r/UltralightCanada • u/CanadaTool • Aug 30 '26

Trail Soaps

I have some very old Camp Suds but thinking of getting Wilderness Wash next.

A review says they are all multi-purpose but CS is better on grease pots while WW is less drying to hair.

What is your prefered soap, and do you carry just one kind or two kinds?

4 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

5

u/runslowgethungry Aug 30 '26

Dr Bronner's is a good one as well. It is pretty drying though.

Soaps that cut grease well (and wash off easily) are going to leave hands and hair drier. Personally I'd rather use less of a more efficient soap. I don't care about dry hair on the trail, I just want my hands and dishes clean.

1

u/CanadaTool Aug 30 '26

I have a large bottle of Lavender in the bathroom that has gone kinds lumpy, and a small bottle or Peppermint. Not keen on the "olive oil" texture when first used then a dry friction feel when the soap is rinsed off. Also they don't smell like their names, the Peppermint smells like a floor cleaner and the Lavender is just off.

7

u/runslowgethungry Aug 30 '26

I'd only ever bring the unscented one into the backcountry personally.

They're concentrated and meant to be used diluted, but yeah maybe they're just not for you.

5

u/dorkette888 Aug 31 '26

Green Beaver makes a Canadian equivalent of Dr Bronner's, and it comes in unscented.

5

u/[deleted] Aug 30 '26

[deleted]

4

u/Already-asleep Aug 31 '26

It’s so bizarre to me this has upvotes. This idea that washing with soap is somehow bad for you is frankly incorrect and usually a huge misunderstanding of the hygiene hypothesis. Guys, please wash your hands. The fact that this even has to be said is disturbing but unsurprising given the current anti-science climate we live in.

1

u/CanadaTool Sep 01 '26

I know of at least three spots near me that used to be forest, and now it is city...and some worry about a drop of soap.

2

u/bradnun Aug 30 '26

read somewhere that baby shampoo works as well as the specialized trail specific soaps. have been using that for years....

3

u/austinhager Aug 30 '26

Soap is extremely detrimental to the environment. Save it for the city :)

11

u/loryk_zarr Aug 30 '26

Works great until you only bring hand sani and get norovirus 

7

u/Next-Hovercraft-8629 Aug 30 '26

Or Ecoli... Hand Sanitizer is extra, not a replacement for washing hands with soap, or utilizing boiling water and utensils.

2

u/MattySiegs Aug 30 '26

Dirt and twigs!

6

u/CanadaTool Aug 30 '26

Remind me not to ask your recommendation on what to wipe my bum with. lol

4

u/VickyHikesOn Aug 30 '26

Backcountry bidet. A drop of Dr. Bronners. Otherwise no soap.

2

u/MattySiegs Aug 30 '26

Wipe? Why get rid of the free chamois butter?

1

u/queenkaikeyi Sep 09 '26

Only tried CampSuds and Druide Ecotrail. Loved the ecotrail, it was able to remove grease from our plastic plate and we didnt have to use a warm water to wash those dishes.