For campers, RVers, and outdoor enthusiasts in general, there’s nothing like a nice shower to clean your body the way being in nature cleanses your soul. Showering in nature comes with its challenges, but with products like the Geyser Portable Shower, you can get a nice hot (or cool) shower using very little water or power.
In this post, we’re looking at the Geyser shower – a camp shower system with a unique shower head perfect for cleaning gear, humans, and pets on the go.
What Is the Geyser Portable Shower?
The Geyser system is a compact shower for camping or any other on-the-go use. It’s an ultra-low-flow system that allows the user to experience a satisfying hot shower using just 0.8 gallons of water. Designed for outdoor use by Geyser Systems CEO and Founder Jonathan Ballesteros, the unique showerhead is a sponge that offers a “sponge bath” to people, pets, dishes, gear, or anything that could benefit from a nice hot shower just about anywhere.
The heated version of Geyser Systems showers is compact and easily transported, weighing just under 8 pounds when empty (14.6 pounds when the water tank is full).
This photo of a Geyser shower in the back of an SUV packed beside other camping gear offers a good sense of the size of the unit. (Photo source: Geyser Systems)
There are two different versions of the portable shower unit, one with a temperature-adjustable heater and a more compact and portable version without. Both have a built-in pump and a sponge-on-a-hose “showerhead.” This “showerhead” is an innovative component of the system that enables it to clean effectively while using very little water.
While relatively new, these units are already quite popular with outdoor enthusiasts like hikers and surfers, and even as a simplified plumbing system for tent/car campers or van conversions.
How Does the Geyser Shower Work?
To use a Geyser shower, you’ll connect it to a power source (the smaller Geyser Clean Kit version connects to a USB power source, while the heated Geyser Portable Camping Shower version connects to a 12V power source, like your car battery) using the cord provided with the system.
With the Geyser Clean Kit system, you connect it to any water container (the kit includes two adapters that connect to a standard drinking water bottle (2.2 cm ID opening) or Nalgene wide-mouth (5.3 cm ID) bottle). The system pumps the water from the reservoir to the sponge showerhead, allowing you to clean yourself, your kid(s), your pet(s), your dishes, or your gear.
The ultralight Geyser Clean Kit system comes with the pump, innovative “showerhead”, and adapters that allow you to use a standard or Nalgene water bottle as the source of shower water.
Instead of you having to supply your own bottle, the Standard Model has a 3-liter reservoir and has the same built-in pump and sponge-like “showerhead” as the Clean Kit version. With both of these systems, you need to heat the water before putting it in the container/reservoir if you want your shower to be warm. But, you CAN opt to purchase the “Heated” version of the Standard Model… which uses the 12V DC power to actually heat the water in the reservoir.
The Geyser Standard portable shower system includes its own reservoir, so you don’t have to use your own bottle. It’s also available in a heated version, so the 12V DC power will heat the water you’re using to shower.
The water pump on both units uses very little power to operate, allowing for a nice shower in the wild (the unit with the heater uses more power, of course… more on that in just a second).
If you have multiple uses for the shower, or multiple people showering, another liter of water can be heating in the background while one person showers, so the hot water is ready to mix for the next person. And with interchangeable sponge heads (in different colors), you can switch them out as needed for different people/tasks.
This is the ultracompact Clean Kit unit (with no reservoir or heater):
- Rinse & Repeat | Using 10x less water than a standard camp shower, the Geyser System is highly-efficient and promotes water conservation, letting you...
- Pressure Perfection | An adjustable flow valve offers precise water-pressure regulation, letting you conserve water in the tank while doing the dishes...
There’s also a heated system that runs on 12V and takes up to 30 minutes to heat the water to shower temperature. The heated model requires 9.8 amps and heats water to 99° – 108° F (with a heating rate of 0.8°F /minute). It’s not available on Amazon, but you can buy direct from Geyser Systems.
The Geyser System shower can pump water for up to 15 minutes of consistent pressure. The scrubbing sponge lasts for around 90 uses and includes an exfoliating/rough side for tough grime. As mentioned above, you can also purchase interchangeable sponge heads in different colors so that you can have each one dedicated to:
- Showering
- Cleaning pets
- Washing dishes
- Cleaning off your outdoor gear
The best part is that you can conserve water using the Geyser to do any (or all!) of these tasks, conserving even more water when you’re out in remote locations.
Here’s a great look at a Geyser shower at work:
You can even use the water-saving feature of the Geyser ecoShower in your RV! They sell the hose with the sponge “showerhead” connection that you can use to replace (or add to) your existing RV shower head, either in your RV bathroom or at your RV’s outdoor shower.
- Shower With Less Than 1 Gallon | Replacement for your RV’s shower head saves up to 15 gallons of water per shower, boondock 10X longer, and saves...
- EcoScrub Sponge | Patented technology makes every water drop count, doubling as a shower wand, loofah, and washcloth all in one. Geyser also included...
NOTE: If you have an RV or camper that doesn’t have an outdoor shower, see our post on DIY RV outdoor shower kits. Make it even MORE water-efficient by adding the Geyser showerhead.
This enables RVers (who already have a self-sufficient, built-in plumbing system) to take a more water-efficient shower without needing to use Geyser’s reservoir and pump unit. This is a great option for boondockers who really want to conserve their supply of fresh water (Geyser suggests that whenever you shower with their system, you save roughly 15 gallons of water). It also means dumping your grey tank less frequently.
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Virginia Fiorini
Saturday 19th of April 2025
Is this of use for washing your hair? Shampoo and conditioner? It's a sponge. Curious if anyone has experienced using it for this purpose and how? Thank you.
TheRVgeeks
Saturday 19th of April 2025
Good question, Virginia. You can get 3 different colored sponges to color-code your cleaning (i.e. one for washing body, one for hair conditioner, one for cleaning dishes, etc)... or, if you're appropriately sparing with water use while washing your body, you can disconnect the sponge and allow the water to flow out of the hose unimpeded. Of course, this uses the water up much faster... but if coordinated appropriately, it can be managed. If you Google for other user's reviews of the unit, there are some women with longer hair who have reported that it works. It's not a luxurious shower by any measure, but they've reported that it works.
Of course, the longer your hair is, the more challenging it will be to conserve enough water to get a thorough rinsing of your hair. But it's better than using wipes to "shower" and NOT washing your hair at all! 😉