Everybody poops—except for me when I’m traveling.
It might make you giggle, but traveler’s constipation is no joke. Most likely caused by disruptions to your body’s regular routine and diet, vacation constipation is a common (and unfortunate) reality of jet-setting that many travelers experience.
I know I do. Forgive me for oversharing, but when I travel, vacation constipation is a given — not an “if” but a “when.” Even one night away from home throws off my digestive equilibrium, and a multiday trip almost always means a multiday stomach ache.
If you can relate to this particular traveler’s woe, might I make a (somewhat odd and potentially invasive) suggestion? Consider traveling with a portable toilet stool.
This lightweight, portable toilet stool folds down flat, and it’s small enough to slip into a carry-on or personal item. Made of easy-to-clean, durable plastic, it comes in four colors and can hold up to 220 pounds.
I get it. The notion of traveling with a toilet stool seems unrealistic and more than a bit extra, but please hear me out. In general, toilet stools can help alleviate a variety of pooping-related problems (including constipation), since squatting can help straighten the colon, resulting in a faster and more complete bowel movement. So if you use a toilet stool when you’re on the throne in your own home, why not re-create your bathroom oasis when you’re on the road?
In my home, we’re big fans of the toilet stool. We have three toilets in the house, and each one has a Squatty Potty Oslo Folding Bamboo Stool sitting in front of it. The Oslo, a top pick in our guide to toilet stools, is a gorgeous, sleek wooden stool. It’s also the only stool Wirecutter recommends that folds down flat. But I wouldn’t call it portable. Folding the Oslo takes considerable effort, and even once it’s packed down, the stool is too heavy and bulky to take along on vacation.
The Folding Portable Camping Hiking Stool, on the other hand, is the perfect travel companion. This $10 stool, made of thick polypropylene plastic, is small and lightweight enough to fit in either a carry-on or roomier personal item, such as a backpack. It weighs only half a pound, and when it’s collapsed, it’s flat and takes up roughly the same space as a filing folder. And a handy magnetic snap closure keeps the stool from gaping open when it’s folded.
Once you’ve settled into your hotel room or home rental, the camping stool is easy to set up. Just pull the handles apart, and then press down on the middle to snap the seat into place. The first few times you use the stool, it takes a little muscle to pop it open because the plastic is still stiff and new. But after using mine on a few trips, I’ve found unfolding it has gotten easier.
Before I invested in a portable toilet stool, I used to flip over a hotel’s bathroom trash can to rest my feet on while trying to relieve my vacation constipation. This worked only some of the time — the process would get more complicated a few days into the trip, once the trash can started to fill up. And I’d inevitably dent the bottom of the can, so it would wobble when it was set upright again.
Now, I pop open my toilet stool before hopping on the toilet, and I leave it out for the duration of my trip so that my travel buddies can poop in peace too. At the end of every trip, I wipe down the plastic stool with a damp washcloth before stowing it back in my bag, and the hotel trash can remains unmarred. You’re welcome, Holiday Inn Express!
The easy-to-clean material also comes in handy if you find yourself needing to use the stool in not-so-sanitary-scenarios — like in an airplane bathroom on a long-haul flight or in a questionable gas-station bathroom during a road-trip pit stop.
Setting up the stool (and collapsing it when you’re done) takes less than 30 seconds. Video: Elissa Sanci/NYT Wirecutter
This little stool can also be used in plenty of situations outside of the bathroom. With a weight limit of 220 pounds, it can easily act as a seat or a step stool. I don’t find it particularly comfortable to sit on — the seat is small, the hard edges dig into your bottom, and it lacks back support — but it could work in a pinch. And when this stool isn’t being used as a stool, you could even use it as a tote, as the Amazon listing photos suggest, though I’m not sure how much the rigid plastic could realistically hold.
I won’t say that this portable toilet stool has magically solved my travel-specific stomach issues. Vacation constipation is still my biggest traveling gripe — but when nature does eventually call, I love that I’m able to prop my feet on this stool to ensure a more-enjoyable bathroom experience. Though it seems silly to pack your own toilet stool, I don’t regret my purchase — especially since it’s just $10. My traveling toilet stool has proved to be a game-changing vacation essential that allows me to bring the comforts of home along for the trip.
This article was edited by Hannah Rimm and Maxine Builder.
