Last Updated on June 6, 2020 by Christine Kaaloa

Are you a newbie to using squat toilets?  Traveling a country, where there’s non-western toilets? Going hiking in the woods, where the toilet is the great wide open? Here’s a helpful aide for squeamish squatters…

It’s called a Female Urinary Device or F.U.D.  It was my first toilet aid, when I began traveling countries, where I’d be subject to a squatter.

Should you learn how to pee standing if you’re a female traveler?

I used to be terrified of  Asian squat toilets. Traveling Asia and Southeast Asia (thank God for the bum gun!) literally remedied me of my squat toilet fears by continually forcing me to confront my fear everywhere I traveled: Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, India, Korea, Japan, China (sometimes they have a community toilet *shudders*), Laos, etc.. If you love trekking or doing homestays in Southeast Asia, be prepared to face the squat toilet.

I was preparing for my first trip to India and researching Indian trains with my girlfriend, when she dropped the bomb on me.

There would probably only be Asian toilets in India and if we were traveling on a train, she was prepared to bring out her power-squatter legs for the ride.

” Asian toilets, what’s that?”  I asked innocently.

“It’s when you have to squat over a hole to pee“, she replied.

I froze in horror.

I’d never done that before.  I wasn’t even sure if I’d be capable.

I’d been raised to go princess-like on a throne. The idea of squatting in the bushes, a hole in the ground or in a porcelain bowl grossed me out.

Besides that, who knew what scary things could leap out at me in the dark, with my pants down and my ass hanging low to the earth?  Did I want my pants to mop up the remains of others before me?  What if I missed my mark?  (And I did a couple of times too… shhhh)

Female travel tip: Hand sanitizer helps remove odors.

My Freshette Review: My first pee-nis

Knowing we were planning long distance Indian train routes for our India trip, I was freaking out about using Indian train toilets. My girlfriend emailed me a picture and wrote, ” It’s called The Freshette“

If you were stuck between fear or shame and mortification, which would you choose?

Without thinking twice, I clicked on ‘Buy‘.

The Freshette is a made with a slim, firm hard plastic of good quality and comes with a removable funnel, which fits perfectly in the cup hole. You can easily collapse the funnel into the cup for easy packing.  The cup is also wide enough for coverage so that urinating into it is easy and you’re not urinating on your hand.

I didn’t have to deal with the discomforts of a dirty or smelly toilet (read my experiences here) and it was loads easier and cleaner than peeing into a doctor’s cup!

Afterwards, I would clean it down with baby wipes, hand sanitizer or soap and water.  (Yes, you have to touch your own pee, but it’s your pee. )  Then, I’d just stick it back in it’s plastic zip bag and was good to go.

What is it like to pee standing for ladies?

I won’t say my experience was good nor will I say it was bad.  But it was “different”.

Like a man, you have to adjust yourself to hit the mark, but it’s relatively simple and not messy at all.

Sure, it felt strange.

It was a huge mental switch and I felt silly too. But peeing like a man was easy, just as women think.  It certainly made my trip less stressful.

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A perfect alternative to learning how to squat.

What I love about using a female urinary device was that it gave me time to get used to the Asian toilet idea. If there was ever a highly unpleasant situation that I didn’t want to surrender to, I always knew I had a backup “friend.”

There’s a handful of interesting female urinary device options  from collapsable, biodegradable, stylish or no style.  They all do the same thing. I wish back when I got mine I had all these options of ways to go (I probably would’ve chosen something even more compact and collapsable).  It’s compact– with my Freshette, the spout retracted into itself– and if you get good at it, you don”t even need to take off your pants to use it.
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8 Best Female Urinary Devices

Go Girl!

The Freshette

P-Mate Disposable (5-pack)

Urinelle (7-Pack of disposables)

The Shewee 

P-Style cup

Women’s Lady J (check out the male version)

Travel John Portable Bathroom (Disposable 3 Pack)

Likewise, there’s many travelers who can advise you on how to use a squatter if you’d like to dare it. Here’s some examples: Migrationology (a step-by-step guide), Girl Unstoppable (a female experience), GoBackpacking (a good breakdown).

I only used my female urinary device “friend” a few times during my trip to India. Knowing it was my desire to travel more Asian countries, I knew I eventually had to break my power squatting legs in.

But for women, who are as terrified about the ordeal as much as I was, I’d recommend a F.U.D. until you gain more comfort with using a squat toilet.

Trip planning for India ? Start here.

Planning your first trip to India? Start here. What to Pack for India Backpacking? Check here.  Read about how to Get an Indian SIM , do you need a female urinary device?,  getting an Indian Tourist Visa for U.S. Citizens

Learn the India trip essentials from India scams, dress etiquette, itineraries, accommodations, food insights, how to take the bus, dealing with sexual harassment and indian trains, and staying at ashrams.

Have you ever tried a female urinary device?