Stand Tall and Pee with Confidence

Amy Cuddy is a social psychologist, author, Harvard lecturer, and public speaker that did a TED talk years ago on body language and how power poses can boost your confidence. These are postures that encourage you to be big and tall and take up space. For example, standing up straight with outstretched arms overhead. Doing this might make you feel confident, proud, or invincible. Compare that to sitting down, arms folded, body hunched forward. Are you hiding something, ashamed, or scared?

I have tried some of these power poses when I’m feeling insecure to give me a mental boost and stretch. For me, they work. They give me a moment to breathe and give my brain a distraction. I feel like I’ll be seen and taken seriously. And this is just with Karl. (I’m joking, of course) . 

After hiking the West Coast Trail (WCT) in August, I believe I’ve discovered the ultimate power pose. Peeing standing up. Yep, you heard me correctly. Right now, you’re probably wondering where I’m going with this. Keep reading.

For us ladies, doing number 1 outside (or is it number 3 because it rhymes with pee? I never got the number 1 thing) means hiding behind whatever you can find, shrinking down so no one sees you, and mucking up your shoes. Not only is this a vulnerable position to be in, but most of the girls I know feel embarrassed about having to go to the bathroom in the first place because it might inconvenience the people you’re with.

On the WCT, you get to leave all of that behind. You realize quickly that the trail is often very narrow, muddy, rocky, or borders a cliff. There really is no place to go off-trail to do your business. Plus there are bears around. And when you walk along the beach, there is nothing to hide behind. You are exposed. In the campsites, you can use the old, well-used, composting toilets. Some have doors that you have to pick up and move out of the way to get in and then move back for privacy. And, they smell, even though wood chips are used to help with composting. One more thing, no toilet paper.

This is where female urination devices or pee funnels come in. These are devices that you slip into your pants that hang out so that you can pee standing up. You might be thinking this would be weird to use or gross to carry around but hear me out. Every time I used mine on a back-country camping trip, I was giddy and felt strangely powerful. I must have said to Karl a gazillion times that it revolutionized my life.

Let me explain. I have a pStyle. I found out about it from a girlfriend who travels in her car a lot. When COVID hit, most of the public restrooms and outhouses were closed. She found herself in places where she had nowhere to go. The pStyle changed her life and reduced her travel anxiety. 

The pStyle is a hard, smooth, plastic funnel that slips in and out of your pants easily and when you pull it out, it catches any last drops, so there is no mess. The device dries in two seconds and there is no residual odor. You can buy a cotton cover for it to protect it from dust and dirt and the cover includes a carabiner for easy attachment to your backpack.

I used the pStyle on the WCT and became quite proficient with it. I was able to use it without taking off my 32-pound backpack and it shaved the time it took me to go to the bathroom by at least 70%. On the WCT, we had seven people in our group and were slow going at times because of trail conditions and obstacles, so this, at least, ensured I peed as fast as the guys.

I loved my pStyle so much that when I got home, I immediately bought a second. One stays with my camping gear now and the other in my purse. I’m often surprised how many times I’ve been somewhere with no toilet around. Just a few weeks ago, we were on a trail outside of Bend, Oregon and they had just closed the restrooms for the season. It didn’t help that I’d drank a lot of coffee that morning. Thankfully we were in the middle of nowhere and no one was around. Also, a friend mentioned that the pStyle is a game changer for outdoor venues with outhouses, especially ones with urinals. No more squatting with your head next to the urinal. Yuck!

Other girls in our WCT group used the Freshette. The Freshette is a two-piece system consisting of a funnel and tube. Both these friends liked the Freshette well enough as far as using it. One was able to use it to pee into a bottle in the middle of the night when she didn’t want to venture out of her tent in the cold or get her feet wet at the ocean’s edge. Freshette comes with a plastic bag that one of the girls replaced because it started looking a bit worn after several uses.

Our conclusion was that these devices were must-haves! By the way, the names of some of them are pretty funny. There's Shewee, GoGirl, and one of my favorites, The Tinkle Belle, plus many others.

So maybe, just maybe, you’re thinking you might want to try one of these. Allow me to share some advice that will get you to “where have you been all my life” quickly.

1. Practice. Don’t use your device for the first time on a camping trip. Try it out in the shower and build trust that it is going to do its job. You might notice a small delay as pee moves through the funnel and feel like you’re doing it wrong, but you’re not.
2. Practice a bit more. Once you get the feel of it in the shower, try using it outside where you can easily shower and change your clothes if things go sour. One thing I’ve discovered is that most people have a pee bush in their yard. Yep, you heard that right. It is that bush that is out of sight from your neighbors and gets watered when kids don’t want to go inside to pee or you arrive home after a late night drinking and you can’t make it into the house. Anyway, if you have a pee bush, take advantage of it at night. :-)
3. When hiking or camping, don’t wait until your bladder is bursting to use it. Rushing things is when mishaps occur. For example, if you have a two-piece system, you might assemble it poorly if in a hurry. Also, some of the lightweight, quick-dry underwear is so light that if you’re not paying attention, you could easily place the device between your underwear and pants and not realize it. It does happen! Slow down and make sure you position it correctly.
4. Try different devices. If you aren’t sure which device would work for you, try a few different ones. Some devices are better if using in a tent and with a bottle. If this is important, then consider one with a flexible tube.

Well, if you're not convinced by now, let me share one more power pose that surpassed them all. It was peeing next to Karl at the ocean's edge (below the tide line, of course). It was a clear night with stars in the sky, and the waves gently lapping our feet. At this moment, we were equals. 

Pee tall and carry a urination device. Bye for now, friends!