26 replies to this topic

[Grinch83]

Hey guys & gals.

I'm heading to a music festival in a couple of weeks (I've been to dozens, but this will be the first time in a chair) and have been doing a lot of research on equipment/care/etc. I started a thread about this a while back and got some helpful responses and just wanted to share a piece of equipment I just purchased to see if any of y'all have used this before and what your thoughts are.

Here's the toilet I've decided on for my morning routine. Have any of you guys used this? If so, how did it work out?

Next on my list is a big ass tent (no more camping in little three man domes) and a nice comfy air mattress.

[brockit79]

Grinch,

I used to love festivals so much; the thought of never going to one again does my head in.

Please can you let me know how you get on with this? I am sure I should be able to make a purchase this side of the pond.

Failing that perhaps doing your routine on your bed with a proper waste matt or incontinence sheet will do it?? Just an idea.

Thanks
Broc

[Tatiana]

I too would love to go to a festival, the last band i went to see were snow patrol and they were amazing!!

We go to a lot of horse competitions where we stay in the horsebox and use portaloos. We also have one at our stables.

The one you have purchased looks good and a decent enough height, i prefer the battery operated flushes as they are quicker and easier to flush and a press down rather than a pump action.

Im just getting organised for my first week away since my injury in august so im def taking my portable loo frame.

Thats as far as ive got in my planning.I need more tips too!

[Boudica]

Tatiana, on 14 June 2011 - 06:53 PM, said:

I too would love to go to a festival, the last band i went to see were snow patrol and they were amazing!!

We go to a lot of horse competitions where we stay in the horsebox and use portaloos. We also have one at our stables.

The one you have purchased looks good and a decent enough height, i prefer the battery operated flushes as they are quicker and easier to flush and a press down rather than a pump action.

Im just getting organised for my first week away since my injury in august so im def taking my portable loo frame.

Thats as far as ive got in my planning.I need more tips too!

Here is my tip...take plenty of air freshner becuase my caravan will be next to yours!

[racepace]

i do hope i will get back to going to festivals, good luck with the toileting hope things go well for you!

[greybeard]

I used something similar many years ago when I did my ´hippy bit´ round Spain in an old van. If you´re in a chair, emptying it could be problematic unless the design has changed a lot. But anything has to beat a chemical toilet used by the public. Enjoy.

[Grinch83]

brockit79, on 14 June 2011 - 04:50 PM, said:

Grinch,

I used to love festivals so much; the thought of never going to one again does my head in.

Please can you let me know how you get on with this? I am sure I should be able to make a purchase this side of the pond.

Failing that perhaps doing your routine on your bed with a proper waste matt or incontinence sheet will do it?? Just an idea.

Thanks
Broc

There's no way I'm giving up the festivals! I was a freelance music journalist before my injury and my beat was covering fests. Right after I got hurt I told my friends and editors that I'll be back in the thick of it...with or without the chair. I will certainly let you know how it goes, Broc.

Yes, doing my thing laying on the bed would work, but there are a few downers to this method. One, I'll be with my girlfriend and I'd just feel bad having to wake her up every morning to kick her out of the bed! Two, I have much better results with the morning routine if I am in a sitting position as opposed to laying down, and although I probably wouldn't be the only person (disabled or not) at the festival to accidentally mess themselves, I'd really like to avoid it!

And yes, anything is better than those chemical toilets...I think I would have bought this thing even if I didn't break my back. Just stepping into one of those little stench dungeons is a health hazard!

[Edinburgh Colin]

If you want to keep it simple how about this?

[dukimen]

how about http://shop.ebay.co....6.c0.m270.l1313

I bought one and using it when go arround with mobile home or by car for a few days and not sure if I will get fully equipped disabled room

[Tatiana]

Edinburgh Colin, on 15 June 2011 - 11:59 AM, said:

If you want to keep it simple how about this?

Outdoor Comode.jpg

Ha! love it!!

quote Here is my tip...take plenty of air freshner becuase my caravan will be next to yours! unquote

you know il say its the dog!

[Grinch83]

Edinburgh Colin, on 15 June 2011 - 11:59 AM, said:

If you want to keep it simple how about this?

Outdoor Comode.jpg

Looks awesomely simple, but I'm a skinny dude and I think my ass might fall right through!

Air freshener? Might only be necessary for the first day...after that everyone tends to smell pretty bad and you can blame it on anyone!

[brockit79]

greybeard, on 14 June 2011 - 09:23 PM, said:

I used something similar many years ago when I did my ´hippy bit´ round Spain in an old van. If you´re in a chair, emptying it could be problematic unless the design has changed a lot. But anything has to beat a chemical toilet used by the public. Enjoy.

GB,

did you travel around Spain whilst in your chair?

Broc

Grinch83, on 14 June 2011 - 09:50 PM, said:

brockit79, on 14 June 2011 - 04:50 PM, said:

Grinch,

I used to love festivals so much; the thought of never going to one again does my head in.

Please can you let me know how you get on with this? I am sure I should be able to make a purchase this side of the pond.

Failing that perhaps doing your routine on your bed with a proper waste matt or incontinence sheet will do it?? Just an idea.

Thanks
Broc

There's no way I'm giving up the festivals! I was a freelance music journalist before my injury and my beat was covering fests. Right after I got hurt I told my friends and editors that I'll be back in the thick of it...with or without the chair. I will certainly let you know how it goes, Broc.

Yes, doing my thing laying on the bed would work, but there are a few downers to this method. One, I'll be with my girlfriend and I'd just feel bad having to wake her up every morning to kick her out of the bed! Two, I have much better results with the morning routine if I am in a sitting position as opposed to laying down, and although I probably wouldn't be the only person (disabled or not) at the festival to accidentally mess themselves, I'd really like to avoid it!

And yes, anything is better than those chemical toilets...I think I would have bought this thing even if I didn't break my back. Just stepping into one of those little stench dungeons is a health hazard!

[brockit79]

Grinch83, on 14 June 2011 - 09:50 PM, said:

brockit79, on 14 June 2011 - 04:50 PM, said:

Grinch,

I used to love festivals so much; the thought of never going to one again does my head in.

Please can you let me know how you get on with this? I am sure I should be able to make a purchase this side of the pond.

Failing that perhaps doing your routine on your bed with a proper waste matt or incontinence sheet will do it?? Just an idea.

Thanks
Broc

There's no way I'm giving up the festivals! I was a freelance music journalist before my injury and my beat was covering fests. Right after I got hurt I told my friends and editors that I'll be back in the thick of it...with or without the chair. I will certainly let you know how it goes, Broc.

Yes, doing my thing laying on the bed would work, but there are a few downers to this method. One, I'll be with my girlfriend and I'd just feel bad having to wake her up every morning to kick her out of the bed! Two, I have much better results with the morning routine if I am in a sitting position as opposed to laying down, and although I probably wouldn't be the only person (disabled or not) at the festival to accidentally mess themselves, I'd really like to avoid it!

And yes, anything is better than those chemical toilets...I think I would have bought this thing even if I didn't break my back. Just stepping into one of those little stench dungeons is a health hazard!

[brockit79]

You are very good to consider your girlfriend in this manner ;) yeah. as a singleton I was thinking from that point of view. lol! Yes agreed, sitting upright is best.

Hearing stuff like this is so encouraging. I will look out for your reviews of this bit of kit.

Enjoy! Out of interest which festival are you going to and who are you looking forward to seeing? I fancied Bonnaroo but the slight problem of distance across a big pond put me off. Arcade Fire are awesome live though and they were the headline act. I bet the weather was better than it will be at Glastonbury, although it was amazing weather when I went in 2009; I was lucky

Broc

[guido]

I sell a couple of useful bits for travel on DisabledGear.com

Inflatable Loo Seat Cushion, as those pieces of equipment have hard seats and not much space to get your hand through for M.E.

Deflates to take up hardly any space.




A Uriwell Personal Urinal - yes! designed for men AND women, and with hermetically sealing lid for spill & odour avoidance:




Travel Shower Chair - Lightweight & Portable

[brockit79]

loving the look of the travel shower chair!

[greybeard]

brockit79, on 16 June 2011 - 07:40 AM, said:

GB,

did you travel around Spain whilst in your chair?

Broc

No. It was many years before I needed one. It was also back in the day when 50 pence bought you a bag full of tomatoes, four bread rolls and a litre of wine --- and --- you got money back on the bottle!!!!!!!!! Parked the van on a beach and stayed until the money ran out. Bliss. We got off the ferry at Dover with £1.50 to our name.

Edited by greybeard, 16 June 2011 - 02:59 PM.

[Edinburgh Colin]

brockit79, on 16 June 2011 - 01:44 PM, said:

loving the look of the travel shower chair!

I bought one for our cottage up North and it's really sturdy, almost works as a chair over the toilet too just about 4 inches too low for the model in the cottage but if it was a modern toilet it may fit. It's the clips where it folds that foul on the toilet. We just built two rails of wood to raise it up and hey presto it's OK. Bugger to travel with two 2 foot long planks of wood though!!

[Grinch83]

brockit79, on 16 June 2011 - 07:57 AM, said:

Enjoy! Out of interest which festival are you going to and who are you looking forward to seeing? I fancied Bonnaroo but the slight problem of distance across a big pond put me off. Arcade Fire are awesome live though and they were the headline act. I bet the weather was better than it will be at Glastonbury, although it was amazing weather when I went in 2009; I was lucky

Broc

Well, this time around I'll be hitting the Phish Festival (Super Ball IX) in Watkins Glenn, NY. It's a one band event, the first I've been to. But my past favorites have been the All Good festival in West Virginia, Rothbury in Michigan and of course, the many many Bonnaroos I've been to. I highly recommend everyone go to at least one Bonnaroo, though I was AB when I went, and I can see the heat and long distances being a huge pain for someone in a chair.

I've always wanted to hit up the Glastonbury fest! Maybe next year?

guido, on 16 June 2011 - 09:13 AM, said:

I sell a couple of useful bits for travel on DisabledGear.com

Inflatable Loo Seat Cushion, as those pieces of equipment have hard seats and not much space to get your hand through for M.E.

Deflates to take up hardly any space.

DBT Std Inflatable toilet seat w.800.jpg


A Uriwell Personal Urinal - yes! designed for men AND women, and with hermetically sealing lid for spill & odour avoidance:

buy Uriwell Personal Toilet available on www.DisabledGear.com.jpg


Travel Shower Chair - Lightweight & Portable

Shower Chair h150px .jpg

Ahhhh...that shower chair is awesome! Wish I found that earlier!

I have an inflatable roho toilet seat cushion, so that should help.

Thanks for the info, and you may be getting an order from soon!

[Doodle]

Grinch83, on 14 June 2011 - 04:36 PM, said:

Hey guys & gals.

I'm heading to a music festival in a couple of weeks (I've been to dozens, but this will be the first time in a chair) and have been doing a lot of research on equipment/care/etc. I started a thread about this a while back and got some helpful responses and just wanted to share a piece of equipment I just purchased to see if any of y'all have used this before and what your thoughts are.

Here's the toilet I've decided on for my morning routine. Have any of you guys used this? If so, how did it work out?

Next on my list is a big ass tent (no more camping in little three man domes) and a nice comfy air mattress.

I have one of those toilets in my horse box which I use on the road! Its not bad, be careful transferring on it can be a bit tippy! I would have thought it would be quite heavy for carrying to a festival though! Where are you planning on putting it?

I really want to get back to going to festivals, I have only ever been to one as an AB, and was put off going to the toilet there as it was! So now its a bigger issue being SCI. I think what I would or will do is buy on of those big tents with rooms on and make one a toilet! I really like Guido's shower chair aswell!

[brockit79]

GB - I still want to travel dont know whether i have the courage in my chair. it certainly changes the dynamic of things. i did a stint in italy, Via Reggio in the tuscany region a few years ago. 4 a euro you got your empty vino bottle filled up. n that was about 50p and food was cheap. i picked up enough of the language to blag my way and i have italian grand parents so i got dark hair n skin (n unfortunately the firey temperament lol!); i couldnt understand most of what they said......good times

Grinch - I used to do Reading festival every year 4 years then split with my partner and went further a field (i kno; sad) Glastonbury was my all time favourite and it took me years to try it. the weather was brilliant (the norm is floating tents from the heavy rain), Secret Garden Party, The Big Chill (more dance music). I did Benecassim in spain one year and camping in 100F degree heat is no joke i was ill.

I have also liked the look of Coachella in past years. Have you ever been?

EC - Travel shower chair is a must. I will do a festie again!

[Grinch83]

Hey hey guys & gals.

Just wanted to give you guys a follow up to my music fest/camping adventure.

First off, it was definitely a milestone in my recovery. Not only was it great to be able to get back out to a festival again, and to party with friends like the old days, but to also stay on top of all my SCI daily duties while still having a blast made me feel really good about my life and where I am right now.

Okay, now that the mushy, hippie stuff is out of the way, down to business. The festival had an accessible camping area complete with handicapped accessible port-o-johns and even a wheelchair-sized stall with a flush toilet. So as far as the morning routine went, I borrowed a travel commode chair from a friend (this one, to be exact) and just set it up over the flush toilet and did my business as if I was home. The only downside was having to explain to a few folks waiting for my stall that it takes us SCI a little bit longer to finish things up, but everyone was cool and it really was no big deal.

As far as camping went, my girlfriend and I invested in a big ass queen sized air mattress. It was double height so it came right up to the cushion of my chair, making it a breeze to transfer on and off. We used a tent from REI called the Hobitat 4. The tent was just big enough for us to fit the mattress and then left enough space for me to wheel in parallel to the mattress to transfer.

The only real issue was keeping up with cathing, especially since I was dipping into the whiskey all weekend. While at camp it was easy enough to go -- I either hit up the nearby johns or went right behind our car. But it was a different story while inside the concert venue. It was such a pain to get around to the port-o-johns they had set up inside, so what I ended up doing was putting a blanket over my lap, and using a headlight flashlight, and doing my thing right there while everyone else was dancing around me...no one knew what was going on and if people did happen to see me ducked under a blanket, they probably thought I was rolling up a spliff or something.

As for mobility, I bought a FreeWheel a little while ago and that helped tremendously with navigating the gravel/grassy areas. The venue was mostly flat so I didn't have to deal with too many hills, but if I did I always had someone nearby willing to give me a push. Also, the headlight flashlight I was using was perfect for letting people know when I was making my way through the crowd.

We brought a bunch of healthy and easy-on-the-stomach food with us to cook for breakfast, lunch and dinner each night, so my GI tract stayed on course. We also brought plenty of water to stay hydrated. My rule was every two alcoholic beverages, I drank one bottle of water. (This, unfortunately, also resulted in me having to cath every two hours).

So big thanks for everyone who chipped in to this conversation and offered their advice. It was great! Here's a video of one of the daytime sets. Prior to the festival this set was dubbed "beach ball set" and you can see why. I've never seen so many beach balls in my life.

PM me if you have any other questions/comments or if you want to join me on my next festival!

[allis53ca]

just don't use the one this guy is "in!" http://denver.cbsloc...-yoga-festival/

[guido]

If anyone is thinking about the Travel Shower Chair that I sell (mentioned & pictured) above, just to let you know I currently have only 3 left. Have no idea when next order will come in. Nod and a wink to Apparelyzed members...


Though I still have quite a few of the Travel Bath Seats, which are excellent where there's a tub with a handheld shower.

[wheeliebear75]

guido, on 12 July 2011 - 07:28 PM, said:

If anyone is thinking about the Travel Shower Chair that I sell (mentioned & pictured) above, just to let you know I currently have only 3 left. Have no idea when next order will come in. Nod and a wink to Apparelyzed members...


Though I still have quite a few of the Travel Bath Seats, which are excellent where there's a tub with a handheld shower.

That full seat would have been awfully handy to have back when we were doing quite a bit of traveling.....sometimes the hotel had a tub & sometimes it'd have a walk-in shower. ONLY thing I would have liked added onto the features of it would be more height adjustments to allow it to fit over toilets as well. (Unless I'm mistaken & it does fit over toilets/loos)

[Chewie]

Edinburgh Colin, on 15 June 2011 - 11:59 AM, said:

If you want to keep it simple how about this?

Outdoor Comode.jpg

I love it, Colin!!!! What's holding the toilet paper on? I use a 4-leg cane to hold my paper - can't use it to walk with anymore, might as well be handy and hold my toilet paper!
Chewie

[dianna318]

For camping I have one of those shower/potty tents and my porta poty is one of those toilet seats that fit 5 gal bucket with a plastic trash bag and a bit of water and some pine sol in it. And one of those solar shower bags for cleaning up.