BDA shorts

I'm going to be doing a bunch of traveling in Latin America. Outside of the nicer parts of the nicer cities, lots of toilets don't have any seats and so you gotta sorta squat and... you get the idea. Does there exist some sort of easily portable seat that I can take with me, that can somehow adjust to different toilet bowl sizes? I've seen some on Amazon that are designed for 5-gallon buckets but I need something more portable and more versatile than that.

gobluetwo

It's easier to poop when you're squatting. There is actually research into this. Don't worry about a portable seat and get your squat on. Maybe you can go out into the woods to practice so you're comfortable with it before your trip.

Also, I'd hate to have to drag around a toilet seat cover that is sitting on potentially very dirty (if you get my meaning) ground.

Low Roller

I encountered this problem once in Cuba and never want to go anywhere where I have to deal with it again You could make some out of thick corrugated cardboard. They could fold in half to store in a backpack and then be disposed of after each use so that you don't have to carry dirty ones around with you. If it works, you could go into business selling them on ebay!

Doc Savage

Saves money on rain gear, too.

rickg523

👏👏👏👏👏👏

nyc2socal

+1

I'd be more concerned with having enough toilet paper... I buy my travel ones from REI..

BDA shorts

That's the weird thing, it's all over Latin America. I've seen it in the Dominican Republic, in Argentina, and even in high-end shopping malls in Colombia. I'm still trying to wrap my head around how toilets get sold without seats to begin with, or what happens to the seats ("it broke" doesn't make sense when every toilet in the building is like that).

Cardboard's really not a bad idea. Would also fix the problem of constantly-changing seat sizes and being reused after a dirty bowl.

1kBill

I also saw this problem at multiple locations in France just last month. I found it shocking. Some of them were at restaurants, so it made me wonder how the staff handle the problem.

If you want people to squat, just put in squat pans and be done with it.

SanDiego1K

Squatties are squatties and you should just squat. But I take it these are toilets with no seat? I assume the issue is that you don't want to touch the surface that is unclean. If so, how about the toilet seat covers that are often present in women's restrooms? Here is one example of a 5 pack. Search for "disposable toilet seat cover" and you'll find a number of options.

BDA shorts

Hmm, interesting idea. That's right, these are toilets with no seats. It's not as much the hygiene issue, it's more that you can't really sit on the bowl itself without, uhh, worrying about falling in...

GetawaysRus

Maybe you should approach the problem differently. This may sound ridiculous, but...

What if you bring something to stabilize you while you squat so that you don't, uh, fall in.

The first thing that comes to my mind: 1 (or maybe 2) camera tripods. These can be small and light. They are not suspicious for travel because many people carry camera equipment. You could practice at home and learn how to quickly open and set them up (the legs are adjustable) so that the top of the tripod(s) was at a comfortable height for you to grip.

I'd also bring along disposable disinfectant wipes to wipe the bottom of the tripod legs when done.

(Be thankful that there is at least a toilet, even if it is missing its seat. I've visited some parts of the world where the bathrooms only had a hole in the floor.)

gobluetwo

Oh, that's weird. I was assuming you were referring to just a hole in the ground like they have in many parts of Asia still, even in public bathrooms. Are they standard height toilets?

SanDiego1K

There are lots of inflatable toilet seats that can be set on a regular toilet. But honestly, I'd be concerned about the challenges of packing and unpacking any solution as well as keeping it clean. Women have had to deal with the seat less toilet our entire lives. Either we hover or if we don't have sufficient core strength, we use disposable tissues on the porcelain which contacts us.

Shanqx

LOL Awesome that makes my day!

84fiero

Yep, standard height flush toilets.