Crapping in the woods can be downright intimidating. The objective can be crudely approached with a makeshift hobo bindle consisting of a shovel, pack-out bag and full toilet paper roll, but Colorado startup Pact Outdoors has a sleeker all-in-one solution that incorporates everything you need for a tidy number two, including mycelium tablets for faster decomposition. Consider it the Swiss Army knife of eco-friendly excretion.
Packed neatly into a trifold prism case, the Pact Kit quickly unfolds to reveal a full mini-workshop of BM accoutrements. A carabiner up top and loop to the side allow the whole kit to hang easily from a tree branch for convenient access. The spine of the package is a compact, lightweight aluminum shovel with a pointed tip and serrated blade for breaking through stubborn ground. Use it to dig the 6-inch-plus (15-cm) cat hole over which you shall squat and take aim.
The kit really kicks into gear after the deed is done. The small, pill-like compressed wipes expand into proper 9 x 9-in (23 x 23-cm) moist towelettes with a little water (not included), providing a convenient biodegradable wipe that can be thrown right in the hole. Pact says that a single wipe should cut it, but that will ultimately depend upon the general scene and your desired level of posterior purity. The kit includes a total of 20 wipes, so wipers can use at their own discretion.
After things are appropriately fresh and tidy, pants re-buttoned comfortably around the waist, the Pact user is encouraged to drop three of the kit's 60 included mycelium tablets into the hole. The company says the fungal tablets will break down the buried poop and wipes up to 10 times faster, helping to more quickly return that particular set of geo coordinates to its previously pristine state. In fact, Pact claims the spot will be in even better shape since mycelium destroys harmful bacteria and turns waste into nutrients for the soil.
After one fills the hole up with some dirt, the 1-oz (30-ml) bottle of organic hand sanitizer gets his or her hands clean enough to go back and chow down on fireside fajitas.
Lastly, the Pact Kit includes a large zippered storage pocket that holds a washable reusable trash bag, with which one can pack out anything that needs packing out. The pocket can also store any other accessories one might find necessary for his or her particular pooping-in-the-wild journey.
The Pact Kit is a pretty comprehensive, little solution that packs in well under a pound at 12.8 oz (363 g), all supplies included. The only thing it's really missing is a specialized GPS to triangulate the perfect squat spot far enough from nearby campgrounds, trails and water bodies, but we reckon most folks can figure that out on their own.
The 10 x 3.5 x 2-in (25 x 9 x 5-cm) package might be a bit bulky for minimalists, but users could easily just pack a smaller subset of the contents for fast, light use. The full kit looks quite handy for dispersed car camping, overlanding, rafting, hunting and other backcountry activities that might not include a formal toilet.
The Pact Kit landed on our radar after taking home an Outdoor Retailer Innovation Award at last week's OR Snow Show. It retails for US$50 and is available for order now.
Source: Pact Outdoors
