Stand-to-Pee Stories: Stefanie

Stefanie is an avid outdoorswoman who enjoys hiking, mountain biking, skiing, and stand-up paddle surfing, among other adventures! She uses the Freshette pee funnel and was kind enough to share some of her experiences with me.

What’s your story—why did you decide to use a stand-to-pee device, and what led you to Freshette?

I was out on a mountain bike ride with some friends and I was visiting Phoenix. I live in San Diego. And we just somehow got on the topic of pee funnels, and one of my friends said, “You know, I highly recommend the Freshette,” and then she told me why. She said, because it has the longer tube on it. The other ones, she says, you pee on yourself.

Fast forward a few days. I’m mountain biking, I get into an accident, I wind up fracturing my hip, get taken to the hospital… now I’m bedridden! And I’m in Phoenix. I’ve got to go home. It’s a six hour car ride. I’m thinking to myself: how am I going to pee? There’s no way that I’m going to be able to get from the car to a gas station. And I didn’t have an ADA placard to park near a gas station anyway.

So I remembered the conversation with my friend! And I’m on Amazon, going “I need to have the Freshette pee funnel sent to me by tomorrow!” And it arrived!

What was it like the first time you used it?

I got it New Year’s Eve and we were driving back the next day. And I was like “How do I use this thing?” I saw it said “Try it in the shower first.” So I did that, and it worked, even though I could barely stand.

And the Freshette was my life saver coming home, it really was, because I could pee on the side of the road! I just had to slide out of the truck—still standing—and it has this lip on it, you just kind of scrape it along, and it takes away the “drip drip.” So that was great!

Freshette’s had a couple of models, and is now on its “third generation” model. There’s also a 36-inch tube. What do you use?

Well, all that story is how I got to use this one [Stefanie holds the Freshette with retractable 5-inch tube, an earlier model]. And then I was like, this is great, I’m gonna use it when I go backpacking and hiking and camping when I have to pee, rather than squatting.

Fast forward a few years, then we get this one! [Stefanie holds the current Freshette model with 7-inch tube that folds back.] This one’s great because now the tube just rolls out. I love it! The tube is a little bit wider, so if you do have way more pee, it’s coming out really fast. Then it just folds back up. And it has a contraption here to keep the tube in place.

I like both models! I keep the original one in my car for emergencies—and trust me there have been a few! And the other once I keep in my backpacking gear, or when I go skiing.

And then there’s the long extension tube, for people who are at home—so it also caters to people who have had injuries.

How did using Freshette impact your life?

Funny, as I’ve aged, something happened with my knees. My knees started getting sore as I was mountain biking. I could barely squat! And I was like, Hmm! Love that I have the Freshette! I don’t have to worry about squatting.

Or skiing! Sometimes you’re skiing, and you really gotta go—well, that means you have to go all the way back to the lodge to go to the bathroom, whereas now I don’t have to. And when it’s cold, you don’t want to have to take off your bottoms and squat with skis on. This is way easier.

Have people ever been surprised or reacted strongly when finding out that you use a pee funnel?

When I went mountain biking, one person said, “That’s interesting, I just squat,” and I said, “Yeah, I just squat too sometimes.” But there’s some times when squatting is very difficult. Or I’m tired! And my knees hurt. And I don’t want to squat. And actually, when you squat, you’re more exposed. I can’t squat by my car. But I can use this by my car.

So yeah, I think one person was surprised, and asked, “Why don’t you just squat?” But my guy friends were all like, “This is great!” My boyfriend didn’t know about the Freshette, but when I ordered it and I told him and he went, “That’s awesome!”

I think people are more interested. They’re intrigued.  

Was there ever a time that you were very grateful to have the Freshette?

I took it to Portugal. I took it travelling because some of those bathrooms are nasty—not in Portugal specifically, just anywhere in the world, including here.

I was stand-up paddle surfing. We went to a place before the summer season. So the bathrooms were locked! Of course the guys go behind the bathroom to pee standing up, and I’m like, I got my Freshette! I’m gonna do the same thing! I told a friend there and she said, “That’s brilliant!”

What would you say to people who are afraid to try it?

Oh! I would say, “Get over it.” [Laughs.] I would be like, “Just try it in the shower. Try it in your back yard. Try it where it’s a safe environment. So if you do get pee on yourself, it’s no big deal. It’s okay! Pee’s sterile. [Laughs.] It’s no big deal. Give it a try!” Because it’s amazing how liberating it is afterwards.

And if people are grossed out by germs, think of the germs in some of these bathrooms you go to, that’s even worse! So I would just try it. Even just try it at home naked, aiming into the toilet.

I’d say Freshette’s probably the easiest one to use! It’s got a big funnel, and if you hold it right up to your vagina, then it’s sealed! The pee’s not gonna go anywhere else.

Anything else you want to share?

The Freshette is great! I use it when I go backpacking, hiking and biking, instead of squatting.

I like that it helps people with injuries. It’s not just for outdoorsy people.

I also like that it’s a woman-owned business, and I like supporting small businesses—this is the one I recommend.

You can get a Freshette pee funnel or learn more about Freshette at their site: Freshette. As Stefanie says, Freshette is a small, woman-owned business. Read about my experiences with the Freshette pee funnel on my site at What’s the Best Pee Funnel? Thanks Stefanie!