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

BACKPACKING BACKGROUND
Over the last several years, I have become an ultralight camper with a three-season base pack weight of about 15 lb (7 kg) and skin out weight of 23 lb (10 1/2 kg). I have completed many section hikes on the Appalachian Trail (AT) in all four seasons, with a total mileage of about 570 miles (918 km). I am a gearhead, a hammock camper, and make much of my own equipment.

PRODUCT INFORMATION
Manufacturer: Seattle Sports
Year Manufactured: 2004
Manufacturer's Link: http://www.seattlesportsco.com/
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)

TEST CONDITIONS
I have used the Pocket Bucket on several section hikes on the AT, for a total of about four 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
Much more than a water carrying device, this durable bucket has become my in-pack waterproof hiding spot, and my washing machine on the trail. It is also a collector for those items that are small and do not have another home in my pack. The picture above shows what I carried on my latest section hike.

For a detailed description of the bucket, see my Initial Report.

This lightweight bucket is much more useful than I ever suspected. It has held up to the test of time, miles, and use.  It remains completely waterproof with no degradation of the material, no flaking of the seams, and no thread wear of the handle's connection with the bucket.  I am hard pressed to find any wear to tell it from a brand new bucket.

I have frequently thought about each item I am carrying in my pack.  Because I have walked in the rain a good deal, I have thought about my options if there is failure of one waterproof membrane or another.  In the end, almost nothing in the pack will be harmed if it gets wet.  All I need to do is dry something like a sleeping bag or hammock, and it comes back to full usefulness. However, I presume a few things would be ruined if they ever get really wet.  Electronics are on this list, but so are fire starting supplies such as matches.

As I wrote in the field report, I pack the bucket, every hiking morning, in the top of my pack. Inside the bucket, I place all items 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.

Every few days, 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 every other 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 camp 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. I know just where in the bucket I will find my headlamp, a tea candle, and fire starting materials.

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.

And with this report, it's time to put this test series to rest - fortunately, the bucket makes a pretty good pillow!