When a few days in the great outdoors leaves you smelling like moldy cheese, a basic shower
might ensure continued harmony in the campsite. Store-bought solar showers run from $15-30
but we can save you some money with our DIY version. Tackle this project a couple of hours
in advance to allow time for the water to warm in the sun.
Begin with an army waterproof bag (about $7) and scope out a good tree branch one that is
about three feet above your head. In the upper portion of the bag, say the top quarter, poke
a few dozen toothpick-sized holes. These will ultimately be the shower holes. Put a small,
walnut-sized, smooth rock in the bottom of the bag. From the outside of the bag, feel for the
small rock and tie a 5 meter piece of cord around the bag in a way that snugly keeps the small
rock secure at the bottom. Essentially, you are creating a way to firmly hold that end of the
bag, which you will need to hoist up later. Click here to read more on this method of creating
an anchor.
Now fill the bag with about five gallons of water and tie the top shut using the pre-sewn ties
on the waterproof bag. Tie a second length of cord around the top of the bag and hoist it up to
the branch, so that the whole bag hangs above your head. Let it hang in the sun for 2-3 hours to
heat the water. When you are ready to shower, throw the cord tied to the bottom of the bag over
the branch, and raise the bottom of the bag up and above the top, and tie it off. Inverting the
bag forces the warm water out the holes you poked in the top portion of the bag. Now get busy and
lather up!