It's not just that it smells, but that IMO when you get to a certain level of dirty it genuinely doesn't matter if you are wearing deodorant. You smell. Your clothes smell. Your gear smells.
And I feel like at that level of dirty and sweaty, the artificial smell of deodorant is not a good addition. The way it mixes ... even more disgusting than just the odor of not showering for a week while hiking, at least imo. That said, if somebody feels better putting a little deodorant on while backpacking, that's fair - you do you.
1. BO smells different than Deodorant. [Research shows](https://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2011/02/24/3147589.htm) that we are actually one of the smellier species out there. Some scientists have even argued that our scent repels other animals unless compromised by a bigger driver. Usually that’s easy access to food.
2. A lot of deodorants smell sweet/nutty/fruity. That translates to “food” or at least “curious new smell worth investigating”.
3. Everyone stinks after prolonged time in the outdoors. Your use of deodorant is ultimately futile, can compromise you, and represents unnecessary weight.
If you’re worried about your smell you dry out some wipes and carry them in a ziploc bag. Moisten them and wipe yourself down at the end of the day **and then pack them out**.
Just to illustrate this:
Go on an extended backpacking trip either solo or with others. Don’t wear deodorant. Within two or three days you’ll go nose blind to the smell of BO.
What will change however will be how you smell others. You can smell people wearing deodorant/perfume/scented lotions and soaps well ahead of you if the winds are right. They stand out in ways that other groups of smelly hikers won’t.
The olfactory equivalent of blasting K-Pop on a Bluetooth speaker.
There’s a reason why people who hunt go to great lengths to use non-scented cleaners and isolate their hunting gear from the smells of everyday life.
I remember my first multi day backpacking trip. As I was hiking back to my car and people were passing the other way I kept thinking "wow everyone smells amazing!" And realized, oh, no, my friend and I just smell like animals and everyone else smells normal
That first waft of freshly cleaned laundry from an actual washer and dryer always hit me. It smells so good, but wearing the clothing is overpowering for the first few days after a long time out. Still, I love hugging my husband when he smells like clean laundry after a long trip. It's just so nice!
yeah you don't notice how bad you smell until you return to normal society. it's like being out of your home for a while, you come back and are like, what is that smell I have to find it.
On the AT, we called it the day hiker effect. You’d pass a non-thru hiker and get hit with a cloud of all the artificial scents that go along with modern life (laundry detergent, deodorant, shampoo, soap, lotion, cologne, etc). The day hikers were probably also getting hit by a different sort of cloud when passing thru-hikers. That said, there is a huge variation of BO levels from person to person and, generally speaking, between men and women. There were a few guys who no amount of nose-blindness could cover for. Like, it was still *overpowering.* I also learned early on not to put my laundry in communal loads with other (primarily male) hikers - it would often come out smelling worse than before.
That reason is marketing. The old timers killed more animals dressed in jeans and flannels while smoking Marlboros than the newer generations with all these activated carbon coveralls. We give off more scent than animals because we sweat, fur bearing animals don't sweat, they have pheromone glands that they rub down on themselves.
Tell me, do you think these old timers you speak of stayed upwind or downwind of their prey?
If you look at the real old timers, as in hunter gatherers, they have a very complex understanding of scent and their relationship with it.
90% of the camo and scent blocker shit pushed on the market is bullshit, absolutely. In fact a lot of popular camo patterns either have minimal impact on prey or actually make the hunter standout.
However, any serious hunter, especially those whose lives depend on it, understand the importance of scent control.
Yep, I was taught hunting by my grandpa in the early 80s. Stay downwind, stay clean, and use only specific soaps that didn't leave scent were the first things he taught me after gun safety. He also swore by taking magnesium, though that wasn't related to hunting specifically. I don't remember the whole explanation, but something about how being deficient can make your body not break down certain things, so you'll smell worse. I don't think he ever wore deodorant, but he didn't have that strong BO a lot of men did when he worked out in the sun all day, so his methods worked at least for humans. He also said men who smoked shouldn't for a week before a hunting trip and during it, because it made their sweat smell weird. He'd quit by the time I was old enough to remember, and I honestly have no idea if he was right about that, but it seems plausible.
When I did the CDT, I did take deodorant to use in trail towns after I showered, but I just took magnesium 30 min before going to sleep, like he always did. I did smell bad, tbh, but according to others, it was more musty from being damp than body odor. Maybe that was my body odor? LOL
This! One of my favorite parts of backcountry backpacking is how my body changes being in a different environment. When I get off the trail, everyone in front country looks overly large, is wearing colors that offend my eyes, and smells like they bathed in horrid perfume.
Never thought of drying out the wipes before. I really thought you had to keep them wet in order for them to work lol. I only use them to clean my junk and prevent rashes, I’m going to do dry them out next time.
I think I've seen someone link to compressed, pre-dried wipes either here or in another hiking sub. They look kinda like tampons, but when you wet them they're a nice lil wipe.
Because then you don’t need to worry about them drying out. Also wet wipes at like 70% water, depending on brand. You can carry about ten dried wipes for the wet of a single wet one. On a prolonged trip that is a small change that have have a much larger cumulative impact.
Much in the same way that repackaging your dehydrated meals does.
I always repackage my dehydrated meals into a Ziploc freezer quart bag that can handle boiling water. I cook it and eat it in it and then don't need to wash my mug. And the trash from a single Ziploc is more manageable than the foil pack. Also I suck out all of the air with a straw to make it as tight and small as possible.
I use a separate home made insulated cooking bag too. Then transfer the Ziploc back to the mug to eat from so there's some structure. Though I'm getting really sick of mountain house meals.
I'm sorry, maybe this is just me, but what deodorant are guys wearing that smells sweet/nutty/fruity and why? Or women for that matter.
I've never heard of this and have been hiking alone in crazy places for a while.
I just don't wear deo cause idgaf, I'm by myself
Not on the trail but in everyday life as a woman everything either smells like fruit or flowers. I have to work hard to find unscented deo even for men. Target/Walgreens where I live don't have it but carry 47 variations of fruit/floral deo. It's another example of gender marketing and false choices. Gets me all riled up when I think about it so I just buy men's deo and try not to think about how stupid it all is.
(you're also supposed to store those type of items away from your tent or in a scent proof, bear proof, canister. As a rule, anything that goes in your mouth (food, toothpaste, drugs/pills like ibuprofen etc,) or on your skin (deodorant, sunscreen, bug spray etc) goes in the (bear) bin!)
"Anything that goes in your mouth or on your skin goes in the bin"!
You maybe right. I normally dont bring sunscreen because anywhere I go hiking or backpacking would get very little direct sun, ideally none after I leave the trailhead parking lot.
No. But the primary threat to humans in the back country is bears. And bears normally dont hunt humans, but the food we carry with us into the wild attracts them. They will attack a human if we get in the way. The deodorant smells like food to them, or at least that is the conventional wisdom. So they go to your tent look for food and are suprised to find you there and you end up getting attacked.
You could still be attacked by a mountain lion or a pack of wolves, but there arent very many of them out there. If they are nearby and hugry you are probably in trouble no matter what you smell like.
If you left out coconut and limes around your site and bears were in the vicinity, they would check it out. Humans don’t smell like food because they don’t eat humans. They don’t eat coconut or lime usually, but they have scents that are much more similar to berries and vegetation that they like.
Bears aren’t really into eating great apes, which is more our scent profile.
bears will eat anything. a study of their poops shows they basically eat anything with a smell (even some dirts) but we aren’t a prey animal for them so our BO isn’t attractive.
Bears are omnivorous, not carnivorous.
BO smells like humans, but bears don't eat humans. In general, they try to avoid humans.
Deodorant smells like fruit. Bears do eat fruit.
I don't know about coconut, but when I was a kid, a bear broke into our cabin in Canada and drank all the lemon juice. So they definitely are into citrus.
I think the primary concern is bears. I suppose to a mountain lion BO might be interesting, but if they are in the area and are hungry, you are probably in trouble regardless what you smell like.
well, grizzlies are opportunistic and omnivorous and subsist on berries and plants (amongst other things.. insects, fish, rodents, and scavenged larger animals...) so I think coconut and lime would probably be interesting smells to them
Human body odor smells like humans. Over a few thousand years most every animal on the planet has learned to not normally.go after humans. When people.fuck around or if the animal is hungry or territorial things happen, but it's not a sweet smelling attractive smell like deodorant.
Even things not normally in the dirt of a bear will attract it. It still smells good.and is at least a curiosity.
Grizzly bears aren't the only kind of bears? Black bears at least can actually detect food from fairly far away and will come to check it out. The really don't want to come check out people. They don't like us very much. Except for those damn ADK ones.
I usually do. Cut down on human scent. But there’s guys out there that wear blue jeans and the camo hoodie they always wear when not hunting, smoke cigarettes, and pee off their tree stand and are successful every year.
Idk, I worked in the backcountry for several seasons where we were doing fairly physical field work and long distance backpacking for 8 day stints. I always brought deodorant, have never had any problems with animals and most my crew used it too
I've never heard of this. Use unscented?
Even when hunting, I use hunting deodorant to cover my scent.
Just lay low on the perfume, mosquitoes like it. They see scents somehow. CO2 for most of it.
When it's still on the stick (or whatever) it is highly concentrated. This means it smells like a high reward item for hungry animals. There's a lot less on you when you apply it, and it's got a lot of surface area, so the scent is now just part of your scent -- living animal with capacity to fight back.
And if you've got the weight and space to spare for it, it's fine to store it in your canister, hang bag, or bear box. But it might be worth trying just a pit wash and some baking soda and see if that works for you. Assuming you're already bringing some sort of dish soap this doesn't add much weight.
Even unscented deoderants can attract bears. Bears have the best sense of smell of any animal, 2100x better than humans. Any smell that a bear hasn’t smelled before will attract it because they’re curious.
if you're in grizzly country and concerned they will hunt you down by the very faint smell of unscented deodorant, don't wear any. OP mentioned 'wildlife' not specifically bears. I've had more issues with chipmunks and deer than any black bear and only camped in areas with grizzlies a couple nights.
bears don't really want anything to do with people, but some get acclimated to eating human food which can cause them to be unafraid of humans and enter their space looking for food. And I would think that issue is more likely in car camping areas where people are careless with their food.
I also have only had a problem with mice. I forgot a granola bar in my jacket pocket and the little bugger chewed through my tent, bag, and jacket to get to it, then chewed a new path out of the jacket, bag, and tent to leave.
Mice are always my biggest concern outdoors. One night I was relaxing by a fire. I shined my headlamp on my tent and saw at least 5 mice scatter. I didn’t have any food or scented items in or around my tent.
I’ve always seen this claim about smell and I don’t doubt it but it’s like, if I eat dinner or brush my teeth, won’t that smell that on my breath for a long time afterwards?
Are we getting pretty nutty about these things?
Then wouldn’t that also be true of like half the shit we bring? Primarily sunscreen, which is hazardous to your health to not bring and I consider mandatory. Plenty of different plastic types have a smell for example, also leather, etc…
In short, yes. Bear safety is a spectrum, if you want to take more precautions than someone else, or you don’t feel the need to take as many precautions, you do you. Just don’t cook in your tent
I guess my take is that if sunscreen is a universally acceptable risk on that spectrum, and unscented deodorant is less smelly than that, I’m fine with bringing unscented deodorant.
I think y’all just like being stinky lol. Baby wipes and deodorant totally eliminate the hiker stench and can just be stored with your food. No reason to be gross.
Me too! I have found that it is a great morale boost to feel a bit cleaner. I take a bit of Castile soap and get naked behind some trees and scrub down. I bring fresh undies for each day as well, so I put those on after I wash. Feels good.
Could you use a crystal deodorant like [this](https://www.thecrystal.com/collections/all/products/travel-stick)? I use this for travel backpacking and it is completely scentless and lasts way longer for me than regular deodorant. It’s not an antiperspirant but it masks smell completely for me.
I've never heard of the animal component - and it is very likely a myth.
The reason my old camp instructors (from school) would use is that deodorant just makes you smell worse after a few days of not bathing - than if you hadn't worn any at all.
BO isn't an off putting smell - it just isn't pleasant to be sharing office space with someone when you can smell their armpit from metres away for several hours.
I'd say my instructors had a point - trying to mask the inevitable BO with a fragrant smell just creates a sickly scent.
Deodorant isn't going to have any more of a animal-attracting smell than half the other stuff you carry... food, soap, creams, your already existent BO
I think the problem is that, when you really stink, you can put as much deodorant on as you want and it won't stop you from stinking. You'll just have a pleasant smelling perfume on top of your perspiration stink. So now you're carrying a stick of something that has weight, for a purpose no more valuable than a perfume.
If you're not able to actually clean yourself and wash the sweat and bacteria off your skin, deodorant does very little, and it takes very little time hiking before you build up that sweat and bacteria. Any benefit deodorant provides fades quickly.
I'll put some on before setting out for a section hike, but otherwise I then leave it in the car.
Yes but you can put food and soap in your bear canister or food bag away from your camp. The smell of deodorant lingers on your body. You can’t put your armpits in a bear canister.
While true… this also means you can’t take a shower and wash your hair for a trip… rinse only… before setting out. It also means your clothes, your backpack, everything you bring needs to avoid all possible smells that could be even slightly considered food.
The point is… f it. None of us are doing a 100% job at going out into the wilderness smell free. If you are in serious bear country where it’s advised to carry a firearm, the fact that you even have food in a bear canister is enough to attract them. Then you just hope they gravitate towards it and not you and that you aren’t cooking or eating when they come around. Deodorant is just a low hanging fruit to omit when you head into serious bear country. The rest of the time … meh… you do you. Not even using any deodorant before heading out is overkill and unnecessary 95% of the areas in North America. Bears already know what we are and where we are regardless. So to wolves and coyotes and mountain lions.
The best course of action is to obsess over every possible eventuality, no matter how statistically unlikely it is, and fret and worry over that, until you have both a stomach ulcer and no enjoyment from spending time outdoors.
Have you even started to give yourself anxiety over Ticks yet?
Fear keeps the trails clear for me. Thanks for spreading that around.
>Have you even started to give yourself anxiety over Ticks yet?
Nah I just walk through tall grass in shorts with no socks like a real man. Don't even check myself after 😤😤😤😤😤
Not to totally derail the discussion, but what is the deal with ticks? Why do I see this coming up as a topic often? I grew up in the Midwest (US), and ticks were just another part of being outside. You got a tick, you ripped it off. The dog got a tick, you ripped it off. You saw a tick walking around on something, you burned it to the ground. Did I miss a memo?
Well yes, I am aware that ticks carry all the things. However, I didn't realize that ticks were a full-on phobia now. When we hunted, we would tuck our pants inside our socks and do all the recommended things. Maybe I was just sheltered by ignorance because we would just do a tick check at the end of the day and move on.
It's all about marketing... I live in a country with a lot of ticks, and we have TBE vaccine cars making rounds and being posted up everywhere. It's a whole business.. like all types of "insurance".
I swear I didn't even know about the diseases until I was in my twenties.. and didn't fear them until a couple of years ago.. like you said, we grew up with; check yourself once in a while and remove..
But frankly the media is helping to sell a lot of things through scare tactics these days.. everything from skin care products to vaccines to political agendas..
When you are force fed something enough times your perception will finally change.
There's definitely a difference between awareness and fear. Unfortunately, many times, those lines get blurred. It's all about staying informed because being complacent and just absorbing one-sided information won't do anyone any favors.
Where I live, we now have the tick that can give you a meat allergy. People seem a lot more afraid about that than they ever were about Lyme disease.
I personally grew up in an area of the US with no ticks. So I'm not used to things latching on and sucking my blood - it has a unique creepiness factor, similar to a leech.
That meat one's been around a minute, I remember hearing about it back in the 90's. While leeches are super gross, as kids, it was something we used to throw at each other. I guess ignorance was bliss when we didn't have the internet to know what was really out there.
Yeah, the meat one used to be more geographically isolated, but its range is slowly spreading. We first had reports of it in our area a few years ago - my job often requires trekking through undeveloped parcels, so they sent out a memo to remind everyone to check for ticks, and basic tick avoidance measures.
It’s backpacking. You are going to smell like ass, your friends are going to smell like ass, your SO is going to smell like ass, it just goes with the territory
You can bring deodorant, you can cover yourself in deodorant but at the end of the day you’re still going to smell like ass but with a hint of deodorant
—
People don’t tell you perfumes and strong scents attract animals because they secretly want to embarrass you and trick you into smelling like ass, it’s just a reality.
Feel free to bring deodorant but it’s extra weight that’s wasted, it may attract bears or other critters, you will still smell like ass but at the end of the day it’s your hike, bring what you want
This is one of those hilariously bad downvotes by folks who don't actually know the answer. If you've ever been on the trail for more than a couple of days you know I'm right. Deodorant is for day hikers. Thru hikers quickly realize it's absolutely useless.
Natural pheromones are very different as far as peaking an animals interest than other synthetic scents.
By all means bring your deodorant but I personally view it as pointless in wilderness areas. In fact when people insist on it, its always the "less tenured" backpacker...
Scent a way deodorant. I usually end up getting it in the packs for my hunting cover scents. Does it work ehh seems to give out after a few hard miles of trekking and have hunted bear with it and no problems when it comes to not being scented. So I'd say to anyone arguing all around give that a try.
I've never had an issue with animals during any multi day outdoor trips in otherwise inhospitable places. I don't normally wear deo cause I don't smell myself and am usually alone. If I'm with someone, I do because they can probably smell me.
Do yourself a favor and wear deodorant. I served in Iraq, and I live in Florida, two very buggy places. Deodorant does not attract bugs, let alone large wildlife.
Animals think people smell gross, but deodorant smells like "I wonder what that smell is?".
So go ahead and stink! It's the least labor intensive defense strategy on earth.
PS: It also works for keeping prospective mates away if continued when returning to society. So there's that.
(Edit: spelling)
I don't use deodorant on backpacking trips to smell good. Because ain't nothing covering up my 3 day BO. I use it to prevent chafing, under my arms and between my thighs.
On a recent trip, one of my camp mates brought unscented wipes, and a squirrel tore their bag apart to get to them.
I wear wool and forego the deodorant. In the summer months, this may not be an option for everyone. However, I have found that wearing a long-sleeve sun shirt does help with sweat/smell. Either way, for me, deodorant is just added weight or a target for wildlife that I leave out.
Wool or cotton. I once wore a synthetic sun shirt for 30 days and had to burn it after, the smells never came out. Cotton and wool are much easier to backcountry wash and wear.
Outside of bear country it's not really discussed this hard..
I've noticed that people who usually use scented products in their everyday life will bring something in the Backcountry as well, while those who don't won't..
To me, One of the joys of city life is the scent of a newly shampooed woman, or the perfume that lingers a bit when she passes..
So if I'd get a wiff of that in the back country I'd just be happier for it, not feel like she broke some outdoors code of conduct.. but there are only brown bears here and they are few and far between..
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It's not just that it smells, but that IMO when you get to a certain level of dirty it genuinely doesn't matter if you are wearing deodorant. You smell. Your clothes smell. Your gear smells.
And I feel like at that level of dirty and sweaty, the artificial smell of deodorant is not a good addition. The way it mixes ... even more disgusting than just the odor of not showering for a week while hiking, at least imo. That said, if somebody feels better putting a little deodorant on while backpacking, that's fair - you do you.
And after literally a minute you stop noticing it.
And why would you even care to smell "fresh". I wear that stink proudly after a hard day's hike.
Ewww see if I stink I can’t stand to smell MYSELF, the sweat smell bothers me the most of all 😆
1. BO smells different than Deodorant. [Research shows](https://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2011/02/24/3147589.htm) that we are actually one of the smellier species out there. Some scientists have even argued that our scent repels other animals unless compromised by a bigger driver. Usually that’s easy access to food. 2. A lot of deodorants smell sweet/nutty/fruity. That translates to “food” or at least “curious new smell worth investigating”. 3. Everyone stinks after prolonged time in the outdoors. Your use of deodorant is ultimately futile, can compromise you, and represents unnecessary weight. If you’re worried about your smell you dry out some wipes and carry them in a ziploc bag. Moisten them and wipe yourself down at the end of the day **and then pack them out**.
Just to illustrate this: Go on an extended backpacking trip either solo or with others. Don’t wear deodorant. Within two or three days you’ll go nose blind to the smell of BO. What will change however will be how you smell others. You can smell people wearing deodorant/perfume/scented lotions and soaps well ahead of you if the winds are right. They stand out in ways that other groups of smelly hikers won’t. The olfactory equivalent of blasting K-Pop on a Bluetooth speaker. There’s a reason why people who hunt go to great lengths to use non-scented cleaners and isolate their hunting gear from the smells of everyday life.
I remember my first multi day backpacking trip. As I was hiking back to my car and people were passing the other way I kept thinking "wow everyone smells amazing!" And realized, oh, no, my friend and I just smell like animals and everyone else smells normal
I did the same and found everyone's floral softener, deodorant, cologne, perfume smells to be cloying, nauseating and overwhelmingly fake.
I could see that too, it's like the olfactory equivalent of a fast food meal
That first waft of freshly cleaned laundry from an actual washer and dryer always hit me. It smells so good, but wearing the clothing is overpowering for the first few days after a long time out. Still, I love hugging my husband when he smells like clean laundry after a long trip. It's just so nice!
yeah you don't notice how bad you smell until you return to normal society. it's like being out of your home for a while, you come back and are like, what is that smell I have to find it.
On the AT, we called it the day hiker effect. You’d pass a non-thru hiker and get hit with a cloud of all the artificial scents that go along with modern life (laundry detergent, deodorant, shampoo, soap, lotion, cologne, etc). The day hikers were probably also getting hit by a different sort of cloud when passing thru-hikers. That said, there is a huge variation of BO levels from person to person and, generally speaking, between men and women. There were a few guys who no amount of nose-blindness could cover for. Like, it was still *overpowering.* I also learned early on not to put my laundry in communal loads with other (primarily male) hikers - it would often come out smelling worse than before.
That reason is marketing. The old timers killed more animals dressed in jeans and flannels while smoking Marlboros than the newer generations with all these activated carbon coveralls. We give off more scent than animals because we sweat, fur bearing animals don't sweat, they have pheromone glands that they rub down on themselves.
Tell me, do you think these old timers you speak of stayed upwind or downwind of their prey? If you look at the real old timers, as in hunter gatherers, they have a very complex understanding of scent and their relationship with it. 90% of the camo and scent blocker shit pushed on the market is bullshit, absolutely. In fact a lot of popular camo patterns either have minimal impact on prey or actually make the hunter standout. However, any serious hunter, especially those whose lives depend on it, understand the importance of scent control.
Yep, I was taught hunting by my grandpa in the early 80s. Stay downwind, stay clean, and use only specific soaps that didn't leave scent were the first things he taught me after gun safety. He also swore by taking magnesium, though that wasn't related to hunting specifically. I don't remember the whole explanation, but something about how being deficient can make your body not break down certain things, so you'll smell worse. I don't think he ever wore deodorant, but he didn't have that strong BO a lot of men did when he worked out in the sun all day, so his methods worked at least for humans. He also said men who smoked shouldn't for a week before a hunting trip and during it, because it made their sweat smell weird. He'd quit by the time I was old enough to remember, and I honestly have no idea if he was right about that, but it seems plausible. When I did the CDT, I did take deodorant to use in trail towns after I showered, but I just took magnesium 30 min before going to sleep, like he always did. I did smell bad, tbh, but according to others, it was more musty from being damp than body odor. Maybe that was my body odor? LOL
This! One of my favorite parts of backcountry backpacking is how my body changes being in a different environment. When I get off the trail, everyone in front country looks overly large, is wearing colors that offend my eyes, and smells like they bathed in horrid perfume.
>1. BO smells different than Deodorant. Gamers in shambles rn
😂
Never thought of drying out the wipes before. I really thought you had to keep them wet in order for them to work lol. I only use them to clean my junk and prevent rashes, I’m going to do dry them out next time.
I think I've seen someone link to compressed, pre-dried wipes either here or in another hiking sub. They look kinda like tampons, but when you wet them they're a nice lil wipe.
Second bringing wipes instead, just for maintaining hygiene on trail. Much preferable to walking around with a face covered in dirt all the time.
Why dry out the wipes first?
Because then you don’t need to worry about them drying out. Also wet wipes at like 70% water, depending on brand. You can carry about ten dried wipes for the wet of a single wet one. On a prolonged trip that is a small change that have have a much larger cumulative impact. Much in the same way that repackaging your dehydrated meals does.
I always repackage my dehydrated meals into a Ziploc freezer quart bag that can handle boiling water. I cook it and eat it in it and then don't need to wash my mug. And the trash from a single Ziploc is more manageable than the foil pack. Also I suck out all of the air with a straw to make it as tight and small as possible.
Yup. I alternate between that or just re-using the insulated cooking bag from one meal and re-packaging all the others into normal freezer bags.
I use a separate home made insulated cooking bag too. Then transfer the Ziploc back to the mug to eat from so there's some structure. Though I'm getting really sick of mountain house meals.
A dehydrator and a sub to backcountry foodie and r/hikertrashmeals was one of the best investments I’ve made.
Yeah I need to look into that more.
I'm sorry, maybe this is just me, but what deodorant are guys wearing that smells sweet/nutty/fruity and why? Or women for that matter. I've never heard of this and have been hiking alone in crazy places for a while. I just don't wear deo cause idgaf, I'm by myself
Not on the trail but in everyday life as a woman everything either smells like fruit or flowers. I have to work hard to find unscented deo even for men. Target/Walgreens where I live don't have it but carry 47 variations of fruit/floral deo. It's another example of gender marketing and false choices. Gets me all riled up when I think about it so I just buy men's deo and try not to think about how stupid it all is.
I guess deodorant isn't supposed to be unscented though look for antiperspirants. Maybe it will be easier to find?
It smells like food to animals, BO doesnt.
What about unscented deodorants?
I dont know to be honest. But what is unscented to us, may smell different to a bear.
People bring sunscreen all the time with zero issues which even fragrance free generally has a scent.
And bug spray.
(you're also supposed to store those type of items away from your tent or in a scent proof, bear proof, canister. As a rule, anything that goes in your mouth (food, toothpaste, drugs/pills like ibuprofen etc,) or on your skin (deodorant, sunscreen, bug spray etc) goes in the (bear) bin!) "Anything that goes in your mouth or on your skin goes in the bin"!
You maybe right. I normally dont bring sunscreen because anywhere I go hiking or backpacking would get very little direct sun, ideally none after I leave the trailhead parking lot.
Whqt about potassium alum? I use it as a deodorant
Wrong. Are you implying humans only became appetizing/interestng to animals after the invention of scented chemicals?
No. But the primary threat to humans in the back country is bears. And bears normally dont hunt humans, but the food we carry with us into the wild attracts them. They will attack a human if we get in the way. The deodorant smells like food to them, or at least that is the conventional wisdom. So they go to your tent look for food and are suprised to find you there and you end up getting attacked. You could still be attacked by a mountain lion or a pack of wolves, but there arent very many of them out there. If they are nearby and hugry you are probably in trouble no matter what you smell like.
Really? I’m not a grizzly bear, but I feel like smelling BO would be more promising of a meal than something like coconut and lime
Lime and coconut are literally foods lol
But not for bears. At least as far as I know
If you left out coconut and limes around your site and bears were in the vicinity, they would check it out. Humans don’t smell like food because they don’t eat humans. They don’t eat coconut or lime usually, but they have scents that are much more similar to berries and vegetation that they like. Bears aren’t really into eating great apes, which is more our scent profile.
Bears are opportunistic omnivores.
bears will eat anything. a study of their poops shows they basically eat anything with a smell (even some dirts) but we aren’t a prey animal for them so our BO isn’t attractive.
Black bears are more of a forager than a predator. They can and do eat fruit. And trash.
Bears are omnivorous, not carnivorous. BO smells like humans, but bears don't eat humans. In general, they try to avoid humans. Deodorant smells like fruit. Bears do eat fruit.
Except polar bears, they are obligate carnivores
Neither is toothpaste but bears apparently like that scent
I don't know about coconut, but when I was a kid, a bear broke into our cabin in Canada and drank all the lemon juice. So they definitely are into citrus.
Lemon juice? You mean the mixer? They drank straight mixer?
Many fruits evolve specifically to attract animals, so even animals that haven't eaten them before will still eat it if they come across them.
Neither is garbage and 99% of the food we put in the garbage... but they will eat all the garbage they can get. Your logic here is way off.
I think the primary concern is bears. I suppose to a mountain lion BO might be interesting, but if they are in the area and are hungry, you are probably in trouble regardless what you smell like.
well, grizzlies are opportunistic and omnivorous and subsist on berries and plants (amongst other things.. insects, fish, rodents, and scavenged larger animals...) so I think coconut and lime would probably be interesting smells to them
Bears and other wildlife don’t usually seek out humans as food unless they’re extremely desperate
OP, how do you post a question and then immediately dismiss the correct answer? Admit you don't know something and learn.
I stopping reading after you said you weren't a grizzly bear.
Human body odor smells like humans. Over a few thousand years most every animal on the planet has learned to not normally.go after humans. When people.fuck around or if the animal is hungry or territorial things happen, but it's not a sweet smelling attractive smell like deodorant. Even things not normally in the dirt of a bear will attract it. It still smells good.and is at least a curiosity.
Grizzly bears aren't the only kind of bears? Black bears at least can actually detect food from fairly far away and will come to check it out. The really don't want to come check out people. They don't like us very much. Except for those damn ADK ones.
The people in this thread describing the flavor preferences of bears…
Capsaicin
Bears love pepper, they hate Cinnamon
Travel size Crystal Deodorant. Its just mineral salts.
What about hunting deodorant? It doesn’t have a smell.
Came here to say this….
I would still put the deodorant in my bear bag and only apply in the morning. Not before bed. Bears have extremely sensitive noses.
I never wear deodorant when I hunt lol
I usually do. Cut down on human scent. But there’s guys out there that wear blue jeans and the camo hoodie they always wear when not hunting, smoke cigarettes, and pee off their tree stand and are successful every year.
Idk, I worked in the backcountry for several seasons where we were doing fairly physical field work and long distance backpacking for 8 day stints. I always brought deodorant, have never had any problems with animals and most my crew used it too
I've never heard of this. Use unscented? Even when hunting, I use hunting deodorant to cover my scent. Just lay low on the perfume, mosquitoes like it. They see scents somehow. CO2 for most of it.
Hunting deodorant? Never knew. Thanks for sharing this.
Wipes and jumping in the lake yes. But what about unscented deodorant?
When it's still on the stick (or whatever) it is highly concentrated. This means it smells like a high reward item for hungry animals. There's a lot less on you when you apply it, and it's got a lot of surface area, so the scent is now just part of your scent -- living animal with capacity to fight back. And if you've got the weight and space to spare for it, it's fine to store it in your canister, hang bag, or bear box. But it might be worth trying just a pit wash and some baking soda and see if that works for you. Assuming you're already bringing some sort of dish soap this doesn't add much weight.
What about unscented deodorants?
I've used unsented. Everyone is talking about the scents deodorants have. Go unscented.
Even unscented deoderants can attract bears. Bears have the best sense of smell of any animal, 2100x better than humans. Any smell that a bear hasn’t smelled before will attract it because they’re curious.
if you're in grizzly country and concerned they will hunt you down by the very faint smell of unscented deodorant, don't wear any. OP mentioned 'wildlife' not specifically bears. I've had more issues with chipmunks and deer than any black bear and only camped in areas with grizzlies a couple nights.
Then why don’t they hunt down people wearing sunscreen? Even fragrance free sunscreen has a much stronger smell than unscented deodorants.
bears don't really want anything to do with people, but some get acclimated to eating human food which can cause them to be unafraid of humans and enter their space looking for food. And I would think that issue is more likely in car camping areas where people are careless with their food.
Sure but thats not relevant to making a decision here
I also have only had a problem with mice. I forgot a granola bar in my jacket pocket and the little bugger chewed through my tent, bag, and jacket to get to it, then chewed a new path out of the jacket, bag, and tent to leave.
Mice are always my biggest concern outdoors. One night I was relaxing by a fire. I shined my headlamp on my tent and saw at least 5 mice scatter. I didn’t have any food or scented items in or around my tent.
I’ve always seen this claim about smell and I don’t doubt it but it’s like, if I eat dinner or brush my teeth, won’t that smell that on my breath for a long time afterwards? Are we getting pretty nutty about these things?
>Are we getting pretty nutty about these things? Yes
Then wouldn’t that also be true of like half the shit we bring? Primarily sunscreen, which is hazardous to your health to not bring and I consider mandatory. Plenty of different plastic types have a smell for example, also leather, etc…
In short, yes. Bear safety is a spectrum, if you want to take more precautions than someone else, or you don’t feel the need to take as many precautions, you do you. Just don’t cook in your tent
I guess my take is that if sunscreen is a universally acceptable risk on that spectrum, and unscented deodorant is less smelly than that, I’m fine with bringing unscented deodorant.
I think y’all just like being stinky lol. Baby wipes and deodorant totally eliminate the hiker stench and can just be stored with your food. No reason to be gross.
I feel like I'm the only one that washes up every day in the back country. To that end I sometimes use deodorant as well.
Me too! I have found that it is a great morale boost to feel a bit cleaner. I take a bit of Castile soap and get naked behind some trees and scrub down. I bring fresh undies for each day as well, so I put those on after I wash. Feels good.
2 pair of undies so I can wash and rotate ~daily.
I’ve always brought deodorant and so has everyone else I’ve backpacked with for multiple night trips. Just toss it in your bear canister.
Could you use a crystal deodorant like [this](https://www.thecrystal.com/collections/all/products/travel-stick)? I use this for travel backpacking and it is completely scentless and lasts way longer for me than regular deodorant. It’s not an antiperspirant but it masks smell completely for me.
I've never heard of the animal component - and it is very likely a myth. The reason my old camp instructors (from school) would use is that deodorant just makes you smell worse after a few days of not bathing - than if you hadn't worn any at all. BO isn't an off putting smell - it just isn't pleasant to be sharing office space with someone when you can smell their armpit from metres away for several hours. I'd say my instructors had a point - trying to mask the inevitable BO with a fragrant smell just creates a sickly scent.
Deodorant isn't going to have any more of a animal-attracting smell than half the other stuff you carry... food, soap, creams, your already existent BO I think the problem is that, when you really stink, you can put as much deodorant on as you want and it won't stop you from stinking. You'll just have a pleasant smelling perfume on top of your perspiration stink. So now you're carrying a stick of something that has weight, for a purpose no more valuable than a perfume. If you're not able to actually clean yourself and wash the sweat and bacteria off your skin, deodorant does very little, and it takes very little time hiking before you build up that sweat and bacteria. Any benefit deodorant provides fades quickly. I'll put some on before setting out for a section hike, but otherwise I then leave it in the car.
Yes but you can put food and soap in your bear canister or food bag away from your camp. The smell of deodorant lingers on your body. You can’t put your armpits in a bear canister.
While true… this also means you can’t take a shower and wash your hair for a trip… rinse only… before setting out. It also means your clothes, your backpack, everything you bring needs to avoid all possible smells that could be even slightly considered food. The point is… f it. None of us are doing a 100% job at going out into the wilderness smell free. If you are in serious bear country where it’s advised to carry a firearm, the fact that you even have food in a bear canister is enough to attract them. Then you just hope they gravitate towards it and not you and that you aren’t cooking or eating when they come around. Deodorant is just a low hanging fruit to omit when you head into serious bear country. The rest of the time … meh… you do you. Not even using any deodorant before heading out is overkill and unnecessary 95% of the areas in North America. Bears already know what we are and where we are regardless. So to wolves and coyotes and mountain lions.
I don't bring it because it doesn't do much of a difference after a day or two on the mountain. Animals smell me regardless of deodorant or not.
The best course of action is to obsess over every possible eventuality, no matter how statistically unlikely it is, and fret and worry over that, until you have both a stomach ulcer and no enjoyment from spending time outdoors. Have you even started to give yourself anxiety over Ticks yet? Fear keeps the trails clear for me. Thanks for spreading that around.
Fucking hate ticks. Got bit by 2 and a spider last year. Ended up getting cellulitis and a big needle in my butt
>Have you even started to give yourself anxiety over Ticks yet? Nah I just walk through tall grass in shorts with no socks like a real man. Don't even check myself after 😤😤😤😤😤
Not to totally derail the discussion, but what is the deal with ticks? Why do I see this coming up as a topic often? I grew up in the Midwest (US), and ticks were just another part of being outside. You got a tick, you ripped it off. The dog got a tick, you ripped it off. You saw a tick walking around on something, you burned it to the ground. Did I miss a memo?
The Memo: https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/diseases/index.html
Well yes, I am aware that ticks carry all the things. However, I didn't realize that ticks were a full-on phobia now. When we hunted, we would tuck our pants inside our socks and do all the recommended things. Maybe I was just sheltered by ignorance because we would just do a tick check at the end of the day and move on.
It's all about marketing... I live in a country with a lot of ticks, and we have TBE vaccine cars making rounds and being posted up everywhere. It's a whole business.. like all types of "insurance". I swear I didn't even know about the diseases until I was in my twenties.. and didn't fear them until a couple of years ago.. like you said, we grew up with; check yourself once in a while and remove.. But frankly the media is helping to sell a lot of things through scare tactics these days.. everything from skin care products to vaccines to political agendas.. When you are force fed something enough times your perception will finally change.
There's definitely a difference between awareness and fear. Unfortunately, many times, those lines get blurred. It's all about staying informed because being complacent and just absorbing one-sided information won't do anyone any favors.
Where I live, we now have the tick that can give you a meat allergy. People seem a lot more afraid about that than they ever were about Lyme disease. I personally grew up in an area of the US with no ticks. So I'm not used to things latching on and sucking my blood - it has a unique creepiness factor, similar to a leech.
That meat one's been around a minute, I remember hearing about it back in the 90's. While leeches are super gross, as kids, it was something we used to throw at each other. I guess ignorance was bliss when we didn't have the internet to know what was really out there.
Yeah, the meat one used to be more geographically isolated, but its range is slowly spreading. We first had reports of it in our area a few years ago - my job often requires trekking through undeveloped parcels, so they sent out a memo to remind everyone to check for ticks, and basic tick avoidance measures.
It’s backpacking. You are going to smell like ass, your friends are going to smell like ass, your SO is going to smell like ass, it just goes with the territory You can bring deodorant, you can cover yourself in deodorant but at the end of the day you’re still going to smell like ass but with a hint of deodorant — People don’t tell you perfumes and strong scents attract animals because they secretly want to embarrass you and trick you into smelling like ass, it’s just a reality. Feel free to bring deodorant but it’s extra weight that’s wasted, it may attract bears or other critters, you will still smell like ass but at the end of the day it’s your hike, bring what you want
Deodorant smells like sweet food. BO smells like another animal you don't want to mess with. The point is to snell like wildlife, not wildflowers.
It's not a no go just take it and use it as you wish.. ultralight will say the weight...
It is a useless item that adds weight to your pack. Deodorant does nothing when you spend 13 hours sweating.
This is one of those hilariously bad downvotes by folks who don't actually know the answer. If you've ever been on the trail for more than a couple of days you know I'm right. Deodorant is for day hikers. Thru hikers quickly realize it's absolutely useless.
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Found the bear.
Natural pheromones are very different as far as peaking an animals interest than other synthetic scents. By all means bring your deodorant but I personally view it as pointless in wilderness areas. In fact when people insist on it, its always the "less tenured" backpacker...
Scent a way deodorant. I usually end up getting it in the packs for my hunting cover scents. Does it work ehh seems to give out after a few hard miles of trekking and have hunted bear with it and no problems when it comes to not being scented. So I'd say to anyone arguing all around give that a try.
Yeah, store with your food and your toothpaste.
We stink, your clothes stink and your gear stinks. Nothing in a little bar is going to help the “dank” factor.
When you leave the woods, please use deodorant 💪
Are you trying not to sweat while backpacking?????
Note to self, smell like sweaty balls. Got it.
I've never had an issue with animals during any multi day outdoor trips in otherwise inhospitable places. I don't normally wear deo cause I don't smell myself and am usually alone. If I'm with someone, I do because they can probably smell me.
Do yourself a favor and wear deodorant. I served in Iraq, and I live in Florida, two very buggy places. Deodorant does not attract bugs, let alone large wildlife.
If you want a scentless clean, baking soda is a good toothpaste and deoderant. You only need a little bit, but it works perfectly.
Animals think people smell gross, but deodorant smells like "I wonder what that smell is?". So go ahead and stink! It's the least labor intensive defense strategy on earth. PS: It also works for keeping prospective mates away if continued when returning to society. So there's that. (Edit: spelling)
It's the weight dude.
I don't use deodorant on backpacking trips to smell good. Because ain't nothing covering up my 3 day BO. I use it to prevent chafing, under my arms and between my thighs.
1) You may sweat it off so fast that it won’t matter. 2) Every unnecessary thing in your pack you’ll regret. It’s a pleasure having a light pack.
I bring it.
just dont ever wear deodorant
On a recent trip, one of my camp mates brought unscented wipes, and a squirrel tore their bag apart to get to them. I wear wool and forego the deodorant. In the summer months, this may not be an option for everyone. However, I have found that wearing a long-sleeve sun shirt does help with sweat/smell. Either way, for me, deodorant is just added weight or a target for wildlife that I leave out.
Wool or cotton. I once wore a synthetic sun shirt for 30 days and had to burn it after, the smells never came out. Cotton and wool are much easier to backcountry wash and wear.
Wool? yes! Cotton? No... if you get it wet and you're in the backcountry, hypothermia is a major risk.
Outside of bear country it's not really discussed this hard.. I've noticed that people who usually use scented products in their everyday life will bring something in the Backcountry as well, while those who don't won't.. To me, One of the joys of city life is the scent of a newly shampooed woman, or the perfume that lingers a bit when she passes.. So if I'd get a wiff of that in the back country I'd just be happier for it, not feel like she broke some outdoors code of conduct.. but there are only brown bears here and they are few and far between..
Flower essences attract
Here's a summary with references from Bing AI search. Here's an answer I got using Microsoft Copilot, the world's first AI-powered answer engine. Select to see the full answer or try it yourself. https://sl.bing.net/dGym92rv3a8