The Cheek Spreader: A simple DIY latrine for a comfier bathroom experience.

Over the years, one of the most frequently voiced concerns I've heard from people who don't camp in the backcountry, or who've done so only a few times, is about how to poop comfortably in the woods.

For a lot of people, squatting is either too uncomfortable or just strenuous enough that they can't relax enough to have a satisfying bathroom experience...with the result that they either dread the idea of it so much they won't even try camping unless there's an actual bathroom or thunderbox, or else they do go camping but find that they're bunged up for days, leading to a pretty miserable trip.

So, I've made a little video of a quick, simple, and comfortable latrine setup which I now use on every camping trip. Some tips on wiping materials and their disposal are included.

http://youtu.be/u8iNFCqY_HI

Hope this helps,
-Martin

Simple and brilliant.
Thanks for the video. PM.

I love it ever since I saw it on the other place. I cant wait to give it a try

Nice video!

Thanks for the video, I know a couple people that need to see this.

Martin, we need to party together. I may try this, but, I pride myself on finding a nice moss covered root hole to sit on.

Cheek spreader, haahaha

Heh, make SURE the sticks are strong enough to support your weight.

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Originally Posted by 1stimestar

Heh, make SURE the sticks are strong enough to support your weight.

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This is why your cat hole is not too deep.......wouldn't want to get trapped.:whistling:

Many thanks Pine.. I would have never thunk that one up!! Ill use that method next time for sure!!

EB

Pics or it didn't happen.:innocent:

Good stuff......and a use for the paracord everyone carries.

As fan of tree leaning, for short trem or the one stick cross bar between two trees, never gave this a thought.

...Thanks.
It is refreashing to see 'been there, done that,.... approach posts.

Has anyone ever considered that our modern toilet practices are the reason that adults in western cultures have lost their ability to do a flat footed squat?

Most children can squat properly, with the entire surface of the foot on the gound for proper balance, but they loose the ability soon after "potty training" in the western world. In the middle east and asia and the primitive cultures, where squat toilets are the norm, the people retain the ability through life.

Being able to do a flat footed squat contributes to skill in the outdoors of every sort, since one does not have to sit on the ground to work, risking a case of the "wet butt" or exposure to diseases, or find a chair to relax.

Europeans never become completely comfortable in the outdoors due to loss of ability to properly squat which causes stress under all wilderness conditions and also contributes to this problem of "how do I crap in the woods?" If we still had he ability to squat that we had as children we would not feel this was a problem to overcome.

I have way too much time on my hands!

Thanks for the idea that would be nice at a base camp. I normally just squat when I'm on the move.

I do like that approach. Of course, TP, is going with me no matter what. Even in a post apocalyptic, zombie ridden, alien invasion world there had better by TP or I'm not going.

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Originally Posted by kyratshooter

Has anyone ever considered that our modern toilet practices are the reason that adults in western cultures have lost their ability to do a flat footed squat?

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So right about that.
I've learned recently that one of the contributing factors is a ratio of tibia/femur bones in the legs which makes it easy for some people to flat-foot squat and stay down for long periods of time while others can't. (for most Asian cultures this is natural because of the way they're built)
Too much weight is also a no brainer, regardless how flexible you are.

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Originally Posted by kyratshooter

Has anyone ever considered that our modern toilet practices are the reason that adults in western cultures have lost their ability to do a flat footed squat?

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I don't think that's exactly right. I think the habit of sitting on a toilet is a consequence of people having grown accustomed the use of chairs when resting, eating, and doing handiwork. The use of chairs is a practice that is not at all modern, but dates back to antiquity and earliest recorded history, and that would have been when people began losing the necessary joint flexibility and musculature to be comfortable in a flat-footed squat. Seated toilets date back at least to Roman times. These commodes were essentially a wooden box with a hole in the top and a chamber pot inside the box which could be emptied when it was conventient. European castles from the early medieval period also featured seated commodes, so the practice of sitting to relieve oneself is age-old and not at all modern, and to all evidence, it followed the widespread use of chairs and benches for sitting.

In any case, the fact that we don't squat flat-footed around the fire as our ancestors did and as is still practiced in some cultures today, is why most of us find squatting to be uncomfortable. Even in parts of the world where a restroom toilet still consists of a hole in the floor above a sewer, most of the locals find it uncomfortable compared to a seated toilet. So, I think the discomfort of pooping while squatting is a by-product of the widespread use of chairs which has replaced the more natural means of resting.

Hope this helps,
- Martin

Man if there was a copperhead under that big log you would be in deeeeeeeep ........................well you know:scared:

As far as the snake bite goes, you'd be on your own.

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Originally Posted by BENESSE

As far as the snake bite goes, you'd be on your own.

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Awwwww Nessie, so you wouldn't help me out and save my life:confused:

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Originally Posted by Wildthang

Awwwww Nessie, so you wouldn't help me out and save my life:confused:

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I'd do a whole lot of praying for you, bro. God does work in mysterious ways.