Kildwick MiniLoo Portable Composting Toilet: Worth The Money?

A portable toilet is an essential piece of gear for RV and camper van owners. Doing your business out in the woods is not for everyone – especially when you go camping on a weekly or monthly basis. And on top of that, even if you are ok with going outside to use the toilet, there are times (like the middle of the night) when it’s just not an option

So, if you are looking for one of the best composting toilets for campers around, then you have come to the right place.

While doing our very extensive research for a toilet for our new camper van we searched far and wide. Many of the options were “ok” but just not small, light, or stylish. We were after a toilet we could stash away easily, but also fit our modern design.

And that’s exactly what the Kildwick MiniLoo is – a stylish composting toilet with a functional design and excellent build quality.

It is unique because it’s made from wood and yet somehow manages to be lighter than most plastic toilets. The MiniLoo is a composting toilet and, it doubles as a seat and it has a waste separator that’s held in place with magnets – so is secure and easy to clean.

And I’m just getting started. If you’re thinking about buying this high-quality portable toilet for your campervan, RV, or even for camping, you’ll want to go through the rest of this review!

Design And Construction

The first thing that got my attention with the Kildwick MiniLoo toilet is the stunning design. It has that “hand-drawn” kind of design. If you look at it against a solid color background, it looks like a drawing, kind of.

And I love that – if you have to get yourself a portable toilet, you might as well get something stylish – something that’s more than just a bucket with a toilet seat. The upside of this design is that it’s not so obvious is that this is a portable toilet, so it looks great wherever you put it.

The Kildwick MiniLoo toilet features a birch wood exterior box with a plastic toilet seat and separator as well as two tanks. The wooden construction is a great choice – first, it’s definitely more durable than plastic, with a higher maximum load capacity. This toilet can handle up to 200 kilograms, whereas most plastic toilets have a max load of 200 lbs (90kg). If this is one of the things you were most worried about, the wooden construction is certainly helpful.

On top of that, wood is just much harder to crack or break than plastic. It handles long-term use better and it won’t deteriorate quickly over time. However, it also has some downsides compared to plastic – wood can’t handle prolonged exposure to water or humidity well.

If you use the toilet in humid areas for long periods, you will need to ensure that the wood is treated. It makes sense to do that anyway, and we chose wood oil – (more on that later). And Kilwick recommends it too.

Something as simple as Linseed oil should do the trick. Although you can choose any kind of wood oil really.

You can even paint it if you want and add your own personal touch. This is something they leave up to you, which is a plus, or a minus depending on how DIY you are.

Here is one I found on Instagram that is painted just a simple gray. You could get as creative as you like

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A post shared by Gervais Evers (@gervais_evers)

Emptying The Toilet

In addition to that, I have to point out that this toilet doesn’t offer side emptying as most other options do. That means that there’s no easy way to dump the tanks – you have to take them out every single time, but I don’t really consider this a downside. The side emptying adds a bunch of other components to the toilet – which could break – and it makes the toilet heavier than it needs to be.

Oh, and one last point. It comes in two options – DIY or ready-made. We chose DIY as it’s more fun and a little cheaper. I will show you how that went further down. It’s pretty easy and Kildwick makes the parts in such a way that it’s almost fool-proof.

Weight And Portability

This portable toilet weighs just some 8 kilograms, which is pretty good considering it’s made from wood. That’s actually lighter than quite a lot of plastic toilets, especially the options that have a flushing system.

The minimal weight of the MiniLoo makes it a great portable option. Especially since you can disassemble it somewhat, which means it’s even easier to carry it places. Many people use it as a seat of sorts. It’s the perfect height and size and, doesn’t look like a toilet either.

The downside of the Kildwick MiniLoo is that it does not come with any sort of handle (we are going to add one on the side to remove it from it’s hiding spot in our van). The only thing that resembles a grab handle is a cut-out on the front plank, but that’s neither comfortable nor wide to allow you to carry this for more than five minutes.

And since it’s a big enough toilet if you want to carry it from point A to point B, you will need to grab it with both hands. It bit of a pain, but it’s small and light enough to be manageable. I just wouldn’t plan on taking it far.

That’s pretty much the only downside to the Kildwick toilet that I can see. Well, that and the price point, but the latter really depends on how deep your pockets are. I’ll discuss that more in-depth later.

Comfort And Height

The height of a portable loo plays a big role in the amount of comfort you have when using it. That’s actually one of the main issue of the cheaper toilets – they’re quite small, which makes them super portable, but also really uncomfortable to use. Especially for taller people – it can get to the point that you can quite easily rest your chin on your knees if the toilet is too short.

The Kildwick MiniLoo is 41.5 centimeters tall, which is almost the perfect seat height. In fact, we used that to our advantage and have it hidden under our seat in the van (see image below). Another interesting fact is that the toilets at home are usually between 45 and 50 centimeters, so you won’t notice a massive difference between this loo and the one in your home bathroom.

Of course, the height also makes this toilet slightly less portable, but that’s a compromise you have to make. And I think that’s always better to sacrifice convenience in favor of comfort. There are ways around the convenience factor – you could put the toilet on a skateboard, attach some wheels to the bottom or just improvise some handles. But there’s really nothing you can do to make it more comfortable to use.

Another thing I want to talk about is the fact that the MiniLoo easily doubles as an extra seat. Just put a pillow on the top to make it more comfortable and you get an extra chair for that unexpected guest. It is worth noting that the seat can’t handle as much weight as the toilet seat itself – if you’re using it as a seat, don’t give it to anyone who weighs more than 100 kilograms.

Separate Waste Tanks

The Kildwick portable toilet has separate tanks for liquids and solids. They have the same capacity – 9.5 liter each – as well as a convenient separator that ensures the waste goes in the right container.

The separator is available in two color options – black and white. There’s really no difference between the two options except for the color, so the only choice is an aesthetic one. It’s held in place with magnets, so you can be certain that it won’t move while you’re using the loo. But, with the turn of a small knob on the front, you can disengage those magnets and remove it easily!

What about the tanks? The one for liquids is designed more like a canister with a narrow throat and a cap. This design makes is very easy to pour out the waste, allowing the necessary precision to pour out the waste in a flushing toilet.

And, like most smart designs, Kildwick have a spillguard cap for the liquids which seals the inlet to the tank to avoid anything ending up inside the toilet and not in the tank. This is crucial for long-term use and cleanliness.

The waste tank for solids features more of a container design with a standard plastic lid and a convenient carry handle. It is designed to have a bag in it, with either saw-dust or their special eco-litter inside. This helps the solids to compost and reduces the smell significantly.

The separation of the tanks makes it very easy to empty each container when needed. And each can be closed for carrying to wherever you need to dump the waste.

DIY Construction

There are two versions of the Kilwick, and we got the DIY version. If you want to save a little money it’s a great option, and it only takes between 90 mins – 2 hours to put it together. If you are really a DIY whiz, you might even manage in an hour. We took our time :>

The following are most of the wooden parts you get in the package. These need to be glued and nailed together in the right order, which the instructions clearly explain.

The wooden parts appear to be laser cut, so they fit together like a glove. As an Engineer myself, I was very impressed with the quality of the material, the cuts, and the assembly.

The hammering was quite tough as the wood is very dense and strong, but Kildwick has pre-drilled all the holes so you can’t go wrong (in case you are not normally a gifted hammerer!).

First, you put the lid together, and then slowly assemble the side of the main box. There are even some helper parts provided to make the process easier.

I would actually rate it a 9 out of 10 in terms of how easy it is to assemble. Especially when you compare it to Ikea products. In fact, I just put an Ikea desk together the other day and made two mistakes while doing it. So, I have something to compare it to. Kildwick beats Ikea easily.

Here is the final product on the day we finished it. We then had to oil it over a couple of days before it was ready to go into the van.

If you take a close look you will be hard-pressed to find a single gap or millimeter alignment issue. This toilet is that good, even when you build it yourself! It looks like it just rolled out of the factory assembled by a pro. Which I am certainly not (I don’t do Engineering anymore for a reason :>).

Pros (And Cons) Of Composting Toilets

If you’re new to portable toilets, you should know that there are two main types – composting and flushing toilets. There are pros and cons to both designs, so the best option for you usually depends on what exactly you are looking for in a portable toilet.

The Kildwick MiniLoo is a composting toilet, which means that the waste stays in the bucket. Flushing toilets turn waste into sewage, which is actually more toxic for the environment. And that means that composting toilets are actually more environmentally friendly, even if they might not be as convenient.

Additionally, for the flushing system to work you need to have a tank full of water, which means a lot of extra weight and complexity. Plus there’s the weight of the entire flushing system – flushing toilets can easily way 20-40 lbs, so they’re definitely the less convenient option in terms of portability.

Also, keep in mind that this has separate tanks for liquids and solids, so the smell shouldn’t really be an issue (we will update this as we test in the coming months). You can seal the tanks when you know you’re not going to use the toilet for a while, which also helps keep everything in place in case the MiniLoo gets knocked over – which is highly unlikely BTW.

I would recommend using plastic bags with the solid waste container, simply because it makes maintenance much easier. And you can always put some odor neutralizers if you find the smell to be a really big issue.

Pricing And Options

The MiniLoo from Kilwick is a pricey toilet, but it’s one of those items that when you purchase it once, you’re set for a really really long time. Another thing I want to reiterate is that it’s available in two options – a pre-assembled toilet (that comes ready for use out the box) and a DIY kit that you can set up on your own.

Why should you go for the DIY option, you might ask? Because it’s 150 Euros cheaper. If you’re at all handy and know how to use a hammer and glue, it’s definitely better for your wallet to get the DIY toilet. Also, keep in mind that shipping is included in the prices and it’s much cheaper to ship the unassembled toilet because the package is a lot smaller.

When you purchase the DIY kit, you get everything needed for assembly in the box including all the tools (except the hammer).

Kildwick MiniLoo Portable Toilet: Final Thoughts

The Kildwick MiniLoo is easily one of the best composting toilets we’ve seen so far. But it’s also one of the most expensive options, so it might not be ideal for everyone.

There are a lot of upsides to this portable composting toilet, from the precision wooden construction, the style, the quality, and the thought in the overall design. It has separate waste tanks for liquids and solids, as well as a plastic separator that ensures the waste ends up where it’s supposed to. Both tanks have a generous capacity and since they’re smaller than a single sewage tank, it’s easy to dump them out.

On top of that, the MiniLoo doubles as a seat when the lid is closed, but it can only handle up to 100 kilos on the lid.

It’s an expensive portable toilet, that’s a fact. But it’s also a fact that you can save 150 Euros if you go for the DIY option that you assemble on your own – a pretty good deal even if your handiness level is the bare minimum (it’s easier than Ikea if you can use a hammer).

Overall, the Kildwick MiniLoo is a great composting toilet that I can happily recommend to everyone who asks. If you want quality, durability, convenience, and comfort, it’s the right option for you.

But if you would prefer something cheaper, you can find lots of great alternatives (flushing and composting) in our related posts below.

NOTE: Although we did receive the toilet from Kildwick for this review, we were not paid to write this review, or influenced in any way by them. They were a pleasure to work with and we love what they do. Thanks Kildwick!

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