Looking for the most hassle-free portable shower for your camping trip? Well, there are a few qualities your product should have. It should be easy to carry, use, and fill. It should also give you heated water at a comfortable pressure and with an adequate coverage area. Choosing the perfect product with all these necessities fulfilled may feel confusing. Don’t worry! I’ve narrowed down all the options on the market for you.Â
The six best portable showers are:
- RinseKit Portable Outdoor Shower: Overall best portable shower
- Nemo Helio Pressure Shower: Best for a foot pump shower
- Mr. Heater BOSS-XB13: Best for a propane shower
- Ivation Portable Outdoor Shower: Best for a compact, electric shower
- Sea to Summit Pocket Shower: Best for portability
- Coleman Camp Shower: Best for a budget shower
RinseKit Portable Outdoor Shower: Overall Best Portable Shower
- Scores high on portability. Empty weight: 9 pounds; full weight: 24 pounds
- BPA Free
- Quickly fills with hot or cold water in just 30 seconds
- Reports of spray time lasting less than promised
- The pressure of the flow does not remain the same throughout the entire spray-time
Flow method: Pressurized spray (No pumping or batteries.)
Warming method:Â RinseKit heater is sold separately, or you can fill it with hot water from your sink.
RinseKit Portable Outdoor Shower offers a wholesome showering solution for outdoor enthusiasts. It offers the pressure of a garden hose without the need of a pump or batteries. Plus, the two-gallon tank can hold pressure for up to two months, and it quickly fills with water in 30 seconds.
This portable shower gives you a spray time of up to 10 minutes, depending on the spray setting you choose; the minimum amount of spray time is one minute and 30 seconds. One of the most handy features is you don’t have to be at a sink or hose to fill up your tank with pressurized water. If you’re out on the road, you can use the RinseKit Pressure Booster Pump to get the pressurized water you need.
Nemo Helio Pressure Shower: Best for a Foot Pump Shower
- Highly portable. Weighs only 1 pound 5 ounces
- Comes in a folding panel design allowing lightning fast set-up and smaller packed size
- Paired with a Heliopolis privacy shelter, it turns into a spacious hands-free overhead shower
- Reports of experiencing difficulty with closing the water inlet.
- Issues reported with durability
Flow method: Pressurized by a foot pump.Â
Warming method: Warm in the sun or fill directly with hot water.Â
Mr Heater BOSS-XB13: Best for a Propane Shower
- Cordless and portable
- A highly durable and self-contained hot water on-demand system
- Comes with scald protection, a highly convenient tip switch, and flow-driven ignition
- Reports of inadequate heating, especially in the cold weather
- The water flow is fickle, varying on the height of the shower handle
Flow method: Uses a pump.Â
Warming method: D-cell battery-driven heating system.
The Mr Heater BOSS-XB13 is one of the most ideal products for use even in the most remote places. It is the first and probably the only hot water system that uses D-cell batteries and has gained Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) safety certification. All you need to run the system is a source of water, a propane cylinder of one pound, and six D-cell batteries.Â
After you insert the D-cell batteries into the system, you need to drop the pump in a bucket of water and flip the ignition switch. You’ll be able to get the perfect temperature water even at a remote campsite.
Ivation Portable Outdoor Shower: Best for a Compact, Electric Shower
- The excellent battery life of 52 minutes
- Wide showerhead with evenly spaced holes
- Simple to use with uncomplicated design
- Shorter hose
- There are concerns about the durability of the product
Flow method: Battery-driven pump.
Warming method: Requires you to add hot water separately.
The Ivation Portable Outdoor Shower is one of the best portable outdoor showers available in the market in terms of ease of use and consistent pressure. The pump and the battery are housed together, and the wide shower head works perfectly if you hang it with an object nearby. Apart from using it as a portable shower, you can also utilize the product as an outdoor dog bath or for a quality rinse-off after a day in the backyard pool.
The product is battery-operated and needs pairing with a bucket or any other suitable water-holding mechanism. The batteries are USB-rechargeable. It usually takes a few hours to recharge the batteries. The setup comprises a hose that’s just over five-feet long that offers a spray that is more than 2 inches wide.
Sea to Summit Pocket Shower: Best for Portability
- Extremely lightweight and highly compact
- Exposure to the midday Sun is enough to get adequately hot bathwater
- Provides sufficient coverage as a gravity-powered shower
- Not suitable as a high hanging shower
- Concerns about a leaky roll-top
Flow method: Dry bag-like shower that leverages gravity.
Warming method: Keep it in the sun.
The Sea to Summit Pocket Shower weighs 3.4 ounces only, making it one of the most portable showers for outdoor use. It can hold 2.6 gallons of water. The top is easy to open and fill. The shower is attached directly to the bottom of the bag. When it is filled at its highest capacity, the product offers excellent pressure and coverage for you to rinse yourself clean.Â
Another enticing aspect of this portable outdoor shower is you can twist the nozzle on or off on the shower to conserve the hot water between the lather and rinse. You can pack the product down to a bundle of 5.5 inches x 3.5 inches. The product is ideally compact, which keeps it from dragging on the ground.
Coleman Camp Shower: Best for a Budget Shower
- Ultralight to carry in its empty form
- Heats up well when the weather is sunny
- Easy to fill and use
- The push-in cap is subject to leakage
- PVC material is prone to wear and tear
Flow method: Gravity-powered.
Warming method: Keep it in the sun.
The Coleman Camp Shower is an excellent product for hiking or camping. Weighing below two pounds and being 8.5 inches in length, it scores well for portability. The product can store up to five gallons of water. When filled to its fullest capacity, the product can be used for three regular showers and one and a half long showers.
The shower is easy to use and easy to fill. With a few hours of exposure to the sun, the water warms up to an adequate temperature of 90 to 95 degrees.Â
How I Evaluated the Best Portable Showers
When evaluating the best outdoor camping showers, I considered the flow and warming method, size, capacity, portability, and cost. If you are in the market for a portable shower for camping, be sure to take these factors into account prior to purchasing. The outdoor camping shower that provides the best mix of these factors is typically the best portable shower for you.
Types of Portable Camping Showers
There are three types of portable camping showers: solar-powered, battery-driven, and propane-powered.Â
While the solar-powered showers are low on cost and environmentally-friendly, they only work in sunny weather and mostly during the daytime. The battery-powered products can perform in any weather provided you have the provision for charging them. Propane-powered showers provide hot water in very little time, but they are often bulky and low on portability.
Bottom Line
If you’re prepping for a future camping trip or have been going on long road trips without a portable shower, it’s time to get your hands on something to keep you clean. The nice thing about these outdoor camping showers is they won’t make you break the bank. Invest in this affordable piece of gear to up-level your camping experience.
