limitations. I didn’t like touching that washcloth with my palms, and after one use the rag felt fairly soiled.
Shortly after that have, I found the Kula Fabric, which solved each single one in all my backcountry peeing woes. The Kula Fabric is a reusable pee material with a clear and soiled aspect that attaches to the surface of your backpack. It’s fabricated from an ultra-absorbant, anti-microbial materials, and you’ll rinse it off within the backcountry or throw it within the washer whenever you get residence.
It’s grow to be one in all my most beloved items of drugs for sustaining my hygiene on the path, and even on day hikes, I at all times be sure to throw one in my pack. So on this submit I’ll share what it’s, easy methods to use it and why I like it a lot.
And for these of you women who’re satisfied, I’m thrilled to share that I’ve collaborated with Kula to create a customized Bearfoot Idea x Kula Fabric. It includes a cosmic mountain scene with a bear (after all) chilling by the water, and I really like the way it turned out!
This submit could include affiliate hyperlinks.
What’s a Kula Fabric?
Key Options
The place to purchase
A Kula Fabric is a reusable, antimicrobial pee material designed for girls who pee exterior. It has a entrance (clear) aspect with a wide range of cute designs and a again (soiled) aspect that you just use to wipe.
The again aspect could be very absorbent and fabricated from an antimicrobial material that dries in a short time. The black material can also be mushy and dimpled with a reflective thread sewn into it, so you may simply discover it at night time with a headlamp.
While you’re finished peeing, you merely use the black aspect of the Kula Fabric to dab your self clear. Afterward, you need to use the snaps to fold the Kula Fabric in half with the soiled aspect in, after which the entire thing snaps to the surface of your pack.
For day hikes, you need to use it a number of occasions all through the day with out having to fret about rinsing it off. For a multi-day journey, you may collect water from a stream to rinse it off, after which whenever you get residence, the Kula Fabric will be totally washed with cleaning soap and water within the sink or in a washer.
I’ve been obsessive about Kula Fabric for years, and now if I overlook mine at residence, I dread having to drip dry. I can’t consider I did that for thus a few years and can by no means return to not utilizing a Kula Fabric.
For that motive, it’s one in all my day mountaineering necessities that by no means leaves my pack aside from when it’s within the washer.
You should utilize the Kula Fabric in any wilderness setting for mountaineering, tenting, and backpacking, however it’s also possible to use it at residence, in porta-potties, and even at music festivals when the bathroom paper runs out.
Utilizing a pee rag can also be a method to observe Depart No Hint pointers. It’s a straightforward rest room paper alternative and might cut back the quantity of bathroom paper that’s left behind within the wild (accidently or not). It additionally eliminates the necessity for a Ziploc bag in my backpack to pack out used rest room paper.
Save this submit!
Enter your e-mail & I am going to ship this submit to your inbox! You will additionally obtain my weekly publication stuffed with useful recommendation for planning your adventures.
Kula Fabric Professionals and Cons
The Kula Fabric has plenty of execs and actually just one con I can consider. Listed below are among the issues I like and dislike about utilizing this pee rag on my hikes.
Kula Fabric Professionals
Kula Fabric Cons
Why Use a Kula Fabric vs. a Bandana?
Bandanas don’t include the identical anti-microbial and anti-odor properties because the Kula Fabric. After the pee dries in your bandana, it’s going to stink, whereas the Kula Fabric will disguise all of the smells.
The Kula Fabric can also be far more absorbant than a banada.
How you can Use a Kula Fabric
A Kula Fabric is extraordinarily simple to make use of on the path. These step-by-step instructions stroll you thru easy methods to use one within the wilderness.
How you can Clear a Kula Fabric
For those who’re utilizing a Kula Fabric for a day hike or a fast in a single day journey, you don’t want to scrub it in between makes use of (except you’d wish to). I like to recommend washing the pee rag if it has been over 24 hours. There are a few other ways you may clear it.
Wash by hand
The gentlest method to wash a Kula Fabric is to take a small quantity of cleaning soap to clean it after which rinse it within the sink. After I get residence from my hikes, I truly take my Kula Fabric with me into the bathe and wash it in there.
For longer backpacking journeys, you may rinse it with water or you may scrub it with a small quantity of biodegradable cleaning soap away from pure water sources.
Then you definitely simply hold the pee rag to dry. After I’m out mountaineering and backpacking, I’ll both hold it from a tree or the surface of my pack. It air dries actually shortly, however it’s also possible to use it when it’s moist if you’ll want to pee earlier than it’s utterly dry.
Be certain that to unfold it as you’re drying it, as UV rays from the solar will assist sterilize the fabric.
Machine wash
Whereas hand washing is really helpful to extend the lifetime of the Kula Fabric, another choice for laundry your Kula is to throw it within the washer. After I’m feeling lazy or I overlook to scrub it proper after I get residence, I simply throw it in with a load of laundry and have by no means skilled any issues.
Kula Fabric recommends closing the snap so it doesn’t get snagged on something (though I normally overlook to do that and nothing has ever occurred). Additionally, don’t use material softener or bleach. Simply use your regular detergent.
Kula Fabric Efficiency
I’ve now been utilizing Kula Fabric solely for peeing within the backcountry since 2019. Earlier than I wrap up this Kula Fabric assessment, I’ll point out some closing ideas on efficiency and why I really like utilizing it.
Ease of Use
A Kula Fabric is extraordinarily easy to make use of. After I have to pee, I unsnap it from the surface of my backpack and use the black absorbent aspect to wipe. Then, I reattach it to my backpack and snap the absorbent aspect shut.
Cleanliness
Whilst you could really feel hesitant to attempt a pee rag and fear that it may be gross, I promise the Kula Fabric will not be! In comparison with a bandana, having a clear aspect and and soiled aspect permits you to at all times wipe with one aspect and contact the opposite aspect along with your palms.
With common rinsing, my Kula Fabric has by no means smelled dangerous. It actually lives as much as it’s promise of killing odors and being hygenic. I additionally really feel a lot cleaner down there with out having drops of pee in my underwear after drip drying.
Privateness
I by no means really feel self-conscious when utilizing my Kula Fabric as a result of the black absorbent aspect hides any mess rather well. I may also use the double-snap characteristic to cover the a part of the pee material I used to wipe when it’s hooked up to my backpack.
This potential to be discreet is handy after I’m mountaineering with buddies on the path. It additionally feels much less awkward to hold a Kula Fabric again to your campsite than a wad of used rest room paper!
Packability
The Kula Fabric is the proper dimension for a day hike or in a single day backpacking journey. Because it snaps onto the surface of my backpack, I don’t have to fret about rummaging round in my pack to search for it.
Because it’s solely 5.75 x 5.5 in and weighs 0.6 oz, I carry it on each hike and backpacking journey. It additionally takes up la lot much less room than carrying a bunch of bathroom paper in a ziplock bag.
Consolation
The material of the Kula Fabric feels snug when dabbing myself dry. The material feels actually mushy, and I’ve by no means skilled any irritation from utilizing it.
Design
I respect the sq. form of the fabric as a result of I can use a distinct nook every time I have to wipe. This intentional design makes the fabric handy to make use of a number of occasions inside a day.
I additionally like the various shade and design choices on the waterproof, outer-facing aspect of the fabric, though I’m neutral to the Bearfoot Idea x Kula Collab design 🙂
Sturdiness
I’ve owned the identical Kula Fabric for years, and it has held up effectively. It nonetheless appears to be like nearly as good because the day that I purchased it!
I’ve washed it by hand and within the washer and dryer, and it exhibits no indicators of damage or use. The seams and snaps are all intact, and the design has not pale.
The place to Purchase a Kula Fabric
A Kula Fabric is small funding that may make a world of a distinction in relation to peeing exterior.
You may seize the Bearfoot Idea x Kula Fabric collab proper from the Kula Fabric web site, and also you’ll get a enjoyable little shock within the bundle too!
If the Bearfoot Idea x Kula material isn’t your vibe, there are dozens of different designs to select from. I really like so lots of them, it’s onerous to choose!
Steadily Requested Questions
No. The antimicrobial Silvadur™ silver ion–infused absorbent materials doesn’t present stains. The Kula Fabric founder particularly selected black to cover urine. Interval blood that dries on it will likely be barely seen, however you need to use the snaps to maintain it folded in half so it’s not seen to others.
No. The Kula Fabric is hypoallergenic, unhazardous, nonsensitizing, and non-irritating to the pores and skin. I’ve by no means skilled any points after utilizing it.
I’m stunned how little the Kula Fabric smells after utilizing it after I’m not capable of rinse it immediately. The fabric is antimicrobial and odor-resistant. When you rinse it or wash it, there may be zero odor.
No. The entrance aspect of the fabric with the print is waterproof, so any liquid won’t soak by means of onto your hand when utilizing a Kula Fabric.
Sure. Kula Fabric makes use of many natural, eco-friendly supplies manufactured and milled sustainably in america – another excuse I really like them.
Though this methodology additionally eliminates the necessity for bathroom paper, it isn’t hygienic or snug and might result in smelly mountaineering underwear (I do know from expertise). It is usually dangerous should you’re liable to yeast infections or Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs).
Positively! Because the absorbent aspect is black, it hides menstrual blood. For those who by chance get blood on the entrance aspect, it can wash out with a small quantity of cleaning soap.
Save this submit to Pinterest
Have you ever tried a Kula Fabric but? Let me know what questions you might have about this reusable pee rag within the feedback beneath!
