Dog poop bags for grown humans – that’s the experience off-grid toilet brand Wrappon is selling. It might sound weird, undesirable and maybe downright gross at first, but compare it with the other available methods of pooping in the unplumbed wilds, and you might gain a new appreciation for an electric toilet that automatically bags the mess so you can chuck it in a garbage can – no dump stations, no manure spreading in the garden, and no regrets or second thoughts.
A product from Japanese construction and emergency materials company Nihon Safety Co, Ltd, the Wrappon toilet was originally designed for home medical care – a toilet/bedpan alternative for bedridden and low-mobility patients. It didn’t take long for the folks behind it to figure out there were plenty of other use cases for a hassle-free waterless toilet.
One category of use case, of course, includes camping, RVing, boating and general wilderness adventure. We know Wrappon toilets from the overland industry, and their US distributor is none other than OK4WD, the longtime NJ off-road/overland market staple that also sells serious equipment from the likes of Alu-Cab and Goose Gear. While considered a high-quality, easy-to-use portable toilet solution, the flagship Wrappon Trekker WT-4 is also one of the most expensive ways you could ever poop in the woods, retailing for US$1,595.
Wrappon USA/OK4WD
The Trekker is also a fairly intimidating throne-on-the-range with a boxy metal body and wired remote control that belie its simple, natural purpose. It’ll certainly pack neatly in the 4×4 and survive the roughest journeys to camp, but will friends and family actually want to sit on it?
Wrappon is now launching the Sunny, a more consumer-friendly version of its portable toilet technology that’s lighter, more affordable and less intimidating. The 15.4-lb (7-kg) portable toilet features an oblong shape more similar to a residential toilet and a plastic body construction more like other portable toilet solutions. In short, it looks like a toilet, not a piece of industrial machinery/torture device.
Wrappon/Nihon Safety Co
Okay, so now for what you’re all waiting for … what exactly does it do? Like the Trekker, the Sunny relies on a roll of preloaded film. The film is sealed at the basin inside the toilet bowl to create a holding bag, and prior to urinating or defecating, you pour in a special coagulant powder that solidifies liquids and neutralizes odors. Then, you go – one, two or both. Toilet paper goes right into the film baggy – just don’t overfill!
After finishing up, one presses the button on the face of the Sunny to kick on the electromechanical system that uses a thermo-compression process to hermitically seal the top of the film, then cut it, creating that human-grade dog poop bag we promised way back in the first few words. At that point, the bag can simply be thrown in the trash.
Wrappon/Nihon Safety Co
The coagulant prevents the waste bag from sloshing and leaking, and that plus the seal ensures that it doesn’t release any odor (like you’d get from a loosely tied dog poop bag). It can just sit in your camp garbage bag until you throw it away in a dumpster.
Unlike the Trekker, which relies on a non-biodegradable polyethylene film, the Sunny film is said to be biodegradable, giving peace of mind to the many outdoor users who seek out eco-conscious products. Truth be told, we have trouble believing any plastic or plastic-like product as truly “biodegradable” or “recyclable” without seeing some testing results, but Wrappon isn’t the only one making such claims about its waste disposal baggy, as there are other biodegradable dog and backcountry “WAG” bags out there.
Each Sunny film roll and box of coagulant packets is good for 30 uses, fewer than the Trekker’s 50 uses per roll/coagulant box.
Carrying a bag of dook around and beyond camp may not exactly sound glamorous or even palatable, but neither are the existing alternatives. Traditional portable toilets use a mixture of water and sanitizing solution to flush and collect waste in a holding tank that you carry sloshing around in your vehicle until you empty it at a dump station or more permanent toilet.
Another common solution, dry separating toilets have two individual holding compartments: one for urine, one for feces and solids. The separation, plus an absorbent additive like sawdust or peat moss, dries the solids and prevents odor. Once full, the containers are emptied separately. The solids can be used for compost or disposed of in the garbage, and the liquids can be diluted into fertilizer, dumped into a more permanent toilet, or sprinkled on the ground.
The Wrappon system’s big selling point is that it automates the process of emptying the toilet and eliminates long-term waste holding by disposing after each use. You can accomplish similar by using a WAG bag hung onto a basic bucket or folding toilet contraption (or maybe even your truck bumper). The end result of coagulated waste in a bag is about the same, but you’ll have to load and close the bag yourself each time. It’s certainly not as hands-free or automated a system as the Sunny but does cost hundreds less.
And then there’s the old, reliable “shovel your own cat hole” system. Definitely more hassle, and likely entirely unappealing to at least someone with whom you camp, but as free and natural as it gets, assuming it’s allowed where you’re camping.
Wrappon/Nihon Safety Co
The major downside of Wrappon toilets, of course, is the price. Not only are they more expensive up front than other portable toilet styles, but since they rely on rather specific materials, that price just keeps tallying over time.
Wrappon hasn’t listed a price for the Sunny film, but the 50-use polyethylene Trekker film roll retails for a whopping $70. Add $25 for a 50-count box of coagulant packets, and that’s nearly $2 for each use, not including the hefty $1,600 toilet price. If you only camp a couple times a year, those extras might not be an issue, but if you camp regularly, live in a camper full-time or camp with large groups, they’re sure to seriously add up.
Wrappon toilets also require a power source, not as much of an obstacle in today’s world of high-powered lithium batteries and portable power stations, but still a consideration. The Sunny operates via a 12V DC or 100-240V AC connection and comes with both plugs.
Wrappon/Nihon Safety Co
Wrappon is launching the Sunny via Kickstarter campaign, and the little portable is proving itself a popular potty, having more than tripled its original $4,200 goal. The super early bird version is still available for a price of ¥86,170 (approx. US$583), which includes the carry case, power cords, two rolls of film and two containers of coagulant. The toilet will ultimately retail for around $800, so that’s a nice bit of change off.
It’s worth mentioning that Wrappon offers a third model, the flat-packing 9.3-lb (4.2-kg) PF-01. That’s its lightest, most affordable, most compact model, with an MSRP of $549. It’s more of a ‘tweener design, though, that uses individual “filth bags” instead of a film roll and requires using a manual bag slide instead of a push-button electric system. The toilet still operates electrically to seal the bag closed. The collapsible build also makes it a little less sturdy, rated only to 220 lb (100 kg) compared to 330 lb (150 kg) for the Sunny.
And for those shopping the competition, the Laveo and Modiwell are two other brands that make similar dry flush electric toilets.
Source: Wrappon
