ADVANCED ELEMENTS - Summer Shower/Solar Shower - Different Capacity - Shower Head - Reflective Mirror - Fill Valve - Black or Silver

I bought 2 of these after researching to replace ageing made-in-USA solar showers from the '90s. I've been very pleased with the Advanced Elements 5-gallon model, and wanted to try these 3 gallon's for a different location. They've worked well. Here's my review, and temp tests:The vinyl thickness is about the same as an inflatable kid's pool float. Build quality is good, but remember we're talking about a vinyl bag with a spout and a hose.At 8 pounds per gallon of water, these weigh 24 pounds full. Of course, they'll still heat whatever contents even if you don't fill to capacity.Maker's instructions say NOT to use these for human drinking water so I'll take their advice.Honestly there are not a lot of choices in solar showers currently, most are just flimsy plastic bags. All brands I see are made in China now. If you have owned older USA-made solar showers, the current bags will feel thinner and flimsier in comparison. That said, Advanced Elements is the best of the current makers. For most people the choice will be between the 3-gallon and the 5-gallon size, and whether a solar shower is realistic for your location.FIRST DAY TEST: We put 2 of these out in direct Florida sun, late March, from 3.00 PM to 5.45 PM. Filled them with kitchen tap water from the cold water tap. Outside air temp 74 degrees.At 5.45 after 2 hours and 45 minutes full exposure, temp gauge on one bag read 104', the other read 98' (the temp gauges go in 6' increments). The bag that reads 98' had more water in it so it did not heat as quickly.I tried both bags spraying over my hands, and water temperature was subjectively comfortable but not 'hot tub' hot. Both bags were certainly warmer than the air temp of 74'.I'd still have liked them a few degrees hotter than they got in the 2:45 test.I like that the rubberized top handle the bags hang by has a clasp lock that unlocks for easier hanging & unhanging. There's a little plastic mirror on a tether cord in the front mesh pocket.SECOND DAY TEST: 3 days after first test above, on another sunny Florida day I put the same 2 bags, again filled with water from the kitchen cold water tap, outside for 3;00 hours in mid-day. Air temp was 78', a warmer day than the first test. This time they reached 104' and 110' respectively.Each time one bag was filled a little less full than the other and each time the less full bag got warmer than the more full bag. Both 104' and 110' seem very pleasant shower temp's to me. Once you get to 104' that's about the temp most public gym's set their hot tubs to, just as a frame of reference. The extra time makes a big difference. And all day-exposure will get these really hot-- if these are out 6 hours or more in direct sun they're as hot as I can personally stand.Once these are out of direct sun, these bags will begin losing their warmth. So you need to use them while they're hot. Wrapping them in towels or a blanket etc will help them retain heat longer (evening dishwashing?)It also seems to take a minimum of 3:00 hours to reach a pleasant temp level, so plan on allowing at least that much time.I've used these a few dozen times now and so far they're holding up fine. I haven't treated them roughly because they clearly aren't designed for it. Sun is tough on plastics over time so I can't speak to long term durability.I'm pleased with these and glad I bought them. A 5 gallon model weighs 40 lbs full and it does take 20-25% longer to heat than these 3 gallon bags.These certainly work--they do make water hot in the sun-- and I can see why they are #1 in sales on Amazon in the category. AE's products are clearly better made than competing brands...some of which are really just flimsy black plastic bags.Based on my experience I would say these AE's do the job and are currently the best solar showers available. I do notice these have fluctuated between $32 and $19, so it pays to be patient and to shop around. You can also check out the AE 5-gallon model (listed separately) and the 10-gallon model (which at 80 pounds full is not very portable, but might work for a sailboat, cabin, car camping etc).Hope this is helpful. Happy trails and happy showering, everybody.

Bought this to use for a 2 month trip to remote area in Uganda. Worked very well and we were grateful to actually have a real shower! Pressure was sufficient to rinse long hair after shampooing too. We actually soaped up and scrubbed before using the shower so we could enjoy the hot shower portion longer ;-)It was sturdy but I usually didn't keep it completely full (it was a bit heavy for me to hang high enough when completely full) because I was concerned it would put too much strain on the connecting section of the handle. It never had any leakage though. But my hope would be that they either create a hanging "seat" of some kind that you can purchase to eliminate the strain all the weight of the water puts on these handles or somehow strengthen the handles.Because of how we used it, by soaping up before turning on the water, the shower still felt luxuriously long so the amount of water in the bag was great.We actually left the shower with our African hosts as they had never had something like this and they could easily use something (and continue to use it) because of it's low-tech solution to making hot water. Their only challenge will be to keep it from being stolen!

Having gone camping for five weeks, with unreliable campground amenities I was very happy that I decided to purchase the Summer Solar Shower by Advanced Elements. Before my purchase I had read reviews for other shower bags and even purchased what I thought was a shower tent. What I liked about this shower bag was that the material looks durable, the back of the bag was see threw (water levels visible), velcro straps for hanging up shower hose, the shower hose close/open valve worked super well, mirrow provided was a good add on, little pouch convenient, and the top strap (open/extent option) was excellent for hanging on closed loops. The purchased the 3lb version because it was an easier way to calculate each shower's water usage (each shower used about 2-3lbs of water). The only reason why I am rating this a 4/5 stars is because we had issues using the solar panels. The issue not being the product's solar panels themselves but more of practicality; when ever we left the water up to warm up, the squirrels would conjugate around it (beware of squirrel related issues: fleas, ticks, ripping open bags [all issues that we come across]).