5 Uses for a Camping Shower Tent

Privacy in the outdoors can be hard to come by. If you’re a camper or a traveler, you know that sometimes there’s just not enough cover for when you need to change your clothes, shower, or do other things that require some shelter. For certain situations, a towel and your car door can suffice for cover, but for others, like showers and bathroom visits - you’ll obviously need something more, like a shower tent.

What is a shower tent? Well, it’s as it sounds - a tent, like you sleep in, but made for showering in public. So instead of being wide and short like a normal sleeping tent, a shower tent is narrow and tall, for standing in. Also referred to as “privacy shelters” these tents have a multitude of uses applicable in a wide variety of outdoor settings.

The thing about shower tents is that they come in a variety of sizes and qualities. Depending on what you’re using it for, you may need one with two rooms, or you may need one with storage options. When researching shower tents, you should consider all the ways you could use it or that it could benefit you, so that you can make the most of your purchase.

So how will you use your shower tent? Well, the thing is, there’s many uses of shower tents that you may not even think about initially. If you’re an outdoor enthusiast that spends a lot of time camping and off-grid, there may be more uses to a shower tent than you think. 

To help you explore the many ways you could possibly use a shower tent, we put together a list of the top five uses for shower tents to give you an idea of just how versatile they are.

 

 

1.  Showering in the Outdoors

Implied by the name, shower tents are designed for taking showers outdoors. If you live in your vehicle, if you’re offgrid camping, or if you’re just camping where there’s no shower facilities - there’s many times where you don’t have a private place to shower. While you could always shower in a bathing suit or your underwear, most people can agree that having some cover while you’re showering is preferable. So shower tents provide that cover. 

Shower tents are typically tall enough for you to stand up in, and some have zippable windows that can open up towards the top of the tent, so you can look out while you’re showering while still staying covered up. Since they are designed to have a large amount of water flow through them, they also typically have draining floors, whether it’s mesh lining or some other mechanism. Many will have mounts to hang your camping shower, so you don’t have to hold it the whole time, like a normal shower.

 

 

2.  Using the Bathroom in the Outdoors

When you’re in nature, sometimes nature calls. Let’s be honest - we’d always rather use a real bathroom, but sometimes, if you’re a hardcore camper, overlander or offgridder - that cozy toilet with four walls just isn’t there. Sometimes, all you have is a portable toilet, and all of the times, you want to have privacy when you’re using that portable toilet.

When that need for privacy hits when nature calls, you’ll be very glad when you have a shower tent or in this case, a privacy shelter. It may not be glorious, but you can use that shower tent as your portable stall, as most of them will be just large enough to fit your portable toilet.  

 

 

3.  Changing clothes in the outdoors

Sometimes to change your outfit, it’s easiest just to strip everything off and start anew. When you’re camping, this process can pose some issues, especially if there’s people around. So if you need to change out of your hiking clothes, or change into some warmer clothes for the night, you may want a changing room so that you can switch out your clothes worry-free. A shower tent can serve as that portable changing room - serving as a privacy shelter for when you need to strip down in the wild.

4.  Grooming in the Outdoors

If you’re offgrid for long periods of time, or don’t have access to a bathroom consistently, you may find that it’s hard to find a place to shave and groom yourself. That’s where a shower tent comes in. Even if you’re at the campsite, with a shower tent, you can have a nice private space to shave and groom away from the eyes of strangers. If needed, and given the shower tent has the space, you can always set up a small seat or stool to make it even more comfortable for grooming.

5.  As a portable closet

The cool thing about shower tents is that some, like our RinseKit Shelter, have hanging storage and racks for keeping toiletries and hanging towels and clothes. In a way, with these features, the shower tent becomes your portable closet / bathroom storage. It makes it easy to access clothes you need to hang, towels that need drying, your toothpaste, toothbrush etc. 

So you can see that shower tents can very much come in handy if you’re camping off grid or living van life. Especially for multi-day camping trips, a shower tent can provide a level of privacy, comfort and convenience that you take for granted in everyday life at home. When you are camping, that ability to use the bathroom or shower without having to worry about onlookers can make a world of difference.

  

What to Look for in a Shower Tent

So now you know how a shower tent can benefit you - the next question is, what makes a good shower tent? Well, like anything else, not all shower tents are created equal, and depending on what you plan on using it for, some are far superior to others. Let’s look at a few typical features of shower tents, so you can know what to look for when doing your research.

Double Vs. Single Room

If you do your research on Amazon for shower tents, you will find that they range greatly in price. You’ll immediately find that the cheaper ones are smaller, and are single room. The more expensive ones are larger and have two rooms, and for good reason. They are literally twice the size of the single room tents, and often have more features. 

The benefit of the double vs the single room is that the double provides a changing room, so you can put on your clothes and dry off without stepping back in the wet area you just showered in. While it may not seem like a big deal, when you are trying to dry off and put your clothes on, the last thing you want to do is either step back in water or step outside the tent into the dirt. This second room also typically includes a towel drying rack, so you don’t have to reach outside to grab your towel when you’re done showering. 

While these little details may seem insignificant, they make a huge difference when you’re trying to keep clean and private when showering at a campsite.

Storage Pockets

One feature that some shower tents have and others don’t is storage pockets. These typically are mesh pockets that strap to the poles that hold the tent up, and are perfect for storing shampoo, soap, razors or whatever else you need to shower with. While this may not be a deal breaker like the single vs. double room, it can still make showering way more convenient when you have your toiletries at chest height, and don’t have to bend down to pick them up or reach outside of the tent to grab them.

Towel Rack

An important feature, whether you have a double room shower tent or not, is a towel rack. If you do have a single room, it will likely be found on the outside, and if you have a two room, it will likely be on the inside. Either way, it’s kind of an essential, as you don’t want to have to walk away from your privacy shelter to grab your towel.

Mesh or Vented Floor

Another understated but very important aspect of shower tents is the flooring. Some of the cheaper models simply have no floor at all. When you consider this, you really have to ask yourself: what’s the point of taking a shower with no floor? You’re really just going to shower on dirt and sand? Does that not defeat the point of taking a shower?

So when you’re shopping for a shower tent, you need to make sure that it has some type of flooring. Most of the high-quality ones have some kind of tarp-like flooring with mesh lining around it so that the water can drain out. It’s essential to have that flooring, especially if you are camping somewhere where it is sandy or dirty.

Hose Slot

If you’re using a camping shower, and it’s one of any quality, it typically will have a long hose that feeds water from the tank to the nozzle. The RinseKit PRO, for instance, has a 6 foot hose from the unit to the nozzle. So to save room in your showering area, you will probably want to set the RinseKit outside the tent, and run the hose inside the tent. That’s why it’s critical for your shower tent to have that hose slot, so you can run the hose through the slot to the tank outside.

Windows

While not quite an essential like the other features we have discussed, windows can be a nice addition to a shower tent. The higher-end ones will typically have windows as an option, just in case you’re showering in a beautiful area and want to take in the view while you’re having a rinse. They are always above chest height so they cover what needs to be covered, but are a nice touch for those wanting to thoroughly enjoy their outdoor shower.

The RinseKit Shelter Shower Tent

If you’re looking for a camping shower tent, the RinseKit Shelter has all the features we discussed above, plus more. 

It’s big. At almost 8 feet across, 3.5 feet deep and 6.5 feet tall, the Shelter is large enough for the tallest of campers, and wide enough for you to take a spacious shower.

 

 

It has two rooms. Equipped with both a showering and a changing room, the Shelter is perfect for both showering and changing in, or using it as a half shower / half bathroom unit.

It’s got tons of storage. The Shelter is equipped with large organizer pouches to keep valuables and toiletries dry and off the ground.

It’s got a towel rack. A removable towel rack can be found inside the changing room, perfect for hanging dry or wet towels.

 

 

It’s got a mesh lined draining floor. The RinseKit Shelter has a tarp-like floor and is mesh-lined on the edges so that water can drain off on the sides. That makes it so you can shower with tons of water and it will drain out, leaving you with a dry floor.

 

 

It’s got windows. The Shelter has zip-opened windows on the front panel so you can take a look out at your view while you’re showering.

It’s got a hose slot. The Shelter is made to be used with the RinseKit, so it has a slot for the hose. That way, you can set your RinseKit outside the tent, and run the hose into the tent. It also has a small loop in the top corner for hanging your nozzle from so you can have a nice shower setup.

 

 

It's easy to set up. The RinseKit Shelter is a pop-up tent, so setting it up is as easy as pulling a drawstring and stretching out the elements. 

 

 

So if you’re looking for a shower tent, the Shelter has everything you need, and more.

To conclude this blog, you can see that camping shower tents are a great accessory to bring with you on camping trips, offgrid excursions and more. If you’re off-grid and you need privacy, whether it’s to shower, go to the bathroom, or just change into a different outfit, shower tents have many uses that are applicable in a ton of different situations. Hopefully, this blog  has demonstrated the value of shower tents, and will help guide you on our journey to finding the perfect shower tent for you.