Here’s another great idea that I gleaned from scanning the BackpackingLight Forums: using the plastic container from an old bike tube patch kit as a soap bar container.
Whole soap bars tend to be far too large and heavy for any but the longest of travels. Cutting up a bar of soap to make it smaller is easier enough, but prior to this I had never come across a correctly sized container to package it in.
This container is perfect. It measures in at 3.25″ x 1.75″ x 0.9″, weighs 2.5 oz when full, and holds about 1/3rd of a bar of Dr. Bronner’s Bar Soap. I wrap a rubber band around it for added security.
4 Comments
Interesting idea, and there are many to be discovered @ BackpackingLight. I think I prefer liquid Dr. Bronner’s though, and you can get a nice, refillable 2oz bottle of it for under $3 at target. 2 fluid oz. will last several multi-night outings, and can be used for dish washing as well as for personal hygiene. Any reason you prefer the bar soap?
Yeah, good point. For travel up to a week, I’ll stick with Bronner’s liquid soap as well. I do find the liquid a little easier and more convenient. And I can carry it in those little sub 1 oz droppers that BackpackingLight sells.
The problem is, I’m not a big fan of facial hair and I don’t like to go without shaving for more than a week. I wet shave with a classic double edged safety razor and badger brush. Building up a nice soapy lather with the badger brush and Bronner’s liquid is possible, but it’s not as great as bar soap. So when I pack a shaving kit, I like to take bar soap. I don’t want to carry the weight of two different types of soap, so the liquid soap stays home.
I also think that if you’re traveling for a more extensive period of time and are carrying, say, a month’s worth of soap at once, it’s probably more efficient (as far as the weight : soap ratio) to carry bar soap. I haven’t actually measured this, but liquid soap has all that extra water weight, right? Maybe. Probably.
Ah yes, true, the bar soap should have less water weight, and for extended travel, I think you’re right, that might be the better option.
I tend to go bearded, so the shaving advantage is not huge to me, but good to know for future reference. Thanks.
Ah, shaving. The soap makes sense now! Heh.