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Seattle Sports
Pocket Bucket Long Term Report
October 11, 2004
Thomas Vickers
36 years old
Male
5 feet 11 inches tall (1.8 meters)
170 lb (77 kg)
redroach@pobox.com
Southeast Texas, Houston Area
Background:
I grew up in the piney woods
of southeast Texas. Camping was a quick trip into the mosquito-infested woods behind the
house. I started hiking in my college years
and my style has evolved over the past 17 years - from my discovery, heavy gear, period
(internal frame packs, sleeping bags and tents) to - believe it or not - heavier, more
expensive gear. Over the last 3 or 4 years, I
have begun to take a lighter weight approach to hiking gear (I still use sleeping bags and
tents, just lighter versions) and I have rediscovered the pleasure that can be involved in
being outdoors with your gear. While I have flirted
with lightweight hiking, I feel that I am more of a mid -weight hiker now. My philosophy
is one of comfort, while carrying the lightest load possible
Manufacturer Details:
Website: www.seattlesportsco.com
Weight: 4.5 oz (128 g)
Colors: NA
Capacity: 3 US gal (11 L)
Diameter: 9.5 in (24 cm)
Height: 10.5 in (27 cm)
Year of Manufacture: 2004
Details from Tester: (all measurements are approximate)
Weight: 3.5 oz (99 g)
Color: Blue with Black bottom
Capacity: 3 US gal (11 L)
Diameter: 9.5 in (24 cm)
Height: 10.5 in (27 cm)
Testing Location:
So far I have been able to test the sports bucket in three locations:
Southeast Texas – Little or no
altitude.
Arkansas (Eagle Rock Loop Trail) – Altitudes of 500–2000 ft (152 to 610 m)
Colorado (Flat Tops) - Altitudes of 9,500-11,500 ft (2,869-3,505 m)
The trips have ranged in length from simple overnight
stays, a three day trip in Arkansas and five days in Colorado.
Testing:
Hiker
#1:"When you fall in the creek I am going to laugh."
Hiker #2:"If I fall in the creek, I am going to throw a rock at you." |
It was an exchange of this manner that led me to a breakthrough moment with the Seattle
Sports Pocket Bucket this summer in Colorado. Now, I am not big on hiking
hygiene, but every now and then I get the urge to clean myself in a stream. I
was striped to my skivvies, one foot on dry ground and one foot on a rock in a mountain
stream, and trying to practice a little hygiene while balancing when my moment of
inspiration struck.
I found my Pocket Bucket, filled it about half full with stream water, then carried it
over near the fire. Despite my campmate's grimaces of distaste, I managed a half-way
decent bath within warming distance of the fire.
I know that my little performance struck a cord with one of my campmates because later in
the day, after our evening meal, I caught him using the bucket as a sink to
wash dishes in after a meal. He didn't want to risk falling in the stream in the
dark, so he simply put water in the bucket and used it to wash our dishes. Not a use
I would have thought of myself, and not the easiest one to pull off. He managed to knock
it over at least two times before he got the idea that less water was better and got the
dishes clean.
This set the tone for the use of the Pocket Bucket during my entire stay in Colorado.
If it needed to be washed, and I would rather sit near the fire and wash it, rather
than risk a slip into the stream, then the Pocket Bucket came out and was used as a
portable sink. People, dishes, socks, and shirts were washed this way while sitting
around the fire during my stay on the Flat Tops. Being in Colorado just seemed to
bring out the best in the Seattle Sports Pocket Bucket.
For once I could honestly say that I packed everything in my backpack, including the
kitchen sink.
I also like the versatility that the Seattle Sports Pocket Bucket brings into my camp.
In Colorado I was able to cook with the group's two large pots and filter water
from the bucket while tending the stoves. This allowed me to take care of two tasks
at once rather than having to cook, then wander down to the stream to filter water later
on. It was very nice to have water on hand just in case I ran low while cooking. If
I came up short, I just filtered a little more out of the Pocket Bucket.
While on the Flat Tops there was no way to hang food, so I slept with it. On my way
up and on my way down though, I managed to find yet another use for this wonderful item.
My usual strategy relies on hanging my entire pack from a tree with para-cord. It
can turn out to be a pretty futile experiment, but this time I came up with a different
approach. I was able to put my food sack, bowl, spoon, and toiletries in the Pocket
Bucket, hook the para-cord to the handle, and easily hoist it up out of varmint range.
Of course this "Eureka" moment came after watching one of my campmates
spend nearly an hour on some insane and totally useless attempt to hang his food out of
varmint range. After the laughter died down, the food in a pocket bucket idea came
to me.
Perhaps the best thing I have used the Sports Bucket for is hauling water to extinguish
fires. This is always a problem when I hike since I never have a container big
enough to carry a decent amount of water. If I am on a trip with a large group, our
cooking pot usually does this job, but when alone I never have what I need. Now I
have just what I need and more. Not only can I carry large amounts of water easily
(50 yards (46 m) has been my longest haul), but I can do it with an item that takes up
almost no room in my pack.
The Sports bucket was also lightweight enough to make it into the pack that I carried for
day hikes in Colorado. Our group of six hikers shared two packs on these hikes and
we each shoved in what ever gear that we thought would be useful. On one
occasion someone headed back to camp early and wound up with the filter while the
rest of us were still out hiking. We ran out of water and were a bit concerned till I
found the bucket in the pocket of the pack I was carrying. Water got scooped into
the bucket, iodine tablets were dropped in and we enjoyed lunch while the chemicals did
their thing. After the iodine was neutralized, the water was scooped and poured out
of the pocket bucket into various other containers.
This really saved the entire group a great deal of effort and allowed us to purify a large
batch of water all at once. Best of all, the use of iodine tablets did not
leave any lasting stains in the bucket. Besides some dirt and scuff marks, it still
looks almost new.
The last use I found for the Pocket Bucket was as a waterproof pocket for wet clothes.
When I returned to the trailhead in Colorado, I had wet socks, wet shorts, and a
wet shirt that were all stuffed in the Pocket Bucket. I then rolled the top of the
bucket over and stashed it in my pack. Nothing like hiding stinky wet trail clothes
in your water bucket.
The only claim I haven't tried out is the dishwasher safe hype. Something in me
fears for the bucket and I really don't want to destroy it to prove a point. It might come
out safe, but I would rather have it to haul water with during my fall hikes.
Construction:
I have not been abnormally abusive to the Seattle Sports Pocket Bucket, but I have put it
through the paces during the test period. No rips, tears, or serious abrasions have
appeared and all of the stitching is intact after many water carrying trips. I
have to give the Pocket Bucket a passing grade on its durability and construction.
Final Assessment:
The Seattle Sports Pocket Bucket is not the most flashy or exciting piece of gear I have
used, but it is one of the most useful. It is lightweight, durable, functional and
stuffs into almost any left over space in a pack. I have been able to fold and stuff
it into pretty much any pocket or space in my pack without a problem.
At this point I can't imagine leaving home without this piece of equipment. It has
too many uses on hiking trips and this easily justifies the weight in my pack.
Hauling water, purifying water, and washing dishes will all be easy as long as I have the
Seattle Sports Pocket Bucket on my gear list. Most importantly, the Pocket Bucket
allows me to do most of these tasks while in a nice comfortable environment, such as near
my fire. It is just like taking the kitchen sink, only lighter weight and easier to fold
up.
Read more reviews of Seattle Sports gear
Read more gear reviews by Thomas Vickers
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