Stay Clean Outdoors: Your Guide to Portable Camping Showers

30 Jan, 2025

Being able to shower while camping can make your outdoor adventures more comfortable—and keep you on better terms with your camping companions. Fortunately, there are plenty of options when it comes to portable camping showers. In this guide, we’ll go over portable camp shower options and share tips on how to use them properly to elevate your camping experience.

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Are Camping Showers Worth It?

A camping shower is not generally considered “essential” gear, especially if you are camping somewhere with shower facilities or don’t mind going a few days without a proper shower. However, there are some situations where a camping shower is really worth bringing along.

Remote Camping and Overlanding: When away from developed campgrounds, a portable shower may be the only way you can shower.
You Have a Dog: Dogs generally aren’t allowed in campground showers, so having a portable outdoor shower lets you wash your dog—something you’ll appreciate if your dog sleeps in the tent with you.
You Find Campground Showers Gross: Not all campground facilities are well-maintained. A portable camping shower spares you from questionable cleanliness.
You’re Camping with Little Kids: Small children inevitably get dirty. With a portable shower, you can bathe them multiple times per day without having to trek to the campground showers.
Outdoor Activities: If you enjoy muddy hikes, sweaty bike rides, or other outdoor activities, a portable shower lets you clean up before getting into your tent or vehicle.

dog sleeping in a rooftop tent — Camp showers are great if you want to clean your dog off so it can sleep in the tent with you.

Do You Need a Shower Tent?

An outdoor shower may seem like a great addition to your camping gear but it is often difficult—or impossible—to use without a privacy tent.

Privacy is crucial when showering at campgrounds. Even if you aren’t shy about taking an open-air rinse, your camping neighbors might not be happy about the unexpected view. And, while privacy is less of a concern in remote places, it can feel unsettling to shower completely exposed.

A shower tent solves these issues, meaning you can actually use your portable shower. Further, the shower tent can offer protection from wind and give you a place to hang the showerhead.

To make the most of a shower tent setup:

Plan How You Will Get Dressed: In small shower tents, you won’t be able to get dressed without getting clothes wet. Leaving the shower without clothing defeats the purpose of privacy.
Consider Drainage: Set up the shower in an area with good drainage.
Use a Teak Mat: Put a teak, or other slotted mat, on the ground to keep your feet from getting muddy or sandy.

Types of Portable Camping Showers

There are hundreds of different camping showers available. However, all of them can be broken down into three main types based on how they deliver water from the reservoir to the showerhead.

1. Gravity Showers

These are the simplest portable showers. You fill the bag with water, hang it up, and open a nozzle to release the water.

Pros: Affordable, compact, easy to use
Cons: Limited water capacity, water pressure decreases as the bag empties, can be heavy to lift when full, and heating water isn’t always feasible

2. Manual Pump Showers

Manual pump showers include a water container and a hand or foot pump to pressurize the water for better flow. This design eliminates the need for electricity, making them ideal for off-grid camping.

Pros: No electricity required, better water pressure than gravity showers, affordable
Cons: Requires manual effort to pressurize, can be bulky

3. Electric and Battery-Pump Showers

These showers use electricity (typically 12V) or a rechargeable battery to power a submersible pump. You simply put the pump in the water supply and it will bring pressurized water to the showerhead. They are easy to use and provide a steady supply of water. You’ll need to bring your own water container to submerge the pump. This flexibility allows you to adjust the water capacity to suit your needs, making it a versatile option for campers.

Pros: Consistent water pressure, adjustable capacity based on your container
Cons: Requires power source or way to recharge battery

Hot Water Camping Showers: What Are the Options?

There are four ways of getting heated water with a camp shower. While it is possible to get a truly warm shower, you need to be realistic. Unless you are willing to put in some effort or invest in a powerful water heat, you are going to get a lukewarm shower at best.

Externally-Heat the Water

With all types of camping showers, you can heat up the water separately. For example, you can heat up water in a pot over a fire and use it to fill the shower’s reservoir. However, this may involve pouring hot water or lugging hot water around camp, which defeats the convenience aspect of having your own shower.

Be careful that you don’t exceed the shower’s temperature limit. Many gravity showers, for example, will melt if you pour boiling water into them.

Solar Showers

Solar showers have a reservoir that you leave out in the sun to heat the water inside. Most solar showers are gravity showers, but they can also have pressurized pumps.

While they don’t require electricity, solar showers generally aren’t great at providing hot water. They can take hours to heat up and, even in direct sunlight, still usually don’t get very hot. However, they are the cheapest and simplest option, so are popular for summer camping.

12V Heated Showers

These camp showers typically plug into a 12V outlet, such as the one in your vehicle. The electricity is primarily meant for pressurizing the water. However, it can also heat water fairly quickly. Because of the large electric draw, you probably won’t be able to heat more than 3 liters of water at a time without draining your vehicle battery, and even less in cold conditions.

Propane-Heated Showers

Propane camp showers are the most reliable option for taking hot showers in any weater. They hook up to a propane tank to provide hot water on demand. However, they are large and bulky, so it’s debatable whether you can truly consider them “portable” showers.

How Long Can You Shower with a Portable Camp Shower?

With gravity-fed and manual-pump portable showers, shower duration typically ranges from 4 to 12 minutes. This largely depends on the size of the reservoir. However, flow rate also plays a key role: a faster flow rate will empty the reservoir more quickly.

While a lower flow rate usually results in less pressure, the actual pressure can vary based on the shower nozzle size and how the system is pressurized.

Here’s an overview of how long you can expect to shower based on the reservoir size and different flow rates:

Reservoir Size	1.5 L/M	3 L/M	6 L/M
5 Liters	3.3 minutes	1.6 minutes	0.8 minutes
10 Liters	6.6 minutes	3.3 minutes	1.6 minutes
20 Liter	13.3 minutes	6.6 minutes	3.3 minutes

Shower Length Estimate

Based on Reservoir Size and Flow Rate (Liters Per Minute)

5 Liter Reservoir

1.5 L/M = 3.3 minutes
3 L/M = 1.6 minutes
6 L/M = 0.8 minutes

10 Liter Reservoir

1.5 L/M = 6.6 minutes
3 L/M = 3.3 minutes
6 L/M = 1.6 minutes

20 Liter Reservoir

1.5 L/M = 13.3 minutes
3 L/M = 6.6 minutes
6 L/M = 3.3 minutes

Pro Knowledge

According to the Water Research Foundation, the average American showers for 8 minutes, and this uses roughly 64 liters of water. That’s 8 liters per minute. No matter how good your portable shower is, it’s unlikely that you will be able to replicate this showering experience while outdoors. Most units simply don’t have the capacity or power to provide this much water.

Using a Lake or Stream for Your Shower Water Source

With submersible pump showers, you can put the pump in an unlimited water source, such as a lake or stream. You could then shower for hours, or until the battery or propane tank ran out.

However, you should be cautious about using natural water sources for your shower. Here are just some of the potential issues:

Environmental Impact: The pump can suck up small fish or other animals, harming the ecosystem.
Clogging Pump: Murky water can clog pumps, causing them to malfunction.
Dirty Water: If the water source has lots of algae or debris in it, you might end up smelling worse than before you showered.
Polluting Waterways: Since you are showering near the water source, any shampoo or soaps you use will enter the water.
Losing the Shower: If you don’t keep a strong grip on your shower, currents can pull it away.

For these reasons, it’s usually better to use a bucket of water for your shower reservoir. You can still use water from a natural source, but filter it through a cloth to remove debris and algae beforehand to keep the pump from getting clogged.

Keeping Your Portable Camp Shower Clean

Be sure to let your portable camp shower completely dry after you are done using it. Otherwise, mold and algae can grow inside the reservoir or pump. These can make the shower smell terrible or even clog the pump.

If your camp shower does start to smell, run a diluted solution of bleach through it several times to clean it. The CDC recommends using a solution of 5 tablespoons of bleach (5-9% sodium hypochlorite) per 3.8 liters (1 gallon) of water for disinfecting. Make sure the bleach doesn’t have any perfumes or other additives. Allow it to have contact with all parts of the camp shower for at least one minute. Then let the shower air dry without rinsing it.

Using a Camp Shower Responsibly

As campers, it’s crucial to think about how our gear and practices impact the environment. The big one is to make sure soap and shampoo don’t get into natural water sources.

As the organization Leave No Trace explains, even eco-friendly soaps can still harm ecosystems. It should never enter waterways or be used around sensitive plants. The reason is because the soap requires contact with soil in order to degrade properly.

If you are showering with any soap, you should make sure you are at least 200 feet (about 70 large steps) away from natural waterways. Eco-friendly soaps are still a good idea, though, because they rinse off easily and make it possible to take shorter showers.

Want to learn more? Read: Guide to Responsible Overlanding