Shaving out in the wild.

OnFire

OnFire

Messages
122
Location
Cambridge
I do a lot of walking, bushcraft, and wild camping as some of my other hobbies. Since taking this DE lark up, I have been thinking of having a shave out in the wild, i.e. No running water, limited hot water, no sink etc. I like the idea of having a good shave on a mountain, overlooking beautiful vistas.

I'm wondering what gear you would use, and how to keep things clean and hygenic, and how to not make your shaving gear weight a burden in your backpack. So as a theoretical question for most, I'm curious, how would YOU go about the whole process?
 
I am going on camp with Scouts next weekend - it is on a Scout camp site next to a private broad (as in Norfolk Broads), we have water main and toilets but not much else. I don't tend to bother shaving when on camp but I wonder what the scouts would think if I started DE shaving maybe outside my tent???

Kit, well we don't have to carry our kit there, so maybe full kit as if at home, just thinking a skuttle type shaving mug would be good to use!
 
A Campingaz stove to heat water from the lake/loch, a make-up or travel mirror, and my travel gear. I still take a DE and brush, but take a small and light DE and a fast-drying synthetic brush. A shave stock works well - Palmolive at 49p works well as a toilet soap too.
 
On Cub camp I've shaved by a hedge with hot water from the gas fired boiler. Weapons of choice were, Tech, Simpsons B1 and Ogallala Sandalwood Soap. It was about 6.30 in the morning with a light mist and dew on the grass, lovely time of the day.

Scswalex said:
I am going on camp with Scouts next weekend - it is on a Scout camp site next to a private broad (as in Norfolk Broads), we have water main and toilets but not much else. I don't tend to bother shaving when on camp but I wonder what the scouts would think if I started DE shaving maybe outside my tent???

Kit, well we don't have to carry our kit there, so maybe full kit as if at home, just thinking a skuttle type shaving mug would be good to use!
Click to expand...

Sorry missed your post.

My Cubs didn't even see me, I'm an early riser on camp.

Are you a leader then ? If you do the badge swapping thing feel free to PM me your address and I will send you a Torridge Devon badge.

Hope you have a great time and the weathers on your side.
 
Northam Saint said:
On Cub camp I've shaved by a hedge with hot water from the gas fired boiler. Weapons of choice were, Tech, Simpsons B1 and Ogallala Sandalwood Soap. It was about 6.30 in the morning with a light mist and dew on the grass, lovely time of the day.

Scswalex said:
I am going on camp with Scouts next weekend - it is on a Scout camp site next to a private broad (as in Norfolk Broads), we have water main and toilets but not much else. I don't tend to bother shaving when on camp but I wonder what the scouts would think if I started DE shaving maybe outside my tent???

Kit, well we don't have to carry our kit there, so maybe full kit as if at home, just thinking a skuttle type shaving mug would be good to use!
Click to expand...

Sorry missed your post.

My Cubs didn't even see me, I'm an early riser on camp.

Are you a leader then ? If you do the badge swapping thing feel free to PM me your address and I will send you a Torridge Devon badge.

Hope you have a great time and the weathers on your side.
Click to expand...


Yep, ex ASL, ex GSL, ex DC and currently member of ASU! I like to be the last out of the tent, I would be interested t see the Scouts reaction to 'proper' shaving!

I will see if I can dig out an Eastern Norwich Badge and will then pm to do a swap!

Weather doesn't matter to me! Whilst we will ave loads of water activities going on, I will be running the Air Rifle range, last time at that site everyone was soaked (not that it mattered to the water babes) but we have gazebo over the firing points and just carried on!
 
Scswalex said:
Northam Saint said:
On Cub camp I've shaved by a hedge with hot water from the gas fired boiler. Weapons of choice were, Tech, Simpsons B1 and Ogallala Sandalwood Soap. It was about 6.30 in the morning with a light mist and dew on the grass, lovely time of the day.

Scswalex said:
I am going on camp with Scouts next weekend - it is on a Scout camp site next to a private broad (as in Norfolk Broads), we have water main and toilets but not much else. I don't tend to bother shaving when on camp but I wonder what the scouts would think if I started DE shaving maybe outside my tent???

Kit, well we don't have to carry our kit there, so maybe full kit as if at home, just thinking a skuttle type shaving mug would be good to use!
Click to expand...

Sorry missed your post.

My Cubs didn't even see me, I'm an early riser on camp.

Are you a leader then ? If you do the badge swapping thing feel free to PM me your address and I will send you a Torridge Devon badge.

Hope you have a great time and the weathers on your side.
Click to expand...


Yep, ex ASL, ex GSL, ex DC and currently member of ASU! I like to be the last out of the tent, I would be interested t see the Scouts reaction to 'proper' shaving!

I will see if I can dig out an Eastern Norwich Badge and will then pm to do a swap!

Weather doesn't matter to me! Whilst we will ave loads of water activities going on, I will be running the Air Rifle range, last time at that site everyone was soaked (not that it mattered to the water babes) but we have gazebo over the firing points and just carried on!
Click to expand...


Great to meet another leader. I am a CSL and a ASL, I moved from Southampton to here in North Devon, before I was a ACSL but they needed a CSL to set up a new pack. Recently I've taken on the ASL role too. Great fun and so very rewarding.

I recon Scouts would be more interested especially any approaching Explorer age, most of them have whiskers, and most seem to tower over my 5ft 8 frame.

Airguns are great fun come rain or shine. We've had a few really wet camps in the past not much fun with Cubs. Fire lighting with the wind blowing in on you side ways is a great challenge though.

Have a badge waiting for you.

YIS
 
Thanks for the responses so far lads, I never realised there were so many experienced campers on this site. I like the idea of using a scuttle for static camps, and a palmolive stick sounds ideal.

The hardest part of it all for me seems to be the water issue, to be able to prep, and cold rinse. A kelly kettle, and gas stove sounds good, but what would you use to splash the face before/during/after?
 
It's a shame that your Saints were so set at Driving all the snakes out of your islands. Here the flask is a essential medical necessity for Snake Bite!
 
May I suggest one of those collapsible water bowls for dogs? I carry a nylon one in the car. It looks a but like an upside down fez. Warm water in that, use a Palmolive stick (also use a soap as mentioned before), face lather with a cheap brush (in case you loose it).

After shaving, dry out your kit, and roll up in the dog bowl?
 
Although I don't do so much now (mostly because I got married) I used to backpack around the countryside a lot. Often as far away from civilisation as I could get. I was into the self-reliance/survival/bushcraft thing. Still am really.

I used: Wilkinson Sword Xtreme 3 disposable razor and King of Shaves Alpha Oil. That's it. I might sometimes have carried a bit of aftershave or cologne decanted into a smaller bottle, depending if I was likely to bump into anyone worth smelling good for! The kit took up little space and weight and would be good for two weeks of shaving. I also carried liquid soap from a camping shop for general washing, and a stack of medical wipes for 'personal' cleaning if I had to go a few days without intimate washing.

Once, I shaved (and body washed) in a tiny pool on a mountainside where water was bubbling out of a spring. It was ice cold and I had two day's growth, but it was one of the best shaves I've had! The view was great too, with a beautiful morning (which was why I was not wasting time boiling water) and glorious sunshine.

My usual routine though would be to boil a pan of water, wash face and leave warm and wet, apply a few drops of oil and spread around, then leave it for a minute. The shave after that was as good as I would get at home at home. I wasn't into DE shaving then though. Then a cold water rinse and pat dry on a pertex towel and I was good to go.

Despite now using a DE razor, I would still use the same kit for backpacking as I always have. I would likely do the same if car camping too.
 
thrifty said:
May I suggest one of those collapsible water bowls for dogs? I carry a nylon one in the car. It looks a but like an upside down fez. Warm water in that, use a Palmolive stick (also use a soap as mentioned before), face lather with a cheap brush (in case you loose it).

After shaving, dry out your kit, and roll up in the dog bowl?
Click to expand...

Good suggestion on the dog bowl, make sure you go to a Pet Shop. You can get the fold up or a silicon collapsible. Camping stores do them as "Silicon" food bowls but they cost a lot more for the same thing. I prefer the fold flat to a frisbee shape ones.
 
I just tend not to shave when I'm in the wild. The only time I remember needing to shave on the hop was doing the Camino de Santiago - I had a Gillette travel razor with a pack of 5 blades and a stick of palmolive - didn't even bother with a brush, Palmolive's so good you can lather it with your fingers.

Took up less space than my mobile phone.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom