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

Pocket Bucket
Initial Report by Rick Allnutt

PERSONAL BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Rick Allnutt
50 Year old male
6' 0'' (183 cm) in height
198 lb (90 kg) in weight
Email address: ra1 (at) imrisk (dot) com
I live in Dayton, Ohio

BACKPACKING BACKGROUND
Over the last 20 months, I have gone from being a heavyweight (2 Duluth Pack) canoe camper to a three-season base pack weight of about 9 lb (4 kg) and skin out weight of 20 lb (9 kg). I have completed 7 ultralight section hikes on the Appalachian Trail (AT) with a total mileage of over 250 miles (403 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: 13 April 2004

REVIEW
The pocket bucket seems a little larger in real life than I expected from the web site.  Other than that, it is just as I expected from the Internet site.  The handle is made from webbing. It feels like nylon or polyester.  The blue body of the bucket is made from polyurethane coated nylon.  The bottom is made of black coated nylon.  All seams are overlapped and welded closed.  The top rim is hemmed and the webbing handle is sewn to the hem with stitching.  

The hangtag says that the bucket has a 3 gallon capacity.  The picture above shows the bucket with two gallons in it, which is a very manageable load.  It does hold 3 gallons to the brim.  

The tag says it folds to the size of a deck of cards.  Well, not quite.  It does fold to the size of a large box of matches and will fit in my pocket.  It is shown folded below, slipped in the handle of a gallon jug.  

The first use I put the bucket to was carrying water.  The handle feels comfortable in my hand with two gallons of water in the bucket.  When I put the bucket on a flat surface, it is quite stable and will rest on its own.  However, if the surface is not flat and especially if it is sloped, the bucket has a tendency to quickly become unstable, spilling all its contents.  In my field tests, I will determine how often this is a problem.  

The second use I found for the bucket was as a rainproof container.  On a several hour day hike, I placed my camera, pocket mail machine, and maps in the bucket and then folded over the top like a dry bag.  It did a great job of keeping my electronics dry, even though they were in an outside mesh pocket of my pack in the rain.

TEST PLAN

I will use the Pocket Bucket to:
- Carry water. I will determine how easy it might be to fill from a small dripping spring. I will evaluate it for waterproofness. I will test its pliability in very cold and very warm weather. I will see if the coated cloth imparts any noticeable taste to water. When the weather gets cold overnight, how well does the bucket do to store water which may form a skim of ice over the surface? I will pay special attention to the tendency of the bucket to fall over on sloped surfaces.  
- Wash in. I will especially be interested in washing clothing away from a stream so the suds do not get into the stream, fouling it downstream. For cold weather, I am interested in warming water with a stove for a washcloth bath, away from the stream's edge. For warmer weather, how well does the bucket work as a shower?
- General camp chores. Carrying twigs for the stove, carrying wet clothes back to camp to dry, carrying groceries when stopping by a store: Does it hold up, stay new looking, and keep working for all these tasks?

My plan is specifically designed to test the bucket for multiple tasks, a requirement for inclusion in an ultralight backpack.
 
TEST CONDITIONS
In  May I will be able to test bucket on the cold tops of the southern Appalachians. In the 3 months of summer, the increased need for water to prevent dehydration will test the carrying capability of the bucket as I carry water from springs, often up to a half-mile from a campsite. As the fall approaches, the opportunity to test the bucket in truly cold temperatures will arise again.

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