Best deodorant for camping
In this article, we’re going to take an in-depth look at the best deodorant for camping.
Fighting body odor has many of us reaching for the most advanced arsenal we can lay our hands on. But for the first time choosing a deodorant comes with a health warning.
Aluminum causes Alzheimer’s disease, and it can even mess with reproductive hormones. This means a more health-conscious and even cautious approach to buying deodorant or antiperspirant.
We’ve done the bulk of your homework for you. We put together a team of testers (four girls and two guys) and tried a fistful of scents and brands. These all are completely free from aluminum, parabens, and phthalates, and all are perfect for camping.
Our choice for the best overall deodorant was Fat and the Moon Deodorant cream. It’s a 100% organic product with a fresh coconut scent, and you need very little for each application. It’s safe for you to use, and it’s also a great friend to the environment.
Read on to see our review of this, and the other deodorants we tested.
Overall Best Natural Deodorant
Fat and the Moon Deodorant Cream
Pros
- It’s a cream
- Coconut scented
- Very little is needed for each application
100% organic - Only natural products in cream and packaging
Cons
- Pricey
Best-Value Deodorant
Thinksport Natural Deodorant Aloe and Tea Flowers
Pros
- It’s entirely free of aluminum
- No phthalates
- No parabens
- No biologically harmful chemicals
- EWG Verified
- Product
- All ingredients are rated 1 by the EWG database
- Free of endocrine-disrupting chemicals
Perfect travel size
Cruelty-free
Cons
- The scent can transfer to clothes
Best for sensitive pits
Ethique Sans Unscented Solid Deodorant
Pros
- Vegan
- Unisex
- Highly effective
- Fully recyclable
1 bar is equivalent to two deodorant tubes - Saves .4 liters of water in manufacture, compared to comparative products
Cons
- The bar struggles to keep its shape in rugged conditions
Fat and the Moon Deodorant Cream
Overall Best Natural Deodorant
Don’t you just love it when the packaging gets something right? This one does. The label on Fat and the Moon deodorant cream reads, “This deodorant is for the full spectrum of stinky.”
Our test team consists of a crowd of really active people. There’s a skydiver, a rock climber, a fly fisherman, a scuba diver, a jogger, and a gym bunny. So, we had a range of people who could take the deodorants in the test on a variety of outdoor activities, and come back with tried and tested outdoors-verified results.
The verdict of the Fat and the Moon deo cream? Among all the testers it delivered a standout performance. No exceptions. No one even had a whiff of themselves while involved in their various adventures, and some of the stuff they get up to works up a real sweat!
This stuff proved to be the nemesis of hairy pits, even in the blistering sun. It contains antimicrobial tea tree oil, as well as baking soda, and arrowroot powder to absorb moisture.
The antimicrobial tea tree oil was heaven-sent in the test. Two members of our team spent a long weekend in a spot where fresh water was scarce, so they couldn’t wash every day. Apart from body odor, there’s also a hygiene issue to contend with. The tea tree oil’s antimicrobial qualities were extremely effective in providing a clean feeling while fighting harmful bacteria.
You actually rub the cream into the skin as opposed to applying it with a roll-on or stick, so there’s never any issue with your deodorant sticking to your skin, or piling. Across the board our testers mentioned this when they returned from their individual activities – Fat and the Moon is comfortable to wear.
And it takes very little to do the job for the whole day, no matter how active you may be. This came as a surprise too. Just a dab on the finger for each armpit, according to our gym bunny.
The scent is subtle – a heady aroma of grapefruit, black pepper, bergamot, and sage, brightened up with a touch of coconut oil.
It’s perfect when you want to smell the great outdoors instead of yourself. And it’s unisex. The fragrance isn’t overtly masculine, nor is it girly by any stretch of the imagination.
Pros
- It’s a cream
- Coconut scented
- Very little is needed for each application
100% organic - Only natural products in cream and packaging
Cons
- Pricey
Thinksport Natural Deodorant Aloe and Tea Flowers
Best-Value Deodorant
One of our testers (the rock climber – but you didn’t hear that from me) actually stinks when he’s outdoors. There, I said it – but so does he. He’s often lamented around the campfire at night that his BO is super-exaggerated when he sits on a rockface in the sun, and that it becomes intense enough to steal some of his enjoyment.
His first comment after trying the Thinksport Aloe and Tea Flowers was, “This stuff works like magic!!”
Our first question, in return, was, “So, how much did you have to use?”
That’s the beauty, according to his experience. It doesn’t take much. He believes, even with his excessive BO when he’s in the sun, a single purchase would last him a couple of weeks – and that’s considering he’s out there on the rock face virtually every weekend.
The Thinksport Natural Deodorant literally wiped out any underlying body odor for almost two days.
Thinksport focuses on the environment too. Both your body and your world are important to them. Their products are cruelty-free, and also contain none of the chemicals that could disrupt your endocrine system.
Pros
- It’s entirely free of aluminum
- No phthalates
- No parabens
- No biologically harmful chemicals
- EWG Verified Product
- All ingredients are rated 1 by the EWG database
- Free of endocrine-disrupting chemicals
- Perfect travel size
- Cruelty-free
Cons
- The scent can transfer to clothes
Ethique Sans Unscented Solid Deodorant
Best for sensitive pits
Ethique is a New Zealand brand. They are health and environmentally conscious – no paraben, aluminum, or phthalates in their products at all. But, the Unscented Solid Deodorant from Ethique also contains no baking soda. This is important, because it’s the baking soda in many competitive brands that cause irritation to sensitive skin.
So, in our pit-to-pit challenge between the members of our test team (yes, we got our rock climber and fly fisherman to wear it too, even though it’s a girly product) it was the longest-lasting deo on our list of best deodorants for camping.
It simply lasted, and then lasted some more.
Something that came out spontaneously when the team returned after the weekend of testing the Ethique deo, was said by our fly fisherman. He travels long distances to get to the waters where he likes to fish, so he has to spend some time in his truck before he gets to commune with nature. He specifically mentioned it also seemed to clear up the smelly, musty smell on the inside of his vehicle too!
There’s actually a lot of good science behind Ethique’s efficacy. The deodorant is full of nontoxic, antibacterial ingredients, including magnesium hydroxide and zinc oxide. It also has activated charcoal – this is to absorb bacterial waste from smelly pits. And there’s a bamboo extract – in ultrafine powder form – which easily absorbs moisture up to 200% of its own weight.
Ethique uses Jojoba oil and Almond oil to ensure a smooth application. Our gym bunny loved that part – and, strangely enough, so did the fly fisherman. He also struggles with sensitive skin.
And then there’s a feature we loved (almost) more than all the others. There’s no plastic in sight with this product from Ethique. The deodorant stick is wrapped in cardboard and paper, and the whole kaboodle is compostable.
Pros
- Vegan
- Unisex
- Highly effective
- Fully recyclable
- 1 bar is equivalent to two deodorant tubes
- Saves .4 liters of water in manufacture, compared to comparative products
Cons
- The bar struggles to keep its shape in rugged conditions
Malin+Goetz Eucalyptus Deodorant
Best smelling
As far as scent is concerned, the Malin+Goetz has by far the freshest smell of all the products we tested for our list of best deodorants for camping.
Our jogger said the scent reminded him of a garden after the first spring rain. It’s clean and bright. And it’s unisex.
The smell of the Malin+Goetz deo comes from eucalyptus oil – which is great because it also has powerful antiseptic properties. This combo is a fierce fighter against body odor.
It also has a second active ingredient – citronellyl methylcronate, which is non-toxic, and also an odor neutralizer.
The scuba diver in our team was most impressed with this product, mentioning that a freshwater shower isn’t always available after a dive, especially in far-flung places. But the Malin+Goetz outlasts anything she’s ever tried.
“A couple of guerilla dives, hauling heavy scuba equipment from the boat up the beach, and another four hours before I could take a shower,” she said. “And by the time I got to wash, my pits were still smelling fresh.”
Pros
- Eucalyptus oil for anti-odor and antiseptic in one
12 plant extracts to soothe skin - Barley powder absorbs more moisture
- Natural oils
- Probiotic enzymes to combat odor
- The smell is out of this world
Cons
- Pricey
