Pooping — more specifically, how and where to poop — is something van lifers and campers tend to gloss over on social media. Because, let’s face it: Doing your business in the woods is rarely a glamorous task. But Swiss brand Clesana is looking to make it a little less terrible with a clever new portable toilet design.
The company’s new X1 measures just 13.4 x 15 x 12.2 inches. That’s roughly the size of a standard milk crate, making it just as compact and camp-friendly as most other portable loos on the market. But what sets this next-gen model apart is its ability to electrically raise once you get to camp, elevating the foot-high seat to a more comfortable 16 inches. This puts it at a height comparable to many residential toilets in the United States and Europe, making it infinitely more comfortable for van-lifing adults and car campers to go on the go.
The inner workings of the X1 rely on an odor- and leakproof medical-grade film bag to capture urine and excrement. Once you’re done doing your business and activate the dry flush mechanism, the X1 thermoelectrically seals the liner, cuts into a neat little baggy, and drops it all into a catch basin below. That basin can then be easily emptied out into a standard trash receptacle (the legality of this varies by county and state in the US), much like dog owners would do when cleaning up after their pups.
While there’s no official launch date for the X1 portable toilet, Clesana has confirmed that production is in the works. According to one German distributor, we expect pricing of around 990€ (roughly USD $1,150). While that isn’t inexpensive, it is in line with other premium portable toilet offerings and promises to be way more comfortable to boot.
