I recently had the duty to test out the Go Anywhere portable camp toilet. Or, should I say, the misfortune. I am going to bluntly say, I don’t like this thing. But that’s in the circumstances I was using it.
As a matter of camping very, very small recently, I tested out one of these things. All those disadvantages you can imagine for a toilet, well, that’s what we got. We were actually camping in a borrowed camper which didn’t have an installed toilet but had one of these as the alternative.
Who’s it for?
I can see this being a really good solution if you’re hiking or backpacking and have a very limited space and want a toilet you can sit on. Now, there are some whose plumbing means that every trip to the bathroom is a seated operation and, perhaps, those individuals might appreciate this if they’re hiking or backpacking or find themselves in the woods.
But in a camper—nope. A big nope.
Advantages
Yes, it takes very little space. Yes, it’s lightweight.
And, surprisingly, there was no noticeable odor whatsoever using it just for liquid waste operations. It has a lid that snaps shut to ostensibly keep odors at bay further and prevent spilling.
How it works
Essentially, there’s a base that incorporates a seat and also a net under that seat. You remove the seat and install thick plastic bags designed just to fit into this operation. You then dump a powder that’s designed to turn liquids into gels and eliminate odors.
So, once the seat is unfolded and you happen to be a gymnast who can sit on something this low, you just do what you came to do.
It is designed for all bathroom needs and it’s surprisingly sturdy for something this light and foldable. But folding it back up for storage means you’re going to pinch at least one finger, or three as I did, and just want to run the darned thing over. Several times. With a tank.
Disadvantages
As mentioned, this thing is really low to the ground. Now, obviously you could put it on some sort of a raised surface which would eliminate this problem.
Since it’s so low to the ground, men may have trouble adjusting their aim to actually not completely miss during most of the operation.
If the bag isn’t well pushed down into the net bowl, then women, too, will get an unpleasant surprise in the form of a splash when using this thing.
Clean up on aisle one
Once you’ve done everything you can to fill this, you simply lift the seat and close the bag. This part’s easy. The package comes with a fairly strong bag to encapsulate the one that did it’s duty in an unholy war.
Like the Laveo Dry Flush toilet, these bags can be disposed of in any normal garbage can. The one good thing I can say for this thing is that it’s not a messy process, other than resolving any issues with aiming or other misfire of the weaponry.
In short. I really dislike this thing. But that’s in an RV build. Perhaps if you’re camping in the woods or something, it might be better. But then you could save the almost $100 and just dig a hole in the ground. Honestly, even a bucket with a lid on the seat might serve this function better and actually be higher off the ground and cheaper. Still, if you think this is right for you, Amazon, for one, sells it.
##RVT1045
Sounds similar to the commode in the bathroom of a park model we bought, one advantage of the seat being 14” off the floor is if you are tired you can always rest your elbows on your knees, form a bridge with your forearms and rest your chin for a nap. Lol
Sorry, NO backpacker is going to strap this piece of idiocy to their pack-frame and carry it into the woods. Since it’s a non-starter for RVers, it’s probably doomed to be a major failure for whoever thought it up…
Look up to see the responses from hikers and backpackers.
Lol, welcome to our world Tony! MANY products, buildings, and RVs are designed for the 6′ or taller man, and smaller people are out of luck. Funny to see how irate a guy can get when they have to use something too short for them.
Somehow I can’t see a back packer strapping this thing on. Might be worth the entertainment though,
Tony Barthel “Go Anywhere Toilet”
I have owned and used one of these devices for several years. I do agree with Tony’s observations in particular the “finger pinching.” However, I do feel he missed a couple key points. For example the Go Anywhere is better than: walking a 1/4 mile in the dark to find the campground facilities and more importantly getting out of bed to accompany your wife on her trip. The some advantages of the unit are compact size and easy clean up. It also makes boondocking accessible for any light camper adverse to the dry hole methodology. Thanks for a good review.
I’ve been using the go anywhere for years, yes, I’m a tall woman. It definitely works for me so I no longer need to find just the right two small boulders to balance between to make my deposit. It works while car/van camping and I dig a 6″ deep cat hole below it and make my deposit, easy clean up as I don’t like using the double plastic bags for the liner/toss. NOT for backpacking. The liners are expensive and I have tried double trash bags but carrying that to the nearest dumpster on the way home from boon docking is a stinky proposition.
and I carry pliers so as not to pinch and curse when putting it away for travel to the next location. Bad design.
Putting human waste into the trash. I don’t think that’s a good idea! Septic and sewage plants are the only place for human waste.
No different than diapers – adult or baby. Or even dog poop, really, which also goes into the trash in plastic bags.
On an overlanding Jeep trip with 2 others we used the “WAG” (Waste alleviation and gelling) bags that the go anywhere toilet company sells. It sure beat digging a cat hole each time. When it was time, we would wonder off into the woods, find a comfy tree to lean back on and hold the bag under. It worked, but I was hoping to read the go anywhere toilet would be a better solution. I grew up traveling (van and on the boat) with a porta-potty and dumping those in a public bathroom is downright nasty.
We used this toilet in our popups It is more stable and a better height than the Reliance brand we first tried.For me, the bags are handier than having a cassette to empty, especially with a bad back.
We now have a flush toilet in our small, 17′, travel trailer. We carry a supply of the bags with us on all trips. We’ve used them in the travel trailer toilet when we’ve taken it out winterized. Once, when I miscalculated how much water had been used in de-winterizing, we used them to get home when the tank was full. (we have a 10 gallon black tank)
We also carry them on some hiking and backpacking trips. There are places where “carry it out” means more than just food wrappers.