Camping Shower Guide

Going into the wild, which means the backcountry for some, the pay campground for others, is a fun and exhilarting adventure.  In the great outdoors, we can reconnect with nature, take in the fresh air and beautiful scenery, and drop the burdens of town and city life.  If we're doing things right, we can end up getting pretty dirty on the more adventurous outings into the wild- it's nature's dirt and can be considered cleaner than factory dirt.  However, we will still want to get cleaned off.  If we're lucky enough to be by a clear flowing stream, we may be able to use that avenue to get the job done.  If, however, we have to rely on our own means, then we will need a camping shower.  This guide will introduce some of the products out there that feature different uses and will be better suited for some purposes than others.  It will also tell readers about an easy, free way to "shower" while camping- and fear not, it doesn't involve a trick like licking yourself clean or anything like that.  Read on to find how you can stay clean even when the nearest normal shower is miles and miles away.  For the purpose of making things easy for the two extremes that campers fall in, this article will divide camp showers into two categories- those for luxury camping (aka car camping, where you don't really have to worry about weight, and those camping showers for backpackers who absolutely must be weight conscious if they are to enjoy their trip into nature.  Although you could get away with using the label "portable camping shower" with all these products, they vary greatly in terms of portability. 

Luxury campers make the choice to bring as many of the comforts of home as possible with them. Why go camping at all, you say? Well, people do have the choice to go into nature and NOT rough it. Perhaps you could consider it something like an outdoor hotel room (although sleeping will still usually be done in tents). This type of camper can afford the weight of any camp showers, whether it be the bladder kind that's heated by the sun or propane fired models like the Zodi Hot Camp Shower which weighs in at 8 pounds (not including shower water, of course). Luxury campers also can and often do bring along a camping shower enclosure as well. Although lugging along an 8 pound shower would be unthinkable to even semi-serious lightweight backpackers, the Zodi is actually a very good design that more than carries its weight in terms of what it can do. It heats an unlimited amount of water using its propane and battery sources (which are not unlimited, of course) and the manufacturers claim it is only about the size of a hiking boot. I'd have to say that this would be something to bring on a short camping trip intended to introduce non-outdoorsy friends and family to camping, as these camp showers will probably go a long way to making them feel comfortable and don't rely on the sun to warm up water. 

For those who will have a car with them or will be doing a lot of driving to and from campsites, there are also camping showers that use your car's cooling system to warm up shower water. This type of  outdoor camping shower hooks right up to your car with the hood open.

Most people don't want to see their family members naked, so luxury campers may also want to get a camping shower tent for privacy.

Serious backpackers often don't pack any sort of shower, relying instead on natural bodies of water to get clean or perhaps do a spongebath type cleaning session.  This is very simple and the best way to get clean if you don't want to pack a dedicated shower.  All that's necessary is to heat up some water (unless it's hot out and you don't need a warm shower), then put it in some sort of basin- you could use a camping pot.  Then, put a little bit of biodegradeable soap into the pot and use a bandanna to dip into the water and wipe yourself off.  It might sound a little strange, but a bandanna, a container of warm water, and some Dr. Bronner's soap can really make you feel as clean as any shower.  Besides, you're in nature, it's okay to not scrub yourself surgically clean. 
If backpackers do bring a shower, it will almost invariably of the solar camping shower variety.  These are basically bags that, when filled with water and hung from a treebranch, heat up in the sun and provide hot water showers.  The key here is that you are dependent on the sun- if there is no sun, there will be no hot water.  If the sun is strong, the water can get hot enough to scald.  These types of portable showers for camping may require some planning and familiarity (or just luck) to get to work for you.