The Best Portable Camping Showers: Types, Water and Setup
· Updated
The best portable camping shower for most UK trips is a solar shower bag: a 10 to 20 litre pouch you fill in the morning, leave in the sun and hang from a branch by teatime. It is cheap, weighs almost nothing empty and needs no power. If you want a proper spray and pressure, a rechargeable pump shower that draws from a bucket is the better buy, and campervanners chasing genuinely hot water on demand should look at a gas instant unit.
That is the whole decision in one paragraph. Which one suits you comes down to how you travel, how much sun you can count on and whether you have a battery to spare. This guide covers all four main types, the water and heating numbers that actually matter, and how to get clean without fouling a stream. It is part of the complete UK camping gear guide from Camping Sites in Britain, where you can find and compare sites with and without shower blocks across the country.
The four types, compared
There are four portable shower designs worth your money, and they split neatly by how they move and heat the water. Here is how they stack up.
| Type | How it works | Typical capacity | Hot water? | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar shower bag | Black bag heats water in sunlight, gravity feed | 10 to 20 litres | Yes, if the sun cooperates | Fixed pitch, summer, low budget |
| Pressurised pump shower | You hand-pump the bottle to build pressure | 3 to 11 litres | No, water is cold unless pre-warmed | Backpacking, quick rinses |
| Battery pump shower | Rechargeable pump draws from a bucket or bag | Unlimited, limited by your bucket | Only if you supply warm water | Car camping, dogs, kit and feet |
| Gas instant shower | Gas burner heats mains or tank water on demand | Continuous | Yes, genuinely hot and adjustable | Campervans, motorhomes, longer stays |
Solar shower bags
A solar shower bag is the classic budget answer and still the one most campers reach for. It is a black or dark PVC pouch, usually 10, 15 or 20 litres, with a small hose and an on and off shower head. You fill it, lay it flat in the sun with the clear side up, and the dark material soaks up heat through the day. A 20 litre bag gives you roughly four to six minutes of flowing shower, or comfortably two shorter rinses.
The catch is that it relies entirely on sunlight and gravity, so pressure is gentle and you need somewhere high to hang it. Prices sit around £10 to £30 for well-known bags such as the Advanced Elements Summer Shower. For a fixed summer pitch it is hard to beat, and it pairs well with the rest of your kit if you are keeping weight down; see our guide to the best lightweight camping gear.
Pressurised pump showers
A pressurised pump shower gives you a real spray without any electricity. These are smaller bottles, typically 3 to 11 litres, with a built-in hand pump: you pump the top a dozen times to pressurise the air inside, then a trigger releases a steady jet. The Sea to Summit Pocket Shower and Nemo Helio are the usual names here.
The water is cold straight from a tap, so most people fill the bottle and leave it in the sun for an hour first, or mix in a little hot water from a kettle. They are light, pack tiny and suit backpackers and anyone who wants a quick rinse rather than a long soak. The downside is capacity: an 11 litre unit is fine for one wash, but you will be refilling and re-pumping for a family.
Battery and rechargeable pump showers
A battery pump shower is the most flexible option for car camping because it draws from whatever you put in front of it. The pump sits in a bucket, a collapsible basin or a 10 litre jerry can, and a rechargeable battery drives water up the hose to the shower head. Fill the bucket with warm water from the campsite tap or a kettle and you have as much hot water as the bucket holds.
A typical charge lasts around 45 minutes to an hour of running, which is several showers, and most units recharge over USB from a power bank or the car. They cost roughly £30 to £60. Because the supply is only limited by your bucket, they are brilliant for rinsing muddy boots, dogs and kit as well as people. If you are camping off-grid, our guide to keeping personal hygiene while camping covers how to make a small amount of water go a long way.
Gas instant hot showers
A gas instant shower is the only type that delivers unlimited, genuinely hot, adjustable water, which is why campervanners and motorhome owners favour them. A gas burner, running off a standard camping gas cylinder, heats water on demand as it passes through, so you get a continuous hot flow rather than a fixed tankful. Units from brands such as Eccotemp are common at UK shows and dealers.
They are the heaviest and priciest choice, usually £100 to £250, and they need a gas supply, a water source and decent ventilation, so they are not for a small backpacking tent. For a van conversion or a long family stay they turn a cold rinse into an actual shower. Never run a gas unit inside a closed tent or awning, for the same carbon monoxide reasons you never take a stove or barbecue inside.
How long solar takes to heat
A solar bag reaches a usable temperature after about three hours in strong summer sun, and a genuinely warm one after four to five. On a bright July day in the south of England, a full 20 litre bag laid flat in direct sun from mid-morning can climb to 35 to 45 degrees Celsius by late afternoon, which is warmer than most people run a shower.
British weather being what it is, plan around it. Lay the bag out early, keep it flat rather than hanging so more surface faces the sky, and put it on a warm surface like a car bonnet or a paving slab rather than cold grass. On a grey day it will take the chill off at best, so a kettle top-up or a pump shower is a sensible backup. Test the temperature on your wrist before you tip it over a child.
Privacy: the pop-up shower tent
A pop-up shower tent is what turns any of these showers into something you can actually use on an open pitch. It is a tall, narrow pop-up cubicle, usually around 1.2 metres square and 1.9 to 2.1 metres high, with a zipped door, a mesh roof and often a small internal pocket and a hook to hang your bag or shower head from. Most fold flat into a disc for storage and cost £25 to £50.
The same cubicle doubles as a toilet tent or a changing room, which makes it one of the more useful bits of kit to own even if you shower at the block. Peg it down properly, because an empty pop-up cubicle catches the wind like a sail. If your chosen site has good facilities you may not need one at all, so it is worth checking what each site offers before you buy; you can filter for showers and other amenities across the listings at Camping Sites in Britain.
Using grey water responsibly
Never tip shower water, however clean it looks, straight into or beside a stream, river, lake or the sea. Soap, shampoo and even biodegradable products harm aquatic life and the fine sediment clouds the water. This matters most for wild and off-grid camping, where there is no drain to catch it.
On a campsite, empty grey water only at the designated waste point or into a drain, never onto the pitch. Away from facilities, scatter waste water over a wide patch of ground at least 30 metres from any watercourse so it filters through the soil, use only small amounts of biodegradable soap, and carry your rubbish out. This is the "leave no trace" principle set out in the government's Countryside Code, and it keeps British rivers clean for the next campers. If you rely on natural water sources on longer trips, pair your shower with one of the best waterproof camping bags to keep clean and dirty water kit separate.
Frequently asked questions
How much water does a camping shower use?
A solar bag of 10 to 20 litres gives one or two short showers. As a rule, an efficient camping shower uses roughly 4 to 6 litres per person for a quick wash, so a 20 litre supply stretches to three or four people if everyone is brisk.
How long does a solar shower take to heat up?
About three hours in strong summer sun for a usable temperature, four to five hours for genuinely warm water. Lay the bag flat in direct sun on a warm surface and it can reach 35 to 45 degrees Celsius on a bright day.
Do I need a shower tent as well?
Only if your pitch has no privacy. A pop-up shower tent costs £25 to £50, doubles as a toilet or changing cubicle, and is essential on open sites. If your campsite has a shower block, you can skip it entirely.
Can I use a portable shower for wild camping?
Yes, but manage the water carefully. Use a small pressurised or solar shower, keep quantities low, use biodegradable soap sparingly, and dispose of grey water at least 30 metres from any watercourse by scattering it over open ground.
Are gas camping showers safe in a tent?
No. Gas instant showers burn fuel and produce carbon monoxide, so they must only be used outdoors or in a well-ventilated space, never inside a closed tent or awning. They suit campervans and open-air use, not small tents.
The short version
For a summer pitch on a budget, buy a 15 or 20 litre solar bag and start it heating early. For flexible car camping, a battery pump shower and a bucket of warm water wins; for a van, a gas instant unit is worth the outlay. Add a pop-up tent for privacy, dispose of your grey water well away from streams, and read the rest of the complete UK camping gear guide before you pack.
