Thread: Shaving in the Field

I camp in the Rockies frequently since it's my back yard, and just for kicks I took along some shaving supplies this past summer just to see how it might work. Normally I wouldn't dream of shaving while camping but curiosity got the best of me.

I found that making lather is a luxury when camping. If you can swing it, pick up some Crema Cream (it's lather-less shave cream - and VERY good). A hand held mirror works but I use my extra hand a lot when shaving (puling skin, etc) so I found various ways to angle the mirror in a tree, on rocks, and other places. As far as a strop, a paddle strop is a must. You can take your hanging strop but why risk dinging it on a tree? Using a bench strop is OK too. Finally, do NOT take your best razor. Things happen in the field so take a blade you won't mind dinging up too much. As someone mentioned Wapis were made specifically for military use and probably will handle the abuse very well - stainless scales are pretty tough!

As an aside, you CAN simply use olive oil as a shave cream in a pinch. Even heard about someone using peanut butter but I have my doubts about that. Experiment with things around the house that you can use as shaving cream that don't require hot water to make work well. It will likely have to contain mostly oil though. Finally, since you may not have ready access to hot or freezing cold water you'll still need an after shave balm at least. Otherwise the next few hours are a little uncomfortable. Any old skin balm will probably work. Aftershave will work but you may not want to walk around the bush emitting a scent that strong.

Experiment around the house for a few days. From face preparation to after the shave including preparing as well as cleaning up afterward. You'll probably find a home-brew kit that you can put together easily as well as make compact.

There may be some "kit" designed for the field but I haven't found one yet. If you locate one please post about it here! I'm still trying to perfect my camping setup just in case I feel the need to shave when living out of a tent.