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Seattle Sports Pocket Bucket
Field Report
Biography
Name: Matt Mauceri
Age: 23
Gender: Male
Height: 5'7 (170cm)
Weight: 140 (64kg)
Email address: dirtyhippieboy(at)yahoo(dot)com
City, State, Country: Holland, Pa, USA
Date: 6/20/04
Backpacking Background: I’ve been backpacking now for ten years. I’m usually a quick escape artist who often has a pack waiting in the car for the minute I’m done work and will have a day or two off. I try to keep my pack weight to a minimum, and I’ve upgraded parts of my gear list, but I’m not yet an ultra light guy, just someone who is getting there slowly.
Product Information
Manufacturer: Seattle Sports
Year Manufactured: 2004
Manufacturer’s Website:
http://www.seattlesportsco.com/
Listed Weight: 4.5 oz (125 g)
Actual Weight Measured: 2.8 oz (79 g)
Listed Height: 10.5 in (26.7 cm)
Actual Height Measured: 10.5 in (26.7 cm)
Listed Diameter: 9.5 in (24.1 cm)
Actual Diameter Measured: 9.5 in (24.1 cm)
Product Description
After viewing the Seattle Sports web site, the Pocket Bucket I received is what I expected it to be, except that it is much lighter than advertised. The body of the bucket is made of a blue urethane coated nylon material, and the bottom is made of a black urethane coated nylon that is thicker and should be more durable. The handle is made of black 1 in (2.5 cm) webbing. The bucket is constructed quite simply, which is probably why it weighs so little. The blue body material is simply put together like a tube, with the seam hardly noticeable as it is sealed with a tape of some kind. The black bottom part is sewn to one side of the tube making it open on one end. The seam here is taped as well. The whole inside of the bucket is treated with a urethane coating that really seals off any possible holes from the construction process. The handle is attached to the open end of the bucket with the ends of the handle being sewn to the bucket directly opposite each other to allow for easy carrying. To make the handle more secure, it is stitched in an intersecting cross pattern where the handle and bucket attach to help divert the tension to a larger area and put less strain on the thread and material. This will keep the handle or the bucket from tearing under the weight of full capacity.
Field Experience
I carried the Pocket Bucket with me on several backpacking trips so far. My first experience using the Pocket Bucket in the field was on the Eastatoe Creek Trail, which is at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains in South Carolina. The trail follows the Eastatoe Creek, a cold mountain creek that features many waterfalls. We camped by a sandy beach at a great-designated camping area. The other trail I’ve gotten to use the Pocket Bucket on was the Black Forest Trail near Slate Run, PA. This trip was a 42.1 mile (68 km) loop through Pennsylvania mountains. There are 38 vistas on this trip, and huge elevation changes between almost every one of them. The elevation ranged from 400 ft (122 m) to 2200 ft (671 m). This trail has excellent water resources, and since the trip was in early May, these sources were still running very high. All of our overnight stays were within easy walking distance of a water source, and we limited our impact to designated camping areas only.
On my trip to the Eastatoe Creek trail I made sure to bring along the Pocket Bucket to see how it could help make camping using Leave No Trace techniques easier. Some camp chores like washing up, or cleaning dishes can be inconvenient when having to travel 200 feet away from the water source and use a water bladder or just a small pot of water to get the job done. My internal frame backpack is an older style and is not equipped with a hydration sleeve or port, so I usually just toss my bladder into the top of my pack and string my hose out of the top. This works just fine, but condensation from my bladder always gets on the things in my pack. While loading up in the parking lot, I had an idea to put the Pocket Bucket to use right away. Since it’s made of coated nylon and is designed to hold water, I figured it would work essentially the same way the hydration sleeve does. I slid my 3 liter (101 oz) hydration bladder inside of the bucket and then placed it along the frame side of my pack then I tied the handle in a knot to hold the bucket shut. My gear stayed dry since the Pocket Bucket protected everything from the condensation, and this is how I’ve carried the bucket ever since.
Once we made it to camp and were done eating our dinner, I broke the bucket out for use in cleaning up the dishes and myself. Filling the bucket was easily done in the fast moving creek, and I carried a near full bucket of water about 500 ft (152 m) from our camp. The bucket carried very well, spilling no water and it did not hurt my hand to hold it when it was this full. I was concerned that the bucket would not be stable filled to this capacity, so I found a place where a good size tree had fallen and rested the bucket up on the ground against the tree to give it extra support. This extra stability kept the bucket upright through my bathing, and dish washing. I was using a very small .85 l (28.7 oz) pot on this trip, and had another small plastic bowl and spoon to wash. These all fit easily into the bucket and let me get my hands in along with them to scrub them well. When finished I used a cup full of water to rinse the bucket out, and wiped it down with a piece of pack towel I save for my kitchen uses.
On an overnight trip like this I would usually have skipped bathing, and saved dish washing for when I returned home, but I found that the Pocket Bucket made these tasks much easier to accomplish, and I was still able to live by the Leave No Trace methods that I like to practice. That night we had a campfire, and left the bucket filled up nearby to extinguish any flare-ups that might have occurred. Once we were ready for bed I used the bucket to make sure the fire pit was out cold. After the first trip out with this I really appreciated having a larger quantity of water for use in camp. The convenience was well worth the 2.8 oz (79 g) that I had to carry. After I was home I washed the bucket with soap and water rinsed it well and sat it upside down in the dish rack to dry.
On my trip to the Black Forest Trail the Pocket Bucket again was immediately put to use as a cover for my water bladder. This trip however I was going to put its washbasin abilities to the test by actually cooking in my pots instead of just boiling water to add to dehydrated meals. The first morning of the trip we cooked up a bunch of cheesy hash browns, which are always good for sticking to the pot. While breakfast was cooking to filled the bucket and sat down on a log in camp to filter our water for the day. My experience with filtering water usually meant either sore knees from kneeling on the water bank, or a wet bottom from sitting on the ground. I filled the bucket ¾ of the way and sat down in camp to filter our water. The bucket worked great at making this camp chore more enjoyable. I was able to sit comfortably and have good conversation with the cook while being productive and filling our water bladders. The bucket stayed stable as I pumped it empty. Since I did not fill it to the top, the hose going to the filter did not tip the edge of the bucket enough to spill any water.
Over this 5-day trip I filtered all of our water using this method. I also found that my filter did not clog as often pumping our water this way. I’m sure that’s because the end of the hose that usually goes in the creek did not wind up sitting on the bottom like it sometimes does. After breakfast, I set off to do the dishes, but found that my pot was larger than the bucket. I had to pour water into the pot add some soap and scrub away. This method of dish washing actually turned out to be a bit easier than the first one I tried. I used the Pocket Bucket for rinsing when I was done washing, instead of keeping a cup of water set to the side while washing dishes in the bucket. This way also kept the soap out of the bucket, so I did not have to clean it when I was finished.
Over this trip I found the Pocket Bucket extremely useful. It was great to filter water right from camp, and it was nice to leave the bucket full overnight so I had water for coffee ready to go in the morning. Filling the bucket in mountainside creeks was easy enough to do. If the water was especially shallow the bucket could not fill more than halfway, but that amount was more than enough for most of the tasks I needed to do. Doing laundry in the Pocket Bucket was as easy as washing dishes. I saved laundry for the last full day of our trip, and washed out some socks and my hiking shirt. I put a few drops of biodegradable soap in a ½ full bucket and dunked the clothes right in plunging them a number of times and scrubbing them against themselves. I dumped the water, refilled the bucket and rinsed the clothes, then rinsed the bucket a couple of times, and wiped it down with my pack towel. My last day of clothing smelled like new after it had dried in the sun.
What I like:
1 – Simple design keeps the weight low.
2 – Makes Leave No Trace camping easy.
What I Did Not Like:
1 – Lacks stability on its own, which causes spills.
Summary
My experience with the Seattle Sports Pocket Bucket was a positive one overall. The benefits that this product gave at the campsite more than made up for the extra weight in my pack to get it there. Especially since the Pocket Bucket weighs so little. I’ve found this item to be very useful, and while it might not have the best stability, it made my life on the trail more enjoyable.
Read more reviews of Seattle Sports gear
Read more gear reviews by Matt Mauceri
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