Anybody tried drying out wet wipes and wetting them when needed?
Anybody tried drying out wet wipes and wetting them when needed?
You can walk in another person's shoes, but only with your feet
Not moving weight around. Let's say you are carrying about 20 wipes. You only use a few a day so the remaining ones being dry will save you weight. You don't have to carry the water to re-hydrate those until you need them. Granted we are not talking much weight here unless you carry a lot of wipes.
Seems like arguing about ultralight vs stupidlight. Drying wet wipes sounds a lot like carrying paper towels to me. How many grams could possibly be saved?
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As a guy with two little kids I can tell you that a pack of dried out wipes weighs a lot less. I'm not interested in starting a grams debate. just asked if anybody has done it. Next somebody will say that I can save all the weight by not carrying them, or that you can just pick moss as needed to clean yourself.
You can walk in another person's shoes, but only with your feet
Well, you could. I've done it, but it's really sub-optimal, and never around when you need it. Drying seems like a good option, especially if you need to carry a bunch. My only real comment, which you probably already know, if that they're really not very biodegradable and should be carried out.
Yeah I do - sort of.
I use 190 grain alcohol for stove fuel and dehydrated vodka, and have a marker size spray bottle with a solution of the alcohol, water, and dr bronners that I use to clean and sterilize my cooking pot/utensil, and as a hand sanitizer, spot / odor remover for dropped food/pine pitch, deodorant, eyeglass cleaner, and of course, combine with paper towels, as a wet wipe.
Course I carry the three ingredients separately and make more as needed.
I dry unscented baby wipes.
Use 2 per day to clean up before bed.
I lay them out and let them air dry.
Yeah, I think that's where the rub comes in with any weight savings. They're only lighter until you use them, unless you dry them on a rock before they go in the trash bag. Maybe I would do that with the ones I've cleaned my feet, hands, or face with but I don't want to be chasing windblown wipes in the middle of my hygiene routine.
You can walk in another person's shoes, but only with your feet
I stopped carrying wet wipes years ago. Personally I found that carrying paper towels and a little doc bronner's soap worked better for cleaning.
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Unless I'm at home and sick, I've totally skipped wipes. Even don't use TP. Just plein good old water, and a drop of liquid baby soap.
Its not only the weight of stuff, but also the bulk and the ziplock you put it in and the (re-)supply you have to think of.
I would think drying them out eliminates any anti-bacterial benefits to the wipes, unless you rehydrate with alcohol.
Anyway, drying them is too much work for too little reward.
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You don't have to do much to dry them out. open the package and leave them in a drawer for a week. I know this because it happens to our baby wipes at home all the time.
You can walk in another person's shoes, but only with your feet
Personally, we carry the small 16 count packs. Light and easy to find. They usually come as a bonus when you buy a case of the wipes/refills.
AT: 695.7 mi
Benton MacKaye Trail '20
Pinhoti Trail '18-19'
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I started my hike with pre-dried wipes. It was surprisingly more difficult to dry them than I expected, given that you leave a pack open by mistake and they seemingly dry within minutes. The biggest benefit of pre-drying them was I could carry a lot more of them for the weight.
Once I started resupplying in towns, the issue pretty much resolved itself, and I bought what was available. I wasn't going to waste my hiking time goofing around with drying wipes.
The other thing to consider is the basic sanitation of handling your water bottle after you've used one wipe, and decide that you need a second wipe.
Just wondering how hikers got along before they were invented. A few drops of Dr. Bronner's liquid is good for hand washing and does a good job on cook pots. Seems like more and more hikers won't cook in a pot but can't stand a little dirt and sweat on their body. Some just toss used wipes in a firepit expecting others to burn them. I usually find used ones left behind on monthly maintenance trips at Jerry's Cabin shelter. BTW they don't burn well unless you have a good hot fire.
Sleep on the ground, rise with the sun and hike with the wind....