I know that there are people who bivy on here so I'm hoping to gleam a bit of wisdom from you all. How do you handle the situation where you need a wee but it's raining? Getting soaked and back into the bag sounds like a recipe for not sleeping and all around general misery. Does this just come down to "get it done as quickly as possible"?
My bladder doesn't work properly so holding it isn't an option and I absolutely will need to get up for a wee.
Pee bottle ?
Make sure you don't mistake it for the water bottle in the morning!
Using a bottle inside a bivvy bag is tricky. Almost as bad as using one in a kayak while wearing a drysuit. Can you bivvy under a tarp?
When I used to do long dives in a drysuit we used condom catheters plumbed in to a port in the drysuit. They need to be sized appropriately to make sure there's no leakage - IIRC the sizes were along the lines of 'Large, Extra Large, Huge, Enormous and Unbelievable'.
Just get it over and done with. If you are tired you'll soon get back to sleep. Just remember to have your waterproof at hand when you get into your bivvy / tent / tarp.
Bikepacking umberella?
Ella. Ella.
IIRC the sizes were along the lines of ‘Large, Extra Large, Huge, Enormous and Unbelievable’.
Hopefully it doesn't get too cold during the night.... 😳
Thanks all, will go for the "make it quick" option.
When I used to do long dives in a drysuit we used condom catheters plumbed in to a port in the drysuit.
This was an option I thought about with a leg bag (I got sent loads of them by mistake) and I think would be easy and work, but no longer an option for me.
I also have this problem. My solution is: go quickly. Even if it's pissing it down, you can't get that wet in a minute. Footwear is the real problem. Sealskinz are good for this - pull on quickly but can walk around without getting wet feet.
Surely you're going to need a tarp too? Can you not take a slightly larger tarp, maybe a small groundsheet so you can roll over and pee in the grass under cover?
Just wee into a bottle; it's easy if you can find your willy and undo the top of the bottle.
Just wee into a bottle; it’s easy if you can find your willy and undo the top of the bottle.
Have you tried it lying down? Not a humble-brag, but I tried it sitting up in a tent once and found that hard enough. Bottle capacity-anxiety is also a problem. On an entirely unrelated topic, a friend (honest) once told me that Pringles tubes are surprisingly water tight 😯
750ml* wide-necked (up to your best judgment to mix and match, optimist vs pessimist 🤣) sport drink/smoothie bottle with a good screw cap. Make sure you’re properly awake so don’t fall asleep again before/during screwing cap back on tight.
Bottle capacity-anxiety is also a problem.
*Unless you pee regularly piss north of 700ml in which case you have to empty the bottle somehow at arm’s length outside - without stinking up your camp. Or have two bottles
God you can tell this is a forum full of blokes! As a women, the only option is ‘just get on with it’ (and no, shewee into a bottle in a sleeping bag isn’t happening!). Waterproof to hand, shoes left undone (laces inside if walking boots) and don’t hang about!
Seriously, it's having a wee.
If i can do it at 25mph getting pushed by a team mate in a bike race, or dangling in mid air in a climbing harness, i really dont see the issue. I always camp with a wee bottle handy, just roll on one side and wee, or kneel up and do it. You can even practice at home in bed with a big towel if you're unsure.
Andy Kirkpatrick suggests that learning to wee in a sleeping bag is an important skill for any female mountaineer...
Some of my most memorable night-time encounters with nature and the skies have been while holding my cock in one hand in one hand after crawling out of my bivvy/tent.
God you can tell this is a forum full of blokes! As a women, the only option is ‘just get on with it
Yeah but us blokes on average die younger than women so we get the ‘can piss indoors‘ superpower as a top-up. 😉
A wide brimmed hat can help to keep the rain off.
@Malvern_Rider 😂😂
Serves you right for buying a bivvy 😆
What about a simple tarpaulin at the top of the bivvy to use as a basic shelter to pee from. Given its pouring with rain it hardly matters were it lands.
I remember reading Spike Milligans war memoirs when he describes being stuck in a pup tent in southern Italian during a period of unrelenting heavy rain. To solve the problem of going outside for a pee they hit on the idea of using old bicycle tubes cut in half with one end over the old boy and the other out under the flysheet. A true bike packer could use a bit of tube as a chainstay protector and then use it at night as a pee tube!
Using a pee bottle while inside a bivvy bag is possible but if you get it wrong the consequences are not pleasant.
Bivvy and tarp combination has been mentioned but to my mind you may as well then just take a lightweight one-man tent.
Bivvy and tarp combination has been mentioned but to my mind you may as well then just take a lightweight one-man tent.
Nah. It's a different experience. It's nothing to do with weight.
Although I used a bivy bag in my alpine climbing days they are not the most practical when it's raining unless you are a contortionist as it's nigh on impossible to ingress/egress without getting whatever's in the bag damp or wet.
Using a tarp for the weather protection maybe along with a lightweight bivy bag for bug/breeze protection is much more versatile.
Back to the original question: just get out, have a pee and get back in out of the rain.
Having spent a few nights bivvying in an arctic winter where its -30C there is a certain reluctance to get out of your bivvy / sleeping bag and get down to business - there's no way I'd attempt to wee in a bottle as there a certain reluctance of your manhood to reveal itself in those temperatures. Many an expedition has been spoilt by 'damp' sleeping bags - screw it up and you're putting yourself in danger.
Unless you’ve got prostrate problems you’re not going to be standing out long.
thenorthwind
Subscriber
...... Footwear is the real problem. Sealskinz are good for this – pull on quickly but can walk around without getting wet feet
I tend to take a pair of flip-flops. Not too heavy and really nice to get out your shoes while walking round a nice couples house camp.
Can you not sew a short zip half way down your bivi bag? Kind of a bivi-fly?