The 5 Very Best Portable Camp Showers

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Heating method:Solar |Pressure:Foot pump |Head and hose:7-ft hose, adjustable spray head |Capacity and shower length:2.9-gal tank, 5-7 minutes at highest pressure

Four experts said that the Helio is their go-to for surf trips and weekend camping. And for good reason — the seven-foot hose and foot-pump-pressurized tank make it convenient for a variety of uses, providing hot, steady, and ample water. “The Helio has a large pressurized reservoir and comes with a longer hose than other pump showers,” says Turley. “Overall, this product gives you a much more realistic shower experience than a basic solar shower bag.” He adds that the pressure hose is great for “washing mud-covered feet, rinsing your body after a swim, or cleaning your camping gear.”

The additional effort of pumping the tank, which sits on the ground, is worthwhile because it means the Helio can be used anywhere. And by adding a few stomps of air throughout the advertised five-to-seven-minute shower, the flow stays steady instead of dwindling like it would if it was gravity fed. The water warms up from sunlight and lasts long enough to wash and rinse. Miles Hollinger, a surfer, notes that while rinsing surfboards and washing briny hair was no problem for the Helio, it did feel “a bit underpowered” when it came time to rinse sand out of a wetsuit’s nooks and crannies.

Small details, like a collar on the nozzle to keep it open, add to the ease of use and help set the Helio apart. But at the end of the day, it’s the best all-around option because it has the widest range of uses — washing yourself, rinsing gear, doing the dishes — while remaining small and packable.

Heating method:Solar |Pressure:gravity |Hose and head:15.5-in hose, on/off spray head |Capacity and shower length:3-gal tank, 4 minutes

This simple gravity shower has everything you need for a short shower, and nothing you don’t, for the price of a night at most campgrounds. The design is simple. Fill the bag with water; let it sit in the sun to warm up; sling it over a tree branch, post, or the door of your van; and open up the spout on the hose for a gravity-fed shower.

The Summer Shower also has more limited uses than the NEMO Helio — it’s for washing you, not so much your dirty dishes or gear, because the hose is too short to hit hard-to-reach parts of a bike, like the drive train, or something big, like a kayak, and the pressure is too low to be very effective at rinsing off anything heavy, like mud. But it packs down to about the size of a shampoo bottle and gets the job done without any frills.

There’s a bunch of camp showers out there in this style, but we like the Summer Shower’s durability. Paloma Farkas, an Alpine and climbing guide in the Sierra Mountains who has used the Summer Shower for years, says the four-layer insulating construction has held up well traveling in her van.

The Summer Shower comes in sizes between 2.5 and 10 gallons, but we like the 3-gallon size because it heats up quickly and is easier to hang overhead while full than the larger, heavier models, but still has plenty of water for a full shower (hair wash included).

Heating method:Stovetop |Pressure:Electric pump |Hose and head:5-ft hose, sponge showerhead |Capacity and shower length:0.8-gal tank, up to 15 minutes

The Geyser is the only camp shower on this list where the water comes out of a sponge instead of a more classic showerhead, which increases water efficiency. The tank, which is one-third the size of most of the others here and holds three liters (0.8 gallons or a third of the next-smallest shower on this list), provides plenty of water for a full shower for most. Though Kristen Bor — founder of the camping and van-life blogBearfoot Theorywho recommended the shower to us — says that it may be a little on the small side for some. “I have a colleague with really curly hair who told me she liked showering with the Geyser, but there wasn’t really enough water to wash her hair,” Bor says.

The next thing that sets the Geyser apart is that it requires an external power source. Instead of pumping it yourself to create pressure or letting gravity do the work, it has an electric pump that runs on 12-volt DC power. You can plug it into the cigarette lighter in your car or run it off of a separate battery or power bank if you have one. It works with your car off or running, but you get more power, and thus pressure, if the car is on. Depending on the health of your car’s battery, you might not want to run the pump for the advertised shower duration of up to 15 minutes without the engine on. The power cord also keeps you within 16 feet of your car, presenting a risk of turning your campsite into a mud pit.

The final thing that makes this system different is that it’s not solar heated. Instead, you fill up the tank with two parts cold water and one part boiling water heated on the stove. Not a major hurdle, and something you can do with the other showers here, too — but with the Geyser, it’s your only option.

Tiny yet efficient, the Geyser is ideal for van lifers and car campers who are living long term in small spaces.Fiorella Yriberry, a travel expert atRVshare, has been van life-ing for six years and loves hers. “It’s designed with a 12V power cord, making it convenient for those with small power supplies, and it’s easy to operate,” she says. “I particularly like the adjustable flow and variety of nozzle accessories, which make it practical and intentional for every use. And unlike other outdoor showers, it’s lightweight and compact, which is great for storing in small spaces.”

Heating method:Solar |Pressure:gravity |Hose and head:No hose, on/off spout |Capacity and shower length:2.6-gal tank, 8 minutes

The Sea to Summit Pocket Shower works pretty much the same way as the Advanced Elements solar shower above: Fill the bag, loop it over something, and let gravity do the rest. Whether you fill it with solar-heated or stove-heated water is up to you. The Pocket Shower has a slightly smaller capacity (10 liters or about 2.6 gallons) and packs down to the size of a small paperback. Sea-to-Summit advertises a seven-minute shower, and some reviewers report it lasts closer to ten. The main thing is, this thing weighs nothing (when empty) and will get you at leastfairlyclean before you crawl into your sleeping bag after a long day on the trail. The downside is that it is the only option on this list that doesn’t come with a hose, which means you have little flexibility over where you can hang it to get a useful rinse.

Heating method:Solar |Pressure:Hand pump |Hose and head:55-inch hose, adjustable spray head |Capacity and shower length:7-gal tank, variable

The only semipermanent option on this list and the most expensive by far, the RoadShower (which also comes in five- and ten-gallon versions) is definitely more than the average weekend trip calls for. But for the van lifer, overlander, or long-haul road tripper, the greater storage and external storage system could be worth the hefty price tag. The sturdy black aluminum it’s made with warms up quickly in the sun, and it has the largest capacity by far of the showers on this list. Outdoor writer Miyo McGinn appreciated having this shower when traveling in places “that only have water sources to refill every few days, or when I wanted to be able to wash myself, my traveling companion, and both of our muddy mountain bikes without having to refill the tank.”

You pay the price for the big tank twice, first in cash and again in prep time. The initial setup is involved. The tube, which weighs 25.5 pounds empty, is mounted to your roof rack. It also takes longer to fill than the smaller showers on this list, and it’s pressurized using the same type of hand pump you’d use to fill up your bike tires, which is a brief extra task before you can bathe and another thing that has to be on hand. Another wrinkle: Since the shower is roof mounted, if the spigot where you’re refilling doesn’t have a hose, you’re stuck lugging full jerricans between the spout and the roof of your car.

“The hose can spray with more force than any other I’ve tried, which made it my favorite for cleaning gear,” says McGinn. “But since the hose is only 55 inches long, all cleanup has to happen right by the vehicle.”