Tooth brush and bar soap containers... What do you use and what is the best?

[slowjunk]

Hi,

This is my first post as a new member and I am looking forward to participating in the good discussion here. I have a question about bar soap and toothbrushes. I have used a plastic container for my preferred bar soap (Grandpa's Pine Tar Soap), but the soap box really is crap. The thing opens in my bag and is really making me mad. I have cracked a couple travel soap containers also (too thin I think). Does anyone have a good suggestion for a tight well sealed corrosion proof travel soap container that is also tough enough for being dropped and crushed in my bag?

The same question goes for my toothbrush. I like to keep it clean when in my bag, but the cheap thin plastic travel tubes I have found will crack and break when used for any length of time.

I know this is a simple and perhaps silly question for a first time, but I do like my hygiene and I also like to keep the soap from contaminating the stuff around it in the bag. Oh, and ziploc bags are not preferred. The sad part is that I had some really great travel containers years ago in the Scouts but they have been lost over time.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[11binf]

hi slowjunk...i carry my small hygine kit inside a small nylon ditty bag with a draw cord...i usually prefer to carry "campsuds" which comes in a small plastic squirt bottle...but sometimes i carry a bar of (yellow) Dial soap in a British ww2 Pattern-44 tin soap dish this protects the bar of soap very well...as for the tooth brush i just have the head of the brush coverd in a small plastic case, not the whole brush...everything rides well in the nylon ditty bag which i throw in my main bag amoung other items of kit with no problems noted...vince g. 11B INF...

 

[Mesquite]

Welcome to the forum

Have a look at these for your toothbrush

No connection to the seller... just what I found on ebay

 

[Shewie]

I just use a ziploc bag for my soap, usually a hotel complimentary soap

My toothbrush came from an Air Canada flight which breaks in half and then the head seals inside the handle, same as these

 

[rik_uk3]

An interesting first post.

 

[SCOMAN]

You could try one of the yank decontamination pots, they're plastic, robust and waterproof.

 

[oldtimer]

I encountered the same problem as you when I started out many years ago now. I solved the problem by putting my soap in a plastic coin bag which then goes into the ditty bag with my other washing kit. This lives in the lid pockey of my rucksack.

I use small plastic coin bags for all sorts of things including small items that I want to keep together such as mini fishing kit, fire starter kit, repair kit etc. They all go into colour coded draw string ditty bags. This way they take up far less space than hard cases.

If you ask the bank for a few coin bags they are always obliging in my experience. Small ditty bags are not so easy to find. Fortunately Bilmo (a maker member on this site) does small, well-made bags at a reasonable price and operates a very efficient postal delivery system.

 

[woodspirits]

you want to wash?

 

[slowjunk]

The replies so far are great and I appreciate you finding the questions interesting. Hey Woodspirits, I like washing once in a while to keep the stink down for the others around me. I would be okay with my smell, but what would happen if I ran into a beautiful lost woman in the woods who was impressed by a man with good skills but put off by bad smells?

Thanks 11binf. I looked and found a bunch of reproduction British WWII hygiene supplies http://www.serviceofsupply.com/ReproPersonalItems.htm. They have the tin soap dish and soap for a good low price.

As for the link from Mesquite I agree those toothbrush covers can work, but I have had a few and they seem to pop open or break when its really cold.

 

[MikeLA]

A wash roll is what I use keeps the plastic soap container safe in a pocket same with the soap. Otherwise on small trips pack the plastic soap dish and other wash kit in a small camera type case

 

[Steve27752]

As mentioned tooth brush in one of these
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Toothbrus...L&hash=item2c6b11d191&clk_rvr_id=441068612354
As for my bar of soap I use a new 2oz tobacco tin
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/360551883495?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

 

[SCOMAN]

Couldn't find a link earlier but here we go

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3-x-US-ARMY-SMALL-WATERPROOF-PLASTIC-STORAGE-BOX-/170376178335

Not connected etc

 

[Thoth]

+1 for those small plastic covers that go over the bristles. Soap in a small heavy duty ziploc plastic bag. Whole lot in a ditty bag. And welcome to BCUK Slowjunk.

 

[Aussiepom]

Welcome Slowjunk,

I know your post mentioned that you don't prefer to use a ziplock bag, but I'm another vote for soap in a ziplock then placed in a ditty bag with the rest of my hygiene kit. Worked for me for years. Nothing to break in hot or cold weather. If you're really concerned about it, try putting it in 2 ziplock bags, 1 inside the other. Also, +1 for the small plastic toothbrush covers that go over the head only, not the handle.

 

[dave89]

Hi if you go to poundland you can usually get a tobacco tin a lighter and a few rizzlers for a £1 use the rizzlers for starting fires bargin. as for the toothbrush i use one of those containers you get cheap reading glasses in again another poundland purchase. plus your left with some reading glasses which my dad uses daily.

 

[Graveworm]

I don't use bar soap for camping/bushcraft but for overnight bags I use an old Micro DV tape box or a similar size from Muji I think. I just wait until my usual soap has worn down to the correct width and depth then trim it to length. Good for up to a week. For toothbrush I use a folding one from boots that looks a lot like this one http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/322620543/folding_toothbrush/showimage.html

 

[treefrog]

Theres always single use ones http://evaq8.co.uk/TOOTH-BRUSH-Supplied-with-Toothpaste.html not environmentally friendly but useful in an emergency

 

[Bootstrap Bob]

I think I must be a little unusual in the fact I don't use containers for either.
In my opinion they are unnecessary additional weight and create more problems than they prevent. I hate leaving soap in a container in which it can just go all slimey or a brush that goes mouldy. (Plastic bags are even worse as they don't allow for any air circulation at all).

So I use a natural, soap which is left to air dry after use. I used to place a hole through the bar and suspend it from a branch or under a tarp with a short length of cord to dry but after a while I got fed up with trying to work around the cord. Now I just place the bar on something which allows air to circulate around it. Once dry I just wrap it up in a face cloth and put it in a pocket in whatever bag I'm using. The same thing goes for a tooth brush although I give that a rinse before using it again.

 

[SimonM]

I use Lifesystems All Purpose Soap

Anti-bacterial concentrated all-purpose soap, especially suitable for travellers. Can be used for hands, body, clothes and fruit. Anti bacterial, the soap is very hygienic and helps keep you and your fruit clean

• SIZE: 200ml
• BIODEGRADABLE: useful
• PH BALENCED: better for your skin
• ANTI BACTERIAL: hygienic
• SUITABLE: for Hands, Shower, Clothes & Fruit
• Lifesystems All Purpose Soap 200ml

And one of these folding toothbrushes.


Simon

 

[Humpback]

Simon
When washing yourself do you put the soap in water or apply it directly to you or say a face cloth?
Alan