How to Rig up a 20-Liter Camp Shower Bag

One way to get clean while avoiding the bone-chilling experience of a bucket bath on a long-term, backcountry camping trip is to bring along a shower bag. A camp shower bag is lightweight and uses sunlight to provide warm water for bathing. All told, carrying, rigging and using a shower bag are so straightforward that there is no excuse to leave one out of your gear for a long-term camping trip at a primitive site.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

20-liter (5-gallon) shower bag with hose
Clean water
Shower tent (optional)

Step 1

Fill the shower bag with water, close the fill-valve on the top and hang it from a suitable tree limb, with the clear side facing the sun, using the adjustable strap. Allow at least 3 hours of full daylight exposure for the water to heat up.

Step 2

Set up a shower tent while you wait if you choose to use one. Some of these are pop-up tents, and even those that are not can be pitched simply be putting some tent poles together and threading them through the matching flaps. This may prove necessary if you are camping with a group or in a less-than-remote area and need privacy.

Step 3

Take down the shower bag and transfer it to your shower tent, if you have one. If not, hang it from a tree limb in a place that offers you at least some cover. A tree that provides cover for privacy is rarely a good one for getting full sun onto the shower bag.

Step 4

Make sure the shower bag is hanging from a high enough position that gravity will draw water from the bag and down the hose. If most of the hose is lower than your head and shoulders, the bag is too low.

Article Written By Edwin Thomas

Edwin Thomas has been writing since 1997. His work has appeared in various online publications, including The Black Table, Proboxing-Fans and others. A travel blogger, editor and writer, Thomas has traveled from Argentina to Vietnam in pursuit of stories. He holds a Master of Arts in international affairs from American University.

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