Gear
Advanced Hand Wash System by Tye Works
When you're car camping or base camping, there are details of civilized life that can make camp life even more enjoyable. And while there are plenty of companies making it easy for you to include the "kitchen sink", there are very few that allow you to bring a faucet as well.
The Advanced Hand Wash System by Tye Works is a portable, hands-free faucet designed for camping that uses a foot operated pump to provide a stream of water from a copper spigot. The advanced model shown here includes a metal bracket that can be used to hold soap or hand sanitizer bottles as well as a towel.
The entire system fits into it's own small mesh bag and weighs only 27 oz.
Although the product photos show the hand washing system being used with a standard 5-gallon bucket, we wanted to try a setup using items that we typically bring on every camp trip. In this case, we mounted the spigot to a tree using ordinary twine and our water source came from a Reliance 7-gallon plastic container.
Set-up is extremely simple: mount the spigot and make sure the pump is resting on the ground, then run the rest of the tubing into a water source and you're ready to go. After 4-5 foot pumps, a stream of water will shoot out of the copper spigot with enough pressure to rinse away dirt and soap suds. Water usage is easy to control since the pressure is only active when pumping with your foot.
If you're camp is situated far away from any potable water sources, the Advanced Hand Wash System becomes even more valuable as you're able to use water from natural sources such as a lake or river. The intake tube has a brass and stainless steel inlet strainer which helps keep the water flowing, even if you have some particles such as twigs or leaves in the water. This simple design ensures that you're able to maintain a healthy level of hygiene no matter where you are.
We encountered no issues when using the Advanced Hand Wash System as a hand or dishwashing station at our primitive camp. Some people may find the tubing too short for use at normal standing height, but it can be easily lengthened with tubing from any major hardware store. On that note, all of the parts are easy to replace or repair with standard tools making field repairs and maintenance a simple task.
If you've ever dreamed of having a true "kitchen sink" while in camp, the Advanced Hand Wash System may just make your next trip more convenient and enjoyable.
