The gear that gets you there.
The top three in every category.
Only the best. Nothing else makes the list.
Trowel, bidet, and pack-out bags. The DirtSaw Deuce #2, a bottle-cap bidet, and WAG bags when you cannot dig.
Three picks. That is the whole list. If it is not here, it did not earn a place.
Surveys 40% · independent tests 30% · merchant ratings 15% · relative street price 15%. Sources & method
Listed prices and shop ratings stay live once a shop page loads. GEAR UP for official product page.
Built from published thru-hiker surveys and independent testing — not commissions. Sources & method · Disclosure
Swipe — three picks side by side
DirtSaw Deuce #2 · 0.6 oz
Typical street · Price updates live — GEAR UP for official product page
Listed prices and shop ratings stay live.
0.6-ounce DirtSaw Deuce #2. The trowel most thru-hikers carry in a hipbelt pocket.
Sources: Halfway Anywhere
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Bottle-cap bidet · 0.42 oz
Typical street · Price updates live — GEAR UP for official product page
Listed prices and shop ratings stay live.
0.42-ounce cap that threads a smartwater bottle. Cuts toilet paper to nearly none.
Sources: Halfway Anywhere
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WAG bag · 2 oz per kit
Typical street · Price updates live — GEAR UP for official product page
Listed prices and shop ratings stay live.
Pack-out kit for alpine, desert, and posted zones where a cathole is not allowed.
Sources: Halfway Anywhere
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A poop kit is a trowel, a way to wash, and a way to pack it out when you cannot dig. That is Leave No Trace. It does not belong in a first-aid pouch.
The TentLab DirtSaw Deuce #2 is first: 0.6 ounces, the trowel most thru-hikers actually carry. CuloClean is Best Value — a 0.42-ounce bidet cap on a smartwater bottle, which cuts toilet paper almost to zero. Cleanwaste GO Anywhere WAG Bags are Trail Tough: alpine, desert, and posted zones where a cathole is not allowed. Six to eight inches deep, 200 feet from water. Pack the paper out.
The TentLab DirtSaw Deuce #2
Anodized aluminum trowel with DirtSaw edges for side-cut digging. GGG / TentLab class: 0.6 oz (17 g), about 6.8" × 2.5", lifetime warranty, ~$21.95. Card matches 0.6 oz.
Cathole digging in hipbelt / stretch pocket. Not a pack-out bag and not a bidet. Hard soils and roots are why the saw edge exists. LNT: 6–8 inches deep where required.
Best Overall trowel: half-ounce DirtSaw Deuce that cottage shops treat as the thru default, on a hygiene three with bidet and pack-out bag.
For more information, go straight to the source. Click GEAR UP for the product page.
CuloClean Portable Bidet
Cork-style bidet with O-rings for common 28 mm / 30 mm bottles (Smartwater class). Treeline 2026: 0.42 oz, highest spray pressure in their test (16.5 ft), Sam’s best overall cork pick. GGG lists 0.42 oz / 12 g, about $10–$14. Card: 0.4–0.42 oz · ~$10.
After a cathole when you have bottle water to spare. Cuts toilet-paper pack-out. Not a trowel and not a WAG pack-out bag. Desert water math still matters. Treeline notes the cork does not cover bottle threads — rinse the neck after use.
Best Value hygiene adder: named Treeline cork winner at about half an ounce and ten dollars, beside Deuce and WAG bag.
For more information, go straight to the source. Click GEAR UP for the product page.
Cleanwaste GO Anywhere WAG Bag
Pack-out waste kit with waste liner, Poo Powder gelling agent, outer zip bag, TP, and wipe. Treeline 2026: Best Lightweight WAG bag; 71 g on scale; gels solid and liquid; EPA landfill-disposal class with local caveats. Cleanwaste / LNT retail: GO Anywhere kit with NASA-developed Poo Powder. Card: ~2 oz · ~$35.95.
Alpine rock, some desert, river corridors, and any posted pack-out land. Not the daily Sierra cathole default when digging is allowed — mandatory where signs say pack it out. Heavier and bulkier than Deuce + TP/bidet. Treeline notes Moab-class rules may require approved dump stations, not any trash can.
Trail Tough as the pack-out answer on a three that already covers dig and wash — named Treeline lightweight WAG when a hole is illegal.
For more information, go straight to the source. Click GEAR UP for the product page.
This ranking already sits in a finished kit. Weighed. Ranked. Ready.
A harness, shoe, and layer stack that actually fits.
9 lb 11.3 oz base · Open kit →02 · UltralightThe lighter pick in each slot. Dyneema shelter, open-foot quilt, flask filter.
8 lb 1.6 oz base · Open kit →03 · Lower spendA complete thru-hike kit from the best in each slot, chosen for a lower street price — not for a lesser hike.
9 lb 11 oz base · Open kit →04 · Highest performingThe highest-performing pick in each slot this site already ranks. Dyneema shelter, closed-foot quilt, SOS in the hipbelt.
8 lb 8.2 oz base · Open kit →05 · First long trailForgiving shelter, a stove that lights, tape in the hipbelt. Built for the first hundred miles, not for a forum argument.
9 lb 8.1 oz base · Open kit →06 · Two hikersOne two-person shelter, two sleep systems, a shared kitchen. Split the tent, the stove, and the filter. Carry your own pack.
15 lb 8.8 oz base · Open kit →07 · Cooler weatherA 15° bag, a warmer pad, a fleece under the puffy. For starts and finishes that are not summer.
9 lb 15.4 oz base · Open kit →08 · No stoveNo canister. No boil. Cold soak in the pot you already carry, or eat in town.
8 lb 1.6 oz base · Open kit →09 · Section hikesForgiving shelter, a stove that lights, tape in the hipbelt. Weekend-to-week volume — not a five-month food carry. No traction.
9 lb 7 oz base · Open kit →10 · Sierra snowSnow travel with the traction this site already ranks #1. Rain pants and hiking pants on. No ice axe — that ranking does not exist here.
11 lb 2.6 oz base · Open kit →Rankings and kits are based on published surveys and independent analysis. They are opinions for informational purposes only. Users are responsible for choosing and using gear appropriate to their conditions and experience. Thru Picks is not liable for outcomes related to product use. Terms