How to stay clean while camping: our bikepacking hygiene guide
When you set off for several months (or even years) by bike or on foot, hygiene becomes a real topic. Not glamorous, but essential for comfort and health… Here are our tips and our unfiltered routines after a year of wild camping across the Americas.
Camping hygiene: an everyday challenge for bike travelers
Staying clean is one of the big topics when you travel by bike. It’s a very personal matter, and everyone handles it their own way! You’d be surprised how much of a concern it can be for some people… and a total non-issue for others. Far from being the dolls of bikepacking, we thought it was important to share our reality with you, unfiltered!
When wild camping, it’s easy to slip into nonchalance and forget about hygiene and cleanliness. Yet taking care of your body matters, and I’d even say it’s essential! Because a clean body is a body that works well and is ready to defend you against outside invaders and dangers.
A lack of facilities shouldn’t stop you from staying clean. Quite the opposite! Even in the middle of a desert or at the top of a mountain, there are ways to take care of yourself. And believe me, going to bed in a sleeping bag that smells nice can become a big deal after a tough day.
Mind you, we don’t claim to be models of eco-friendliness, or examples to follow to the letter! What we share here are simply our tips and lessons learned after a year on the road.
We try to do better every day, so if you have advice or ideas to make our routine even more environmentally friendly, feel free to write to us!
Minimalist camping hygiene: the essentials to pack and field tips
Most of our toiletry kit is stored in a strategic spot: Marie-Liesse’s food pouch. Easy to reach, even when everything is already packed! Handy for keeping the essentials close without having to empty all the bags.
So here, in detail, are our must-haves for taking care of our hygiene when wild camping and bikepacking.
The art of “less but better”: a small, effective toiletry kit.
The Bright Smile
A classic, but a must: toothbrush and toothpaste. We always try to go for compact sizes that slip easily into our food pouch. Simple, basic, but essential — especially when we spend several days far from civilization!
Luxury item
We don’t carry many “luxury” items, but let’s face it, some small details matter to feel a bit at home — even in the middle of the Mexican desert! For us, that little extra is an Aesop perfume, a gift from Marie-Liesse’s parents. They must have sensed, all the way from France, that we really needed it! A simple gesture, but after a good shower in town, a few drops are enough to make us feel human again.
Trim it all!
Of course, we carry the basic toiletry essentials — headlined by the nail clipper and tweezers duo. No need to draw you a picture, you can guess in which situations they become our best friends!
The cream of the crop!
We also bring a few creams — got to stay the best-looking and most moisturized people in the desert! So yes, you might be thinking that’s quite a lot of products for people who are supposed to travel light… And you’re not completely wrong.
But hey, we own it! One cream for the face, one for the body. There, we said it.
A guy, a girl
There are also things each of us carries separately. What Julien uses, I don’t… and vice versa! For example, Ju always brings his trimmer — a beard needs looking after, even out in the pampas.
As for Marie-Liesse, she always has period products (tampons rather than pads) and a hairbrush. Personal essentials that make all the difference day to day.
Smelling good is good!
Out of respect for our partner (and to keep the mood good in the tent), we both use deodorant — so that midday hugs don’t turn into torture!
An important detail: we avoid antiperspirants, which chemically block sweating. Instead, we go for simple deodorants designed to limit odors from exercise… not to stop the body from doing its job.
Obviously, no aerosol deodorants! We wouldn’t necessarily recommend rubbing an alum stone under your arms either… But there’s a happy medium!
The little extras for taking care of our hygiene when wild camping
These last items may seem like accessories, but in reality, we use them very often!
Biodegradable soap sheets: super handy for washing our clothes in the great outdoors. (We’ll tell you more about that further down in this article.)
The must-have wet wipes: they save the day when we don’t have access to water.
A small bottle of tea tree essential oil: a formidable weapon against bad smells, especially in Gore-Tex shoes after a long, sweaty day.
How to shower while camping, with or without water
For us, camping hygiene is first and foremost about a quick daily wash-up, especially when we don’t have access to a real shower or water source. Depending on the situation, our evening routine changes… But the goal stays the same: not going to bed as a sweaty mess!
Washing without water
We often go several days without coming across a single tap or stream. At times like these, you need to get a bit creative… and above all, not give up on a minimum of hygiene. No way we’re slipping into our sleeping bags without a little clean-up!
It’s not about being rigid, it’s mostly about respecting the other person in the tent. Because, let’s be honest, on rainy evenings, stuck together under the canvas while the day’s damp clothes start to stew… the atmosphere can quickly turn sour. We’ll let you imagine.
So out come the wet wipes, and we treat ourselves to a makeshift mini-spa. It can be long and honestly tough when it’s cold, but slipping into clean, fresh-smelling clothes… pure bliss!
Washing near a water source
The bikepacker’s holy grail! Finding water at the end of the day is like stumbling upon an oasis. If you’re lucky enough to find some, don’t hesitate: jump in, get wet and enjoy.
A quick dip in a river, even without soap, is enough to wash off the sweat and feel incredibly fresh again. It’s simple, but it changes everything.
If you use biodegradable soap, you can even wash directly in the water. If not, remember to fill your cooking pot and move away from the stream to wash. That way you won’t turn a pretty lake into an apple-shampoo cocktail, or get the fish used to your bathwater (yuck).
Every little gesture counts to respect the places we pass through — and leave the rivers behind us as clean as we found them.
Reinventing your routine: approaching camping hygiene with flexibility and creativity
After a year pedaling between Canada and Argentina, we’ve learned one thing: staying clean on the road is an art! Here are our best tips for staying reasonably fresh every day — even deep in the desert or at the top of a pass.
Our 5 hygiene must-dos after 1 year between Canada and Argentina
1. Always keep your hands clean
This is THE advice we give everyone. We constantly touch our faces (thanks, sweat), and our hands are always gripping the handlebars, a real breeding ground for bacteria. To avoid getting sick, we make sure to wash our hands before eating or cooking.
Special note for women on bikes: if you have your period, make sure to disinfect your hands before changing a tampon. We always keep a small bottle of hand sanitizer within reach — it’s discreet, practical and honestly essential.
2. Dry your gear as soon as you arrive
We know the smell of sweat all too well. And it becomes truly unbearable when clothes stay damp for too long. As soon as we get to camp, we wash first, then hang our things to dry as much as possible before nightfall.
Tip: we always travel with a pair of flip-flops. Perfect for letting your shoes dry and giving your feet some air. They’ll thank you.
3. Wash your clothes between two real washing machines
Laundromats aren’t exactly common on the trail. So we adapt! We use a Scrubba bag combined with our famous biodegradable soap sheets. It’s not as effective as a machine, but it keeps our clothes relatively clean… and bearable, for ourselves and for others.
4. Go for technical clothing
We can’t say it enough: technical fabrics are your best friends. We’re thinking especially of merino T-shirts (special mention to Café du Cycliste’s). They’re perfect for the day as well as for nights in camp. Odor-resistant, comfortable and temperature-regulating — what more could you ask for?
5. Always brush your teeth
Bikepacking days can be long… and encounters unexpected. To spare the people you meet your end-of-stage breath, remember to brush your teeth between meals. It’s a small, simple habit, but it makes a real difference. Not to mention the small invisible gum injuries that can quickly go wrong without good oral hygiene.
6. Bonus
The last bonus tip, and not the least: set off with an insurer that can really support you on your adventure.
For us, GoByAva has been looking after us for almost two years! We chose them for two key reasons: their responsiveness and their human support, combined with exclusive options like AvaTech+, which covers nomad equipment, and AvaSport+, dedicated to sports activities — even the most extreme ones!
In the end, camping hygiene isn’t about perfection, it’s about balance. You learn to make do with what you have, to get creative, to work with the elements, and above all to respect each other when you’ve been sharing a 2 m² tent for months. Wet-wipe washes, improvised laundry in a dry bag, clothes drying hanging from the bags… It’s all part of daily life. These gestures, as simple as they are, become real rituals. They anchor us in a reassuring routine, help us keep our spirits up on rainy days, and make us feel good in our bodies despite the dust, the heat or the cold.
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