Best Portable Camping Toilet Options and Reviews

It surprises me how many people are not aware of all the modern camping or portable toilet options. Have you noticed that not all campsites have toilet facilities, some that do are far from where you’ve pitched, or some aren’t up to the standard you’d like?

You have some really good options. There are several different types and styles of camping toilet to choose from. If you have young children you’re going to look back at the day you first bought a portable toilet and thank yourself. Made any of those treks across the campsite to a toilet in the middle of the night? Say no more.

I wrote about my own experience when camping with dad and my issues with pooping in a bucket here. Everyone has their own preferences and struggles, or not as the case is with some people. With the options available on the market now there’s no excuse.

Things to Consider When Buying a Portable Camping Toilet

As with any purchase, there are a few things to consider before going ahead and buying the first product that takes your eye. With something as important as a portable toilet it’s worth taking the time, you want to find the best camping toilet at the best price.

Duration of Your Trip

Being prepared should come naturally to you as someone who goes camping or backpacking. So you should be looking at which type of portable toilet is suitable for the duration of your trips.

If you only ever go away for 1-2 days a time then you can get by with a smaller portable toilet that uses bags for example. While larger toilets with fresh water flushing systems are better suited for longer duration trips.

Strength and Construction Quality

There are a few reasons why different people require products of varying quality. You know who you are if you’re someone who has a tendency to break or damage things. But most of the time it’s going to come down to value.

It’s always sensible to check reviews and ratings before making a purchase. It’s nice to have a modern, high-tech portable toilet, but if it has a reputation for breaking it’s just not worth the risk. Portable toilets aren’t something you want to take a chance on, you don’t want to be let down in your time of need.

Suitability

Much like making a smart decision when finding a toilet that’s good quality, you need to choose a model that’s suitable to your needs. Example being, a Luggable Loo (reviewed below) isn’t suitable for a family of four. While taking a Camco model (reviewed below) for a one person overnight trip is equally as unsuitable.

Here are three camping toilet reviews covering the different types of portable camping toilets on the market. Each option ticks different boxes looking at the above criteria, take a look and see which style meets your needs.

Best Portable Camping Toilet Options and Reviews

Camco Portable Toilet

This portable toilet from Camco is designed for camping and is among the best-selling camping toilets on Amazon. It looks a lot like the portable toilets you find at large festival and events. It’s compact and lightweight, and very easy to take with you wherever you’re going.

The toilet is in two halves. The top holds the fresh water and bottom half is the waste tank. When you flush the toilet a sliding gate valve opens to allow the waste in, then locks back with a water and odor-tight seal.

It’s easy to empty via a valve at the back and really isn’t much of a chore when you take into account how convenient and hygienic this toilet is. This is one of the best options on the market for a camping toilet, it doesn’t get much easier and convenient than this.

Pros

• Hygienic water flushing system
• Waste is air-tight locked
• Ideal for longer camping trips

 

Luggable Loo

Sometimes a simple, crude, and effective solution is the best option. The Luggable Loo is popular with guys camping, it’s a popular choice for hunting and fishing trips, and it’s a pretty handy to have one of these in case of emergencies.

This style of portable loo uses bags to capture the waste. Some people opt to use paper bags and peat moss, or plastic bags/liners. There is no flush, water system or moving parts. To call it in simple terms, it’s a bucket.

This is still a really popular choice. Sometimes it makes sense to just keep it simple, so as long as you’re comfortable using this kind of portable toilet give it a go.

Pros

• Convenient and lightweight
• Affordable
• Disposable bags used to dispose of waste immediately

 

Reliance Fold-To-Go Portable

Somewhere in-between the two toilets mentioned above is the Fold-To-Go by Reliance. This model folds up to make a stable seat with legs, giving it an edge of the bucket type toilets.

It’s an option for the minimalist travellers who prioritize saving space, as when it’s folded down it’s flat.

It uses bags like the Luggable Loo, there is no need for water or any flushing mechanism. If you’re not staying in the same location for a few days most people prefer this type of toilet. You just fold out the toilet, zip up the bag after use and dispose of the waste.

As far as a compact camping toilet goes, or a folding camp toilet, this is one of the best.

Pros

• Folds easily from flatpack to seated position
• Affordable
• Ideal for multi-person use

 

Another Item to Consider – the Privacy Shelter

Something else to consider when taking a portable toilet with you is a privacy shelter. This one from Stansport is one of the best examples, it folds up to just “ long, weighs 4.5 lbs, and pops up quickly to provide some privacy.

People use these on campsites for their toilet, a camping shower, changing clothes, and more. It’s not to be used as a tent, it’s very light and the poles bend a little. It’s designed to be popped up quickly, used, and then folded back down.

In Summary

There you go, three of the most popular porta potty choices and the best portable camping toilet options and reviews. Personally, I like the bag options as these are the quickest and easiest to use. They are not ideal for a family staying on a campsite however, you need something like the Camco I reviewed above.

Either way, never leave home unprepared. Take a portable camping toilet with you whenever you’re camping, you can’t always rely on finding some services where you are.