Four camping showers for a refreshing wilderness rinse

You don't always have a waterfall around. (Taylor Leopold via Unsplash/)

An outdoor shower will not save your life. It will not help you prevent hypothermia, or scare off a bear, or keep you fed. But that doesn’t mean one isn’t worth packing. Because what an outdoor shower will do is make your time outdoors more comfortable. And the more comfortable you are, the longer you and your companions are likely to stay in the wilderness. So ignore the anti-shower naysayers: an outdoor spray-off is a luxury worth springing for. And, with quality options across the price spectrum, there’s one no doubt one for your budget.

An affordable battery-powered shower. (Amazon/)

Praised for both its ample water pressure and out-of-the-box usability, this reasonably priced, battery-powered shower weighs 1.8 pounds and is simple to use: You drop the shower’s pump component into a bucket, trough, or whatever water receptacle you have on hand. The pump then sucks the water up to the shower head, resulting in a steady downpour for rinsing off. And, if you want a hot shower, you just have to heat the water source from which the pump is drawing.

Turn a bottle into a way to bath. (Amazon/)

This clever rinser turns any plastic 1- or 2-liter soda bottle into a shower—and it will cost you less than a decent cheeseburger and beer. The two-ounce device has two basic components: a nozzle/shower head that screws onto the lid of a bottle, and a thin tube that prevents an air vacuum from forming inside. This allows water to pour out smoothly and with a surprising amount of pressure.

A heat-retaining hot-water system. (Amazon/)

You’ve probably seen camping showers like this before. Fill this 5-gallon solar shower with water, set it in the sun at the beginning of the day, and then, a few hours later, enjoy a strong stream of warm water. According to Amazon reviewers, the four-ply bladder holds up well and is hard to puncture, and rolls up for easy packing after use.

Enjoy a 125-degree, propane-heat rinse. (Amazon/)

OK, just you want a hot shower but you don’t want to wait around for a few hours as the sun heats the Advanced Elements Summer Shower. Your best option, then, is likely this propane-heated setup, which draws in and heats water to 125 degrees. At 13 pounds, it’s no doubt suited only for truck or RV camping. But, hey, if you’re after a steamy shower like you got at home, it seems worth hauling.