Rescuer, Nurse, Sailor, Firefighter, Backpacker: Two Unstoppable Women!

Rebecca left nursing full time to live on a sailboat! She continued nursing as a contract nurse until 2021, when she sailed on an adventure to the Bahamas. On her return, she opened a canvas shop, Off Season Canvas. She is a cave-rescuer as well as a sailor.

Mel has been a firefighter and an educator for fire services. She also does cave rescue. She has worked with many manufacturers for equipment and goods, as well as making them herself. Using her artistic background and sense of humor, Mel runs a small gear business with a playful vibe, Melgarita. Her portions are in italics.

Both are devoted pStyle users, and they shared their experiences with me!

How did you guys start using the pStyle? Have you tried other devices?

Rebecca:

I started doing recreational caving and outdoor activities in college. I got involved with cave rescue with Mel shortly after graduating. I’ve been involved in the rescue world and I’ve worked in very austere environments for a long time.

I never wanted to try a device because I was gonna squat in the woods and pee like a girl! I have no issue with being a girl, and that was just part of it, and I was gonna embrace that… until I had a friend, named Saj, who wrote a three page article about pee funnels for the National Speleological Society. And if she could write a three page article in a magazine that gets shipped internationally, I could try it. So I tried the one she recommended, a pStyle, and have since tried a few others—and she was right. The pStyle, the hard, trough design, is definitely the way to go.

Mel:

I knew to be cognizant of the environment. Using the bathroom in a cave is not smart. [Note: human waste can disrupt the ecosystem of caves.] For a lot of trips, I had the luck to be near an entrance where I could go outside, but when I started to do 24-hour long underground trips that wasn’t a possibility anymore.

My first attempt to pee in a large-mouth bottle was a catastrophe! So I was like, okay, which pee funnel are y’all using? Because I knew Saj and Rebecca and others in the circle were using them—I knew them as female urinary devices. FUDs. I asked, which one are you using? And they were all like, pStyle! Hands down. [For more on terminology: What is a Pee Funnel?]

But I feel like I started to use it so much more when I started doing a lot of backpacking. I have been doing section hikes on the Colorado Trail. And I have MS, so I always have my trekking poles, and often when I would squat to pee, it would be difficult to stand back up. Especially on sloped surfaces. So I started using the pStyle for multiple days of backpacking! And it was fantastic.

Here in Colorado, we have a lot of sections of the trail that are above tree line, so you have noooo privacy. And if you go and wander off trail on a fourteener, people will follow you! And you’re like, “I’m just looking for a place to pee!” There’s no place to hide. So I started carrying it for that reason. You can just turn your back!  

Rebecca:

And that was another benefit and a place where I didn’t know I would really enjoy having it.

It’s also a safety thing. Sailing, especially overnight passage to the Bahamas—you’re crossing very big waters. And falling off the boat is a risk, as is walking below from the cockpit, where the helm station is, down into the boat, to the head [restroom]. You risk falling, and if it’s dark and there’s a rough sea, it can be a very nauseating experience. Being able to go in the cockpit is fantastic.

So it’s a safety issue, it’s a convenience issue. And privacy! If it’s not dark, and there are a bunch of other boats around you… and sometimes, waste-management-wise, it’s just easier.  

What was it like the first time you used it?

Mel:

The first time I used it, I got great advice: strip everything down and get in the shower. You’re gonna take a shower; if you misfire, it’s okay! And I was pleasantly surprised! I was like, “Oh! This is not gonna be hard at all.”

The hardest part of it was actually relaxing enough to pee while standing up. Right? As someone who has all my life peed while on a toilet or squatting, it ain’t natural to relax enough when you’re in that standing position. I’d say the first time I used it, I stood there forever! And I was like, “I know I gotta go! I gotta go. Why can’t I? It’s okay! Relax!” You’re just kind of playing that mental game. And finally it was like, “Woo-hoo! Fire!”

Rebecca:

I will say that the first time I used it in the toilet as practice, my husband walked around the corner, and I had not closed the door, and he was like “Oh God!!!” Apparently he was not expecting to see me standing up to pee. You should warn your spouse.

I’m not good at peeing in toilets, standing up. I don’t know what it is. I feel like I get splash-back every time, and my husband is like, “You gotta angle it!” And I’m like [scared sound].

Rebecca:

You gotta go for the bounce shot.

Mel:

I’ve used mine in a lot of places, but never to pee in a toilet!

Rebecca:

It’s a different experience, and worth practicing if that’s something you anticipate doing, for sure! When you’re in a NASTY bathroom, and you need to go, and you don’t want to touch the doorknob much less anything once you get inside the bathroom, it’s really nice not to have to touch anything but your own pants.

I would much rather use my pStyle in a gross restroom than try the hover! No. Cover the seat in toilet paper? Nah. Just wipe it off and sit? No! The pStyle every time! I keep one in both my vehicles.

So I understand that you two have done some education about stand-to-pee devices! What is it like talking to other people about pee funnels?

Rebecca:

I’ve been a nurse for a very long time, and I worked in rope access, and the rope rescue world, so I very easily talk about all sorts of uncomfortable things with all sorts of people! And as a pretty under-represented gender in many of the avenues that both Mel and I are in, the girls are pretty tight. It makes it pretty easy to talk!

And in those environments, bathroom humor and discussion about body functions comes up more than you would imagine. Also with sailors. It’s pretty easy to converse about.

Mel:

We just did a seminar in Texas, where we had an evening that was an open discussion—typically rescue-based topics, but there were all kinds, focused toward folks that were doing cave-rescue training. And Rebecca and I did a talk, just a five to ten minute gab on how to pee standing up. It was a big co-ed group, and it was very fun! It was very educational, and people loved it. They said we ended up doing a stand-up comedy act! In mixed company right! We weren’t gonna get too serious on stuff, but we were very specific on things too.

I remember Rebecca said, that’s gonna be our gab, who here’s interested to hear more? Tons of hands went up. And she said, how many people have questions so far? And five hands went up and they were all guys. They were asking serious questions. We did have some gals come up to us later to ask some more specific details. It was a very fun and very entertaining session. It was awesome to talk about pee funnels, and be advocates!

Rebecca:

And if you approach it with a little bit of humor and humility, it breaks down those barriers. And the more you talk about it, the easier it IS to talk about.

Was there ever a time when you were like, “Oh God, I’m so glad I have my pStyle?” When are you most grateful for it?

Rebecca:

When I was caught in Atlanta traffic for three and half hours. I was pretty much parked. There were people throwing a football back and forth on the interstate. And I thought, “This is HORRIBLE. I’m not gonna make it.” And then I thought, “Ah! My cave gear is in the back!” I got out of my vehicle, went to the back, opened my cave gear, got my pStyle, got my blanket out of the backseat, and went back to the front of the vehicle.

 And you know how nursing mothers will sort of cover up their top end and nurse their baby? I covered up my bottom end and peed in a bottle, right there, kneeling on my floorboard. It was that or pee in my seat. Pee was gonna happen. And I was glad I got to choose where it went.

Mel:

The first time I was there, giggling maniacally as I was using my pStyle, was in a tent at night and it was pouring down rain. Just a downpour where no one wants to have to get up and go in that. So I was like,” I have two vestibules, this one’s downhill, I’m going!” So I unzipped and I just got on my knees. I used my pStyle and I stayed dry and cozy and warm the whole time. And I was like “hehehehe,” laughing enough that my stepdaughter was like, “Mel, what are you laughing at over there?” So that was like: SUCCESS.

Rebecca:

[Leans forward] I understand what the men were so excited about. It’s very liberating. And it helps level the playing field.

Mel:

For me, squatting down and staying there for a while, and then getting back up, in ANY sort of graceful manner, is not the best. And boy! Not having that moment where you gotta unclip everything, get it all off, get down to your skivvies in order to pee—it’s been great! I literally made a holster that’s on the side of my waist-belt, so I can just pull the pStyle out, unclip my belt without taking off my pack, and do my business, and keep walking. It literally saves time, like more than just a few minutes, when you’re hiking throughout the day. It can make a difference of a half mile or a mile by the end of the day.

Rebecca:

Mel’s holster is so awesome that she sells them in her shop. Because all of us want one! [Available here.] She just whips it out like one of the boys. [Laughs]

What would you say to someone who was afraid to try a pee funnel?

Rebecca:

It hasn’t bitten anyone that I know of.

But understanding why they’re anxious to try it is the bigger question to me. “What about it makes you anxious?” I think it’s really individual how you’d come back after someone answers that question.

It’s not an expensive device. [The pStyle is $11.99.] If you try it in the shower, like I started and like Mel started, and many, many people have tried on our recommendation, you don’t really have a lot to lose. If people still have reservations, I’d ask why.

Mel:

Yeah, I think “why” would be my question too. If they’re concerned about it being messy, we can talk about ways to mitigate that; if they’re a first-time user, the shower is a great thing; if they’re concerned about what someone may see if they’re in a public bathroom, we can have discussions about all of that. I feel like if YOU don’t get too anxious about it, it can be a great conversation to ease someone’s real concern.

Rebecca:

I have had one little girl in a public restroom say, “Mom, someone there’s standing up to pee!” And I chuckled and thought, “Well, that’s a fun explanation for Mom to come up with.” [Laughs] I have no idea what she said.

What do you think would help get pee funnels normalized?

Mel:

Well, I’m about to do a little convention show, and I’ve decided to make a really large papier-mache pStyle and have it hanging in my booth, and have some of the holsters available to sell! I know there’s gonna be all sorts of questions from all sorts of people, and I am no stranger to that. I have no problem telling whomever all about it.

Rebecca:

When people are hesitant to try a pee funnel, and then they try it—it’s hard to keep them quiet when they realize what a game changer it is! So we people who are pretty outspoken, I think we’re all doing our part within our different communities to spread the word.

I have friends who are living in communal environments, such as shelters, places where they don’t have as much privacy—I’ve given a couple away for that reason. People who are unhoused are looking for safe places to go and ways to maintain their dignity. I think the more we talk with shelters and places that serve those populations, the more we can get them into those communities. I really want to help people maintain their dignity. I think a pee funnel does a lot for that.

Is there anything you’d like to share that I haven’t asked you?

Rebecca:

On the side of nursing and public health, I’ve talked to a urologist or two, and they say that when women stand up to pee multiple times a day, for days at a time, it can actually weaken the pelvic floor and create urgency to pee. So it’s important to keep your pelvic health in mind and do good Kegel exercises. Don’t use a pee funnel just because you have it; use it because you’re not around a toilet. I know not only from talking to a urologist, but also from personal experience! [Laughs]

Mel:

What else? If you’re ever in a situation where there’s snow around, that is fun! Let me tell you. First time I came across snow, I was like, I’m going even though I don’t need to, because I need to see if I can write my name. And that was highly entertaining. [Want to write your name in the snow? See the Outdoors section.]

Rebecca:

I will say the two unhoused women I gifted pStyles to were very appreciative and grateful. I haven’t had a chance to talk to my local shelter yet, but I’m going to seminary soon and I’ll be talking about that there a lot. I think it is an avenue where we can reach out, build some bridges, and give people their dignity back.

Thanks Rebecca and Mel! You can learn more about the pStyle at thepstyle.com or see my take in Pee Funnel Reviews or What’s the Best Pee Funnel? Want to share your story? gostandingup@gmail.com or learn more at Share Your Story!