Thread: Razors for Camping?

the idea of shaving while camping AT ALL is odd to me... half the fun of a long stint in the wilderness is the way you look and smell at the end... like a filthy filthy hobo.

i remember a few years back, my dad and i were backpacking along the AT, we got to a part of the trail where there were a bunch of dayhikers, and they could instantly tell that we were thruhikers. whether it was the stench or the beards, i'll never know but there you have it.

i might consider shaving it i am carcamping, but never ever for backpacking. every ounce you add that isn't vital is an ounce of food or water you don't get to bring along. for car camping it might be fun; heat up water with a stove, shave in the reflection of one of your car's mirrors or something. but when i'm backpacking i don't even bring a stove usually, let alone a bunch of toiletries. plus i'd be worried about the scent of the soap. most of the rangers i've spoken to advise not using ANY scent, not even deoderant, for fear of attracting bears.

Exactly!

I think we should distinguish between 'civilized' camping (think car, caravaning, paid camp sites with hot running water etc) and 'bush' camping (think boy scouts, hunting, backpacking). For the latter: less is more.

But I'm one of those people that uses a straight razor especially when car camping: unlike the rest of the year, that's when I've got all the time in the world to endulge in a good shave and all it entails. What's nicer than slowly waking up from sunlight instead of an alarm clock, taking a dive for morning shower while water for tea and shave gets heated on the revived grill fire, and taking a lazy hour to shave in a tiny mirror dangling from a tree, amidst a sunny mediterranean landscape, accompanied by happy unkown bird songs?

There are times when I shave with something other than a straight - but certainly not in circumstances described above.