Diva cup

[kbarnard]

I have been doing quite a bit of research on the diva cup and found a lot of questions answered except best ways of cleaning it while on the trail. I tried a diva cup for the first time last month and learned the hard way you need to use a certain type of soap so my specific questions are:

1. How do you keep it clean on the trail - wet wipes, alcohol wipes or a specific type of soap?
2. Do you boil it at the end of your cycle?

Any other specific usage tips would be appreciated

[Nameless]

Rinse with a bit of water from your water bottle (I don't want to stick unfiltered water into me) and replace. As long as you rinse they really keep quite clean. When you no longer need the diva cup rinse really well and keep in a cloth bag until you get to town. It does have to breath, keeping it in a plastic bag will make it nasty. Boil when you can, but it isn't absolutely necessary. Some cups can handle being wiped with alcohol for sanitation, I don't remember if the Diva is one. All can be washed down with an antibacterial soap in towns.

[Bear Cables]

Wouldn't it be easier to just pack out your tampons? Personally I wouldn't want to waste my good water cleaning a diva cup. Just sayin....

[hikingirl]

Im with you bear cables. Sounds like more work than its worth. I don't have much experience but planning on using tampons and carrying them out.

[Owf]

I used the Diva cup on my hike. I use it at home, too. I think it's great - and it's not that I didn't want to pack out tampons, it's that I don't like using tampons at all. Or pads...I've never been one for disposable things and paper goods. Not to mention, the tampons with plastic applicators...yikes, what a waste of materials and a clog to the planet.

Regardless, though, for whatever reason it is that you're using it - I'd suggest carrying babywipes. I would wipe mine clean with a baby wipe. Also, when I could, I'd boil it (can't hurt, and that super cleans it), also, I would clean it in town with antibacterial soap in a bathroom as much as possible. I carry Dr. Bronners with me, too, so sometimes I'd use that, but I'm not sure whether that is "okay" or not as far as soaps to use on it.

[Hipcheck]

I'm with Owf. I got mine for the trail but I'll never go back. Last month, for the first time in a year, I used a tampon(I was 3 hours away from home).. It felt absolutely disgusting.

I drove home.

On the trail, I used baby wipes to keep it clean.

I can't imagine having that garbage around.. HYOH but its nice not having anything to hide. I felt completely comfortable with friends(mostly guys) grabbing stuff from my pack if they needed it. The Diva Cup comes with a cloth bag that's pretty discreet.

[kris25]

Just pack out tampons.... lkke the compact ones ..seems like so much extra work waste of good water maybe unsanitary u have yoursanitizer, wipes but so much handiling when u empty u have to clean everytime after disposal I assume just doesnt sounds like a great thing to use beside the environment friendly

[Owf]

Just pack out tampons.... lkke the compact ones ..seems like so much extra work waste of good water maybe unsanitary u have yoursanitizer, wipes but so much handiling when u empty u have to clean everytime after disposal I assume just doesnt sounds like a great thing to use beside the environment friendly

It may seem like extra work, but I've actually found that using that cup is less work than tampons. When you're not using it, it's one permanent item in your pack. If you're using it...well, it's still only one item. For tampons, you have to be sure to have them, to restock them. When you're not using your tampons, they're stored in one place. Now, when you use your tampons, you have to pack them out, so now there are clean tampons and dirty tampons, and not to mention, wondering if you have enough tampons...are you carrying too many tampons? Should you carry tampons all the time? Or plan to make it to town to grab more tampons if you know your schedule. It seems like much more work to manage tampons. Honestly, it may also seem like more work to clean the diva cup...but it's not hard at all. No harder to clean out a diva cup, then to wrap up and store a used tampon and carry that around. Both take a small amount of effort I think, but the Diva cup even doubles as being environmentally friendly, which... isn't something I'd just shrug off.

[kaypage07]

The Diva Cup is the best thing that ever happened to my menstrual cycle! Once you get used to them, they are sooo much easier than tampons, both on and off the trail. And you only have to change it once a day, so cleaning is truly not a major issue. You just have to make sure you clean it and yourself a little before re-placing it in, but that takes about 2 minutes and it saves you from having to carry the disgusting waste of tampons for several days at a time. I just use a tiny tiny drop of biodegradable soap, and rinse with water from my water bottle away from streams to avoid contamination. I never use good filtered water to clean it...maybe that is gross (?) but I've never had any problems.

Good luck

[Northern Lights]

I like mine from the environmental standpoint. I also like that instead of changing out a tampon 4-6 times a day you change it once. I no longer have to stock regular and lite tampons, just a diva cup.

as for using good water to rinse it. It's not like you are giving it a full bath. You rinse it off and put it back in.

[NotYet]

I used the Keeper in 2000 for my thru-hike and never went back to tampons. I used that same Keeper until 2010 when I got a Diva Cup. Once you get the procedure down it's super easy (and obviously much cheaper than tampons and/or pads!!!!). It's ONE item; it's light; it's small; you always have it; you don't have to worry if you're carrying enough supplies; you don't have any waste to manage & carry out (making it evironmentally friendly both at home and in the woods!!!!). When it was time to empty the cup, I'd just wash my hands, rinse the cup, re-insert and re-wash my hands (I sometimes cleaned myself with baby wipes which I did carry out, or I'd dig a cat-hole prior to "the emptying" and use TP to clean myself and then bury the TP). I'd clean the cup with some camp soap at the end of my cycle and put it in the cloth carrying case until I could clean it more thoroughly when I got to town. Not at all a waste of water, and again...super easy once you get the procedure down! I stayed much cleaner and actually considered this device a major life-changer: no fuss, no muss = LIBERATION!!!!!! (I can't give menstrual cups enough exclamation points to adaquetely express how I feel!!!!! My poor husband has had to hear about it over and over for the last 13 years!!!!!)

[Special K]

I stayed much cleaner and actually considered this device a major life-changer: no fuss, no muss = LIBERATION!!!!!! (I can't give menstrual cups enough exclamation points to adaquetely express how I feel!!!!! My poor husband has had to hear about it over and over for the last 13 years!!!!!)

Haaa, haaaa, haaa, haaa! My husband has heard all about it too! ONE OF THE GREATEST INVENTIONS EVER MADE!! Instead of changing a tampon every hour or so the Diva Cup lasts 12+ hours!!!!!! I stumbled upon it researching better alternatives for my upcoming hike in 6 weeks. Did not want to stop and drop the pack every hour to change (especially since I'll be hiking with my father). So glad I found this product! Change only in camp (baby wipes and boiling water) and I'm good to go. And, you can't even feel it when it's inserted properly.

[NotYet]

Instead of changing a tampon every hour or so the Diva Cup lasts 12+ hours!!!!!!

This was usually true for me, too. But some women need to empty it more frequently. On super heavy flow days, I sometimes had to change it every 6 to 8 hours (still only 3 or 4 times in 24 hours (but this was rare for me)...so YMMV. But, YES, it is definitely "ONE OF THE GREATEST INVENTIONS EVER MADE"!!!!!!!! <-- there are those exclamation points again.

The second biggest life-changer was when I found the pstyle (a separate thread, but another product that I want to cheer ad nauseum...my poor husband is very patient).

[shelb]

Rinse with a bit of water from your water bottle (I don't want to stick unfiltered water into me) and replace. As long as you rinse they really keep quite clean. When you no longer need the diva cup rinse really well and keep in a cloth bag until you get to town. It does have to breath, keeping it in a plastic bag will make it nasty. Boil when you can, but it isn't absolutely necessary. Some cups can handle being wiped with alcohol for sanitation, I don't remember if the Diva is one. All can be washed down with an antibacterial soap in towns.

Ditto!.........

[Nameless]

I love mine too. I just want to point out there are tons of other options than just the visible Keeper and Diva cups. I have a MeLuna myself, it fits me better (we aren't all the same size).

Far, far cleaner than tampons in the woods, and I don't have to carry out a bag of bloody trash and I don't get irritated from the bleach and stuff in other products. On the AT I have never felt wanting for water. If there is some water shortage, like in many of the parts of Alaska I hike it, you don't have to rinse before reinserting (though a towelette for your hands afterwards is advisable).

[NotYet]

Ditto about the abundance of water on the AT! However, I was also able to use my Diva Cup on the CDT in areas with very little water by being a little more creative and planning better...important on the CDT for many reasons!

[kbarnard]

Thanks for the feedback everyone! Since trying it out I have decided it is the best option for me even with my bad experience. Love the idea of no waste and little effort.

[Rhanis]

I just couldn't resist commenting.. I just got one for my hike and I freaking LOVE this thing!!! I have never been able to wear tampons because of the way they fit and the chemicals made it really painful to wear them, so pads, which smelled and.. Ugh. But the divacup is amazing, I wish I'd had this about eight years ago, I even can forget I'm wearing it, SO worth the investment! Good advice for keeping it clean on the trail, thanks

[hikingirl]

Ok, you girls are talking me into trying one. Can you only order them online or are there stores that sale them?

[Rhanis]

Check amazon, you ought to be able to find them for a bit less that in a store. As nice as it is to support local business, some places you just can't find them, really depends on how hippy of an area you live in.