Gravity, hand pump or 12 V: the water has to move somehow
A camp shower is a container, a way of moving water, and a head — and the three combinations behave very differently. A gravity bag is the simplest: fill it, hang it, and the flow comes from height alone, which means the hanging point has to take the load, and water is heavy at roughly a kilogram per litre. A pump bottle is pressurised by hand and gives a steady spray at head height without hanging anything, at the cost of pumping between rinses. A 12 V submersible pump draws from any bucket or jerrycan, runs from a rechargeable pack or a vehicle socket, and is the only type where an IPX rating and a stated run time per charge are worth hunting for. Beyond the type, three things decide whether it is pleasant. Hose length sets where the head can reach and whether it can hang above you. The head may have an on-off trigger, which is the single feature that makes a small tank last a whole wash. And the fill opening decides whether it fills from a tap or only from a bottle. Where you may use one is not an equipment question: greywater and washing rules vary by site and by country, and the site or the local authority sets them. We compare shower type, stated capacity in litres, pump power source and stated run time per charge, hose length, head type and flow control, ingress rating where published, fill opening, and packed weight.
Gravity solar bag · 20 litres · no pump · hand-held head on a flexible hose · carry handle · no hose length, no weight, no ingress rating
A gravity solar bag: fill 20 litres, hang it in the sun and let height do the work — with no hose length, no weight and no shower duration published anywhere.
Best for: A sunny pitch beside the car, rinsing off sand or sweat, where a hanging point is easy to find and simplicity is the point.
≈ 7 €
Rechargeable pump unit, no tank · 3 or 4 litres per minute · 4800 mAh · IPX7 · shut-off valve on the head · built-in water filter · no run time, no hose length, no weight
A pump rather than a bag, carrying the highest ingress rating in this hub at IPX7 and a shut-off valve on the head — and publishing no run time at all.
Best for: A pitch or a van with a water container on site, where a shut-off on the head and a rating that survives immersion matter more than a published run time.
≈ £37 / 40 €
Hand-pumped pressure shower · 8 litres · built-in hand pump, no power source · neoprene insulation · polypropylene body · about 2.1 kg empty · no heating function
The only hand-pumped shower in this hub: an 8 litre pressure tank with no battery, no USB and — as the maker states outright — no heating of its own.
Best for: Van and campsite use where warm water is boiled or carried rather than heated on the spot, and where nothing should depend on a charge or on sunshine.
≈ 80 €
Gravity solar bag · 20 litres · black PVC · 45 °C in three hours stated · temperature indicator in °C and °F · hose, head and tap supplied · no hose length, no weight
The only shower in this hub with a temperature indicator printed on the bag — a gravity solar bag that tells you how warm the water got before you stand under it.
Best for: A pitch where children or a group will use the same bag and knowing the water temperature before it lands matters.
≈ £10 / 12 €
Gravity solar bag · 20 litres · black PVC · 45 °C in three hours stated · flow switch on the head · hanging bracket and cord · no hose length, no weight
A gravity solar bag with a temperature and a heating time attached to each other — 45 °C after three hours — and a flow switch on the head, which most bags here do without.
Best for: A sunny pitch where the bag can heat through the afternoon, and where a switch on the head matters more than a pump.
≈ £10 / 12 €
Gravity roll-top bag · 10 litres · 70D nylon with sealed seams · 25 g stated · about 8 minutes of shower water stated · 6 m hanging cord · twist mechanism
The lightest shower in this hub at a stated 25 g — a 10 litre nylon gravity bag that publishes how long its water lasts, which nothing else here does.
Best for: A trekking trip where the shower has to justify its weight in the pack, and 8 minutes of water is a whole wash.
≈ $34 / £26 / 34 €
Rechargeable pump unit, no tank · 3 or 5 litres per minute · 4000 mAh · up to 60 minutes stated · 2 m hose · IPX5 · 650 g · shower head and jet nozzle
Not a bag but a pump: a rechargeable unit you drop into your own bucket, and the fullest specification in this hub with nine of its ten lines published.
Best for: A van, a car park or a pitch with a water container already on site, where the pump is the missing piece rather than the whole system.
≈ 31 €
Gravity solar bag · 20 litres · black PVC · no pump · hose, rigid pipe, hooks and cord supplied · three hours of sun stated before use · no hose length, no weight
A gravity solar bag whose most specific instruction is how to clean it before first use — three hours of sun, black side up, and check the temperature yourself.
Best for: A fixed sunny pitch where the bag can be laid out in the morning and used in the evening, and where nobody is counting grammes.
≈ 9 €
Mains-heated electric shower · 15 litre collapsible tank · 220 V 2000 W heater · 42 °C in 15 minutes stated · warm up to 3 hours stated · 3 or 4 litres per minute · 1.8 m hose
The only shower in this hub that heats its own water — a 15 litre collapsible tank with a 220 V heater, which means mains power or a 2000 W inverter before anything happens.
Best for: A camper van or a caravan with an inverter or a hook-up, where hot water on demand is worth carrying a heater for.
≈ 189 €
This family belongs to the the camp kit — see everything that has to work with it.
Prices in these summaries were read on the dates each review gives. The live figure sits beside every product.
