Scrubba Bag on

[Joodle]

I just saw That "Groupon" has the Scrubba washing bag on sale for $34.99 right now. Has anyone used one on the Camino? Did it work well?

 

[simply B]

@Joodle -

IMHO, forget it. It adds weight to your pack for no reason.

Washing clothes is easily done out here. Drying them, less so....especially in Galicia.

B

 

[Anemone del Camino]

I just saw That "Groupon" has the Scrubba washing bag on sale for $34.99 right now. Has anyone used one on the Camino? Did it work well?

@Kanga used one on her last Camino I believe and was not unhappy tomhave it, but that is because of particularly delicate hands that react to cold water, if memory serves me.

 

[Kanga]

Yes, I used one on the Camino del Norte last May. It saved my hands, as I usually get dermatitis from all the hand-washing. It worked OK when I had quite a few things to do for my husband as well as myself. I did not take it on the Frances in September when I only had a few things to do for myself - not worth the weight (although it doubles as a dry bag).

 

[nidarosa]

@Joodle - the Scrubba is a great idea but with a few practice runs you could just as well use a normal drybag. I also get skin problems when hand washing a lot so I take a drybag as a washing machine and it helps a lot and works great.

 

[MichaelSG]

I've used it on two Caminos. I reckon it gets clothes a good bit cleaner than hand washing and is a bit less messy in bathrooms or more convenient at crowded washing stations. That said, is it worth the weight and space? That's hard to say. Neither is an issue for me so I will likely take it again on my next Cammino. It certainly is a luxury carry though as it is not necessary. BTW, my wife has problems with her hands and harsh soapy water. She brought robber gloves on our first Camino but threw them out after a few days. She figured out that her husband loved her so he did all the laundry.

 

[alipilgrim]

I think when you take 'optional' items (items that you don't really need but might be useful, ie. the Scrubba), you have to be willing to either carry the extra weight or be willing to ditch the item if you end up not using it. Unfortunately its only after a week or two that one tends to make these decisions and therefore one ends up carrying far too much weight at the worst possible time - the beginning of their Camino!

Why not pack your backpack with only the very essentials and start training with that. You'll soon realize if that's a good weight, too much, or if you can actually add a couple of 'optional' items without any undue stress.

Don't forget - you can buy any essential item in Spain. Maybe not the very day you need it, but most likely within 1-2 days.

Good luck.

 

[Joodle]

I think when you take 'optional' items (items that you don't really need but might be useful, ie. the Scrubba), you have to be willing to either carry the extra weight or be willing to ditch the item if you end up not using it. Unfortunately its only after a week or two that one tends to make these decisions and therefore one ends up carrying far too much weight at the worst possible time - the beginning of their Camino!

Why not pack your backpack with only the very essentials and start training with that. You'll soon realize if that's a good weight, too much, or if you can actually add a couple of 'optional' items without any undue stress.

Don't forget - you can buy any essential item in Spain. Maybe not the very day you need it, but most likely within 1-2 days.

Good luck.

A very good idea. It might change my mind on my "esentials"

 

[scikowski]

I am taking a 35 L dry bag this time. I like to have more than one reason to take anything in my pack. The dry bag can be used for laundry, for keeping pack contents dry if it is very rainy, or for checking my pack leaving Santiago because of my hiking poles. It is ultralight and takes up very little space.

 

[domigee]

If you're doing the Camino francés,a lot of albergues now have washing machines. Costs around 3 euros but you can share a machine with another pilgrim.
Buen camino

 

[trecile]

@Joodle - the Scrubba is a great idea but with a few practice runs you could just as well use a normal drybag. I also get skin problems when hand washing a lot so I take a drybag as a washing machine and it helps a lot and works great.

I like the idea of using an ordinary dry bag! Lighter and cheaper too!

 

[nidarosa]

@trecile : I tried it out and liked it, you can read about it here. No pics unfortunately but it is easy enough to do.

 

[DowtyCamino]

Speaking of drying clothes. In 2014 on the CF we were blessed with only 1 day with rain in the entire 4w journey. I've heard from many on this forum about multiple days of heavy rain. If you encounter days and days of rain how do you handle drying your clothes. In my one experience, our clothes were clearly not dry by simply hanging them up inside the albergue. We needed the next day hiking with our clothes pinned to or backpack to allow them to dry. With multiple days of rain this wouldn't be possible....so what do you do? I'm sure there are some great tips out there.