Reviews > Hydration Systems > Buckets > Seattle Sports Pocket Bucket > Rick Allnutt III > Field Report

Pocket Bucket
Field Report by Rick Allnutt

PERSONAL BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Rick Allnutt
51 Year old male
6' 0'' (183 cm) in height
190 lbs (86 kg) in weight
US hat size: 7 or 7 1/8
Email address: ra1 (at) imrisk (dot) com
I live in Dayton, Ohio

BACKPACKING BACKGROUND
Over the last 24 months, I have gone from being a heavy-weight (2 Duluth
Pack) canoe camper to a three-season base pack weight of about 11 lb (5
kg) and skin out weight of 20 lb (9 kg). I have completed many section
hikes on the AT in all four seasons, with a total mileage of nearly 450
miles (725 km). I am an ultralight hiker, a gearhead, a hammock camper,
and make much of my own equipment.

PRODUCT INFORMATION
Manufacturer: Seattle Sports
Year Manufactured: 2004
Manufacturer's Link: Seattle Sports
Listed Weight: 4.5 oz (125 g)
Measured Weight: 2.8 oz (78 g) [considerably lighter than advertised]
Listed height: 10.5 in (26.7 cm)
Measured height: 9.75 in (24.8 cm) [considerably shorter than advertised]
Listed diameter: 9.5 in (24.0 cm)
Measured diameter: 9.5 in (24.0 cm)
Review Date: 8 June 2004

TEST CONDITIONS
I have used the Pocket Bucket on several section hikes on the AT, for a total of about two full weeks of hikes; in rain, sun, heat, and cold. It continues to function well and has given me no problems at all. It remains leak free. Temperatures have ranged from below freezing to about 90 F (32 C).

REVIEW
For a detailed description of the bucket, see my initial report.

This lightweight bucket is much more useful than I ever suspected. That's surprising to me, especially considering that I never used the bucket for the use I thought was most obvious!

I pack the bucket, every hiking morning, in the top of my pack. Inside the bucket, I place whatever electronics I want to absolutely protect from water. If the weather looks good, I will keep some of them (camera, Pocketmail device, etc.) in the netting on the outside of my pack. However, with the first thunder grumble, all electronics go into the bucket. It gets rolled up, and then placed in my pack. If a drop of water avoids my pack cover, waterproof pack, and waterproof foam pad, it will be stopped by the multiple layers of the rolled bucket.

Sometime during the mid-afternoon, if the weather has been warm and dry, I stop at a spring for some cleaning up. Out comes the bucket. I put enough water in the bucket to cover my fist along with a few drops of liquid soap. With this small amount of water in the bucket, it demonstrates none of the instability I found on my initial report when the bucket was full. With the soapy water, I wash my shirt and kilt (or shorts) in the soapy water, using the shirt as a washcloth to give my skin a rinse too.

I pour the soapy water into the brush about 50 paces (one pace equals two steps) from the spring, and then get a fresh load of water to rinse the clothes. After wringing them out, they go back on to be dried by my body heat, air conditioning me in the process. In cold weather, I wash the clothes less often, but still use the bucket to take a sponge bath about once a day. This seems to keep my skin healthy and, beyond that, gives me a fresh outlook on any little problem that has been bugging me.

After the washing chores, I wipe out the bucket with a camping towel. The wet bucket is hung on the outside of the pack for a half hour until dry, and then goes back in the pack, around my electronic toys.

At the end of the day's journey, as I unpack all the contents of the pockets on the pack, the bucket becomes the repository for all those items, allowing me to "put everything in its place" among the confusing bustle of a group of hikers all unpacking together. While cooking supper, the bucket is where I put my spoon, pot gripper, matches, and fire starter. Just before bed, everything comes out of my pockets and all those items go into the bucket as well. Finally, just before suspending my pack from a mouse hanger, the bucket is shoved into the pack where everything will be neatly collected for quick packing the next morning.

The bucket has been useful all day. The day ends with nary a worry about where anything might have been left. 

Notice that I have not used it to carry drinking water, which I thought would be the primary use.

LONG TERM TESTING PLAN
I will continue to test the bucket for multiple uses. I may even get around to carrying water in it.

Reviews > Hydration Systems > Buckets > Seattle Sports Pocket Bucket > Rick Allnutt III > Field Report