Camping Showers Will Keep You Refreshed While Camping

The most common need that you will hear from campers or backpackers who have been out in the woods for a few days is that they would do anything for a nice, hot shower. Usually if they've gotten wet at all it's been during a poorly thought-out river crossing, and by the time they get back to civilization they head straight for the shower. However, depending on the type of camping you're doing, it can be pretty easy to get an adequate shower right in your campsite.

One of the most common types of camping showers are "sun showers." They consist of a few feet of plastic tubing attached to a shower head on one end and a large bag on the other which is clear on one side and black on the other. Though they're of little use to campers who stay at a new campground each night, they're great for groups staying at one campsite for a few nights. To use one, you simply fill it with water in the morning and hang it from a tree or whatever in the sun. Sunlight will enter from the clear side and be absorbed by the black plastic, heating the water. By the time you return to camp in the evening you'll have a good supply of hot water that will be pushed through the showerhead by gravity, giving you a nice hot shower. Once the bag is empty it packs up into a small and light package for the trip home.

Sun Showers - The Perfect Shower Solution When Camping

Since the sun shower needs full sunlight during the day, hikers who are hiking from one campsite to the next can't hang it out. Since most hikers aren't too excited about packing ten or twenty pounds of water around with them, their sun showers won't get enough sunlight to heat the water. One solution is to heat water on the stove, then pour it into the sun shower's reservoir and taking a hot shower that way. Another solution is to forgo the sun shower altogether and take a sponge bath with stove-heated water. Though it's not as glamorous as a full shower, it tends to get the job done.

I've experienced both. One year we kyacked a group of islands and the sun shower that my friend had leant me was my source of cleanliness. Unfortunately, the weather was not great and it was usually a cold shower that I ended up with. Ultimately, I heated the water and took a sponge bath in our tent. After our kayaking trip had ended, we were camping in a conventional campground with hot and cold running water but no showers. We used to wait until dark, fill the camping shower with nice warm water and hang it in the woods and shower. A most memorable experience.

If you are a car camper, a sun shower will still work for you, though if you want to get really ritzy you can find a propane-powered camping shower which feeds water through a coil located over a gas burner, much like a miniature version of your home's hot water heater. With one of these camping showers you can take a temperature-controlled, hot water shower just like yours at home, though perhaps with a better view.