What is the Best Portable Shower for Camping?

To be honest, if you’ve ever been camping, then the chances are after a few days, you’d quite like to have a proper wash. 

Nowadays, most caravans have extremely good toilet and shower facilities built into them, but what to do if you’re not in a caravan? 

Is one suppose to fill a carrier bag of water and pierce a few holes in the bottom? That could work, I guess! 

Even when you’re deep in the heart of the wilderness, escaping the mundane routine of everyday life, there are plenty of more than adequate alternatives if you don’t have a cubicle stuffed in your back pocket!

10 Best Portable showers

There are lots of options when looking at portable showers, these are our favourite.

Types of Portable Shower

While showering is sometimes an escape when camping, it becomes more of a domestic activity as camping showers don’t have that endless flow of water while you sing Whitney Houston’s greatest hits!

Pressure Showers

If you’re a little worried about the water flow, or lack thereof, when having a shower, then this could be the shower type for you.

In essence, a portable shower is a reservoir of water with a hose attached; however, this style has a pump integrated into the unit. This means you can give the pressure a boost quite conveniently to make your experience even more enjoyable…or to speed things up because having a cold shower isn’t too appealing! 

Whichever the case for you, with a portable pressure shower, this is the closest you’re going to get to the real thing without being at home!

Solar Heated Showers

As mentioned above, obviously, being out in the open, hot water isn’t going to be on tap! But that isn’t to say you can’t have a warm shower! 

What kind of trickery is this, I hear you ask! How can this be? 

A wonderful invention was created using solar power to heat the water during the day, so when you come to shower in the evening, BOOM, you have a lovely, not so cold shower! 

Simply fill the water compartment of your chosen shower and hang it in an open space where the sun can reach it. Over the course of the day, the sun will work its magic, and you’ll have a shower with a respectable water temperature.

Rechargeable Pump Showers

With this type of portable shoer, all you need is a bucket of water, and away you go! 

Simply charge the unit, whether it be from a mains supply or a USB battery pack before you leave, and it will charge while you are exploring out in the woods! 

These are normally at the more affordable end of the range of the portable shower because you’ll have to source your own fresh water, and they won’t all heat the water for you (although some models on the market do!) 

The integrated battery often lasts longer than a pressure shower, so if you can stand the temperature, this is the device for all you shower singers!!

How Much Water is Needed for a Portable Camping Shower?

The ultimate question here is How Long Does It Take You To Shower? 

If the answer to that is more than 10 minutes, then you may have to put your fast pants on when you’re showering in the open. 

The general rule of thumb is;

· 10 Gallons = 3 minutes

· 20 Gallons = 7 minutes

· 30 Gallons = 10 minutes

These are only guides to give you a rough idea of what you’d expect to achieve. 

The times can vary with the flow rate and size of shower head, and again you’ll need to find what’s right for you! There are many types of portable showers, and the market has a healthy amount of models for you to choose from. 

Many models on the market with a water reservoir tend to hold 20 gallons, as this is considered the average amount per shower.

• What’s the weight of a setup?

Now, if you didn’t already know, here’s a little life hack for you. 

1ltr of water = 1kg. 

So if you’ve got 20ltr of water….you guessed it, that’s 20kg of weight. 

Some of you may be ok with just hanging your shower bag in a tree and having a bathe underneath it, while some of you, on the other hand, may like your privacy. 

If you’re using a portable shower cubicle combined with a hanging shower bag, that could be a recipe for disaster as the cubicle poles aren’t built to hold that much weight. 

If you like your cubicle, it would be wise to consider a portable shower with a reservoir that sits on the floor. That way, at least you know the shower tent won’t blow away!!

TOP TIP: This article is mainly focused on water and capacity but what you have to also take into account is the weight of the whole setup, depending on which one you choose!

What is the Best Portable Shower For Camping?

Each type of shower has its advantages and disadvantages, so ultimately, you’ll have to decide what you put more value on. 

From our research, we think that the RISEPRO Solar Shower Bag is a fantastic middle-of-the-road alternative for the perfect shower. 

It boasts a 5-gallon water capacity with switchable shower head. 

The shower bag also has integrated solar heating and a hand temperature indicator, so there’ll be no more guessing if the water is hot enough! 

The snazzy PVC design means that once you’ve finished washing your extremities, this unit can be folded down and packed away quite snugly into your backpack!

Summary

So there you have it! 

The ultimate guide to camping showers, which, essentially, all revolves around preference and need!

Camping showers can range from the really simple to the slightly trickier combinations, but overall they all do the same thing, they get you clean in non-bathroom situations!

Have fun with camping, and have fun with camping showers!

They can be the most refreshing experience of your life!

Last update on 2024-03-15 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API