Portable Festival Camping Shower

Take a portable pressurised shower and you can wash at your pitch, at a wild camp or beside the car. The NewFlow 8 Litre Portable Shower is filled from any tap, stream or water carrier, pumped by hand 10 to 15 times, and gives you 3 to 6 minutes of continuous spray depending on the mode. There's no need to hang it from a tree, no batteries and no campsite hook up. Wet down, turn the spray off while you lather, rinse, and you've had a full wash including hair from a single 8 litre tank. It also washes muddy boots, kids and dishes.

There are four main types. Solar shower bags are cheap and light but need sun, a tree to hang from, and give only a weak trickle. Battery powered pump showers give a good flow but need charging, a separate bucket and don't like getting wet. Gas heated showers give hot water but are bulky, need gas and are banned at many sites. Hand pumped pressurised showers like the NewFlow give a strong controllable spray with nothing to charge, hang or fuel, and keep warm water warm thanks to an insulated tank. For UK camping, where sun and power are never guaranteed, pressurised is the most reliable choice. We compare the options in more depth in our best portable shower for 2026 guide.

Boil water on a camping stoveor in a kettle and mix it with cold in the tank until it feels comfortable onthe back of your hand. The NewFlow tank takes water up to 50°C, never boiling.Its 5mm neoprene sleeve keeps the water warm for hours, so you can fill itafter breakfast and shower after a hike. On a sunny pitch, leave it in the sunfor a head start. Campsite hot taps, if you have them, are the easiest of all.Even cool water feels wonderful after a sweaty day, so don't let the lack ofhot water stop you washing.

Eight litres is enough for a full shower including hair, or quick rinses for two or three people. The key is spray control: because the NewFlow only sprays while you press the head, you're not losing water while you reach for the soap. A quick freshen up of face, arms and feet uses only a couple of litres. If you're washing the whole family, keep a water carrier by the tent and refill between people, which takes about a minute.

Not with a pressurised shower. Gravity fed solar bags need to be hung above head height to work at all, which is fine in a forest and useless on a beach or a moor. The NewFlow builds pressure with a hand pump, so it stands on the ground beside you and sprays with real force wherever you are, and the 3 metre coiled hose reaches over your head for a proper rinse. Use the NewFlow Shower Holder on a car window, van door or any smooth surface if you want a hands free shower, or just hold the head and rinse.

No. Fill it, close the lid,pump 10 to 15 times and spray. There's nothing to charge, nothing to plug intoa hook up and no pump to go flat. If the pressure fades, a few more pumpsbrings it back. Many campers find this the deciding factor: a rechargeableshower is only as good as its last charge, whereas a hand pumped shower workson day one and day ten of a trip with no power in sight.

Yes, it works well with any pop up shower tent or privacy tent. Stand the NewFlow inside or just outside the tent and pass the head through, or hang the head from the tent's hook if it has one. Without a tent, shower in swimwear behind the car or under an awning, or rinse under a changing robe. The controllable spray means you can wash discreetly without soaking the pitch next door. A changing mat keeps your feet clean and gives you somewhere dry to stand while you get dressed.

Yes, but use biodegradable soap and keep it well away from water. The leave no trace guidance is to wash at least 60 metres (about 200 feet) from streams, rivers and lakes, and to let grey water soak into the ground rather than run into a watercourse. Apply soap to your body or a cloth rather than putting it in the tank, and use the shower for rinsing. Because the NewFlow uses so little water, your grey water is a small puddle that soaks away quickly. At campsites, use the designated washing up and grey water points where provided.

Yes for washing, though never for drinking. Stream water is fine for rinsing yourself, boots and dishes. Fill from moving water rather than still water where you can, and let any grit settle before pouring into the tank so it doesn't clog the spray head. If you've been filling from natural sources, rinse the tank through with clean water at the end of the trip and let it air dry. The NewFlow isn't a water filter and its tank isn't designed for drinking water, so keep your drinking supply separate.