Fab International Water Bottle Bidet

For individuals who are looking to lighten up their pack, these small light bidet attachments might be just the ticket to allow you to eliminate or cut back on the amount of toilet paper you carry.

I feel kind of odd/weird writing this review as the subject of bringing a bidet on a backpacking trip is not the normal sort of topic I like to discuss related to outdoor gear, but I thought I would share my thoughts on this product in case others have been looking for alternatives to carrying a lot of toilet paper on longer back country trips.

I have been looking for ways to reduce both the weight and volume of what I carry in my pack and somehow one day while I was searching on Amazon to round out an order, I came across these bidet devices that can attach to a regular water bottle that most people would carry.

When I saw that the devices only cost $5.56 and ship for free, I figured it was worth taking a look at, so I added them to my order.

Each of the devices only weigh 0.3 ounces, so they are pretty light. They devices are about three inches long and here is a picture of each of them next to a twenty ounce Smartwater water bottle.

One of the devices has a single slot for the spray head and fits inside of the neck of the water bottle and is sealed and held in place by the friction of two o-rings. Here is how it looks installed on a water bottle:

This is what the spray looks like from this device and it stayed installed even when a lot of pressure was applied to the water bottle.

The second device has five holes in the spray head and screws on to the bottle like a cap of the bottle would. Here is how that device looks when installed on a water bottle:

This is what the spray looks like from the second device. On this device I did have to clean up a couple of hole with a drill as they still had flash from when the part was molded at the time it was manufactured.

With either of the devices the harder you squeeze the greater the stream pressure will be.

So you might be asking yourself, I wonder how they would actually work when you're out on a trip? Well I can't tell you because I haven't manned up yet and used it on a trip, but I have been carrying the one device that has several holes for the spray pattern. I have it in my pack and will someday get up the nerve to try it out, but I have a hunch there will be some technique involved and I don't know if I'm ready to start up the learning curve just yet :-).

Most of the areas where I go on backcountry trips have plenty of water, so I think this is a very viable alternative to carrying TP on longer trips.  When I hike in areas that are popular, I find a lot of time that when I head out to find the perfect place to do my business, and start to dig my cat hole, that nine times out of ten I start a hole and hit TP from the last person who also thought it was the perfect spot.  I think that using a bidet device like the ones above will be one additional step in helping to reduce the impact we all have when we are out in the backcountry.

As far as an overall recommendation, I think these bidet devices will do the job, are light, and are a great value given you get two for less than six bucks delivered to you door. So if you have been looking for a way to shave a few more ounces from your pack this might be an alternative worth considering.

UPDATE as of 9/15/17

While I don't have any pictures to share, I have now used the bidet device with multiple holes on a recent trip and I have to say that it works reasonably well and does leave you cool and refreshed! It wasn't all that difficult to use either, so for now it will be something I'll throw in my pack on longer trips.