Sea to Summit Pocket Shower Review

The Sea to Summit Pocket Shower has a 2.6-gallon capacity, an open top for easy filling, and the showerhead is attached directly to the bottom of the solar-heated bag.

Comfort

The Sea to Summit Pocket Shower is a straightforward, no-nonsense shower when it comes to comfort. Its head is the same width as competitors', but the spray is wider, with some spray holes angled along the edges, providing decent coverage for a gravity-powered shower. When full, it has solid pressure and coverage that will let you lather and rinse yourself clean. However, unlike some competitors, this model lacks a hose to concentrate the water flow into the showerhead. This means that the less water there is left in the bag, the less pressurized the water coming out of the spout is. This tapers away until the last dregs are just trickling out, and aren't as useful for rinsing. But, on a multi-day backcountry venture, this is the best kind of showering experience we could ask for.

The nozzle on the Pocket Shower can easily be twisted on or off to conserve hot water between lather and rinse. It also displays a helpful diagram of this next to said nozzle, so you're unlikely to forget which way to turn. Though the head is the same width as several others we tested, it's a bit flatter, concentrating the flow slightly better. As is the case with pretty much any gravity shower, it can be challenging to hang it at exactly the right height for your soapy head. Once you hit that sweet spot, though, this spray is quite comfortable for a small gravity shower.

Functionality

With a capacity of 10 liters or about 2.6 gallons, the Pocket Shower, you wouldn't think a shower on this unit would last that long. However, with its tapering water pressure, it sprayed for nearly 10 minutes! We were even able to get more time out of it by adjusting the nozzle and letting the spray out more slowly—but, we prefer the water spraying at full pressure. That said, the closer it gets to emptying, the less water pressure we had.

The top of this shower is built like a dry bag that folds and locks the water in instead of out, and it does a pretty good job of keeping the water sealed in. It's also fully black, which makes it easier to heat quickly in the sun. Though it won't heat up within minutes like some of the larger showers we tested, a few hours in the midday sun is more than enough to get some nice hot bathwater going. All told, this is an excellent option for anyone who wants to play all day without giving up on a hot shower. This is also a great option for thru-hikers who spend several weeks on the trail and would rather have a hot shower than a cold plunge in an alpine lake.

Ease of Set Up

The top of this portable miracle is a gaping wide opening with a closure system just like your standard dry bag. This makes it one of the easiest showers to set up by simply scooping up regular lake water. The top rolls down and clips shut, and voila, you're ready. This configuration also makes it very easy to clean and dry your unit when you're done, which is not the case for many of the other showers we tested.

We also appreciate that the directions are printed directly on the inside of the bag, so you'll never lose them in the backcountry (where wind makes it easy for everything to blow away). This little guy also comes with a long cord that can be hung from a sturdy tree, though learning some helpful knots will make it easier to string it up at the right height. We noticed that the top tends to leak very slightly when it's lying on its side, but it never seemed to make a noticeable 'dent' in the amount of water inside, even when left out all day to soak up the sun.

Durability

The look and feel of the Pocket Shower is that of a thin dry bag, and its durability is about the same. For the summer season we tested ours, we had absolutely no issues with it holding up to all kinds of backpacking shenanigans, being dunked in lakes, dragged across boulders, and yanked up trees. The showerhead can leak slightly if you over-tighten it, but the product has this warning clearly labeled.

While we had no issues, we couldn't possibly put this little guy through years worth of use and abuse in a single summer (not for lack of trying!). So we read through other user reports online to see what durability issues other people may have noticed over time. We didn't find a ton of reports, though the ones that did have complaints mentioned seams that leak after a long time and the eventual wearing out of the thin fabric. Still, for what it is, we think this little shower holds up pretty well.

Portability

At just 4.7 ounces (3.4 without the bag), the Pocket Shower is the lightest model we tested. It packs down into a little 5.5" x 3.5" bundle that's easy to stick in a pocket, just as the name implies. Even full of water, it's not terrible to carry by the top clips. Its compact design helps keep it from dragging on the ground while you haul it hundreds of meters from the water's edge to your soaping station.

Honestly, this wee beastie is so light and compact, we had a hard time coming up with any reasons not to bring it backpacking or camping with us. It's a no-brainer to bring along even on road trips or just to wash dishes over a bin in the campground. Every little thing about it is so well thought out to keep it lightweight without sacrificing too much usability. Sea to Summit nailed it.

Should You Buy the Sea to Summit Pocket Shower?

We think anyone who loves backpacking will find this shower has great value. Even if you're an infrequent backpacker but a common camper, this functional, easy-to-use option is sure to come in handy without costing you an arm and a leg.

What Other Camping Showers Should You Consider?

You'll be hard-pressed to find a camping shower that works better for backpacking than the Sea to Summit Pocket Shower. It's so lightweight and easy to use compared to all other backpacking showers we tested, so you can really stop your search here if that's all you're looking for. But, if you're looking for a more general camp shower for music festivals or car camping at a national park, we have plenty of recommendations.

The NEMO Helio Pressure Shower is among the easiest showers to set up. You quite literally pull it out of the box, fill it up like you would a water bottle, and set it in the sun for an hour or so to get a nice warm shower. Its spray nozzle is pretty small, but the pressure is quite good—good enough to rinse away any dirt or debris of the day.