Cleaning up in a campground that does not have a shower is often a challenge and usually a sink bath. However, those types of showers or baths do not help get your hair clean and for the most part most of your body. To help with the lack of shower facilities we decided it was time to do our own Ozark Trail Solar Shower review.
Features Of The Ozark Trail Camp Solar Shower
Size Of The Shower
The Ozark Trail Solar Shower is one that holds roughly five gallons of water. This means you need to make sure you have a strong enough rope or tree branch to hang the solar shower off of. Now, to make it easier the shower does have a small shower hose and nozzle type on the end of it to spread it out over your body. The hose is 5.9 inches long.
How Much Water Does The Shower Hold
As mentioned this is a shower bag that will hold roughly 5 gallons of water. This is a lot less than what you would normally use on your shower so you do have to be considerate of others. Now, on the plus side as mentioned in the size of the hose it will take a little bit less water to get cleaned up. If you have multiple people taking a shower, though, you may need to get one of these showers per person and fill them up daily and allow to warm up in the suns heat most of the day.
Heating Of Water Is Done By Sun
As you can imagine camping in the middle of the woods is a great way to connect with nature, but often removes any chance of having hot water. Well, with this the sun is the warmer and you have to put the shower bag in the sun for it to warm up. It is important to note that if you are planning on using this for your shower and you want warm water that you fill it in the morning and then keep it in the sun all day. Then to help guarantee you get the most out of your solar camp shower take your shower before the sun sets.
Easy Storage Means More Room
The solar shower is definitely one that will not be used all the time. I mean if you are at your house the chances of you standing outside and taking a shower, instead of a shower in your home is minimal. So that often means your shower could be spending quite a bit of time in storage. The good news is the rubber is stiff, but flexible and will keep its rigidity at the same time. So you just have to make sure you fold this up after it is completely empty and dried out. Then you can have the Ozark Trail Solar Shower stored out of sight and not have to worry about it being damaged when you go to use it next.
Use Of The Solar Shower Is Easy
When you go to use the shower it is actually very easy to use. The shower is going to need to be filled once you have it outside of the box. Once you have the shower filled you put the valve back on. It is very important once the valve is on to make sure its not cross threaded. Then you make sure the valve is closed, remember an open valve means it will leak out any of your hot water.
After the bag has been sitting and absorbing the suns rays all day it will be ready to use for your shower. Now, here is the important part is to make sure you have something sturdy to hang the shower on. What I have done before, if I did not have the Ozark Trails shower house, was I would take a rope and tie it between two trees. Then I would use a carabiner on the handle and rope to have the shower bag hanging up. Once you have the shower hanging up the important thing is to make sure you use the valve to turn the water on and off. Unlike most of us do in our normal showers at home, you do need to turn the valve off to avoid wasting water.
Whats In The Box
As you can imagine it is important to know what is in the bag! That makes it easier for you to know if you are getting everything or if you have been short changed. Well, in the box for the solar shower you are going to get the solar bag, the plug for the shower bag, but also the hose that can be used for your shower. On the end of the hose you are going to get the nozzle or shower head as well.
Pros And Cons
- Provides warm water for showers.
- Is easy to store.
- Has a short hose to use as a shower head and nozzle.
- The water capacity is only 5 gallons.
- Can take a long time for water to warm up.
Final Thoughts On The Ozark Trails Solar Shower
Staying clean is a great way to avoid getting sick. However, for a lot of people getting cleaned up while camping and the campground does not have a shower is very difficult to do. Well, that is when you should know that the Ozark Trails Solar shower review that we just completed gives you a great way to get cleaned up and not have to be concerned about not getting clean or freezing. You just have to make sure you have the shower in the sun for a long enough period and make sure you regulate the water so everyone is able to take a warm shower, instead of an ice cold shower. Overall, I would highly recommend the solar shower if you want to have an emergency home shower or a camping shower to have warm water.