Flextail Max Shower

It’s well known that meals taste better outdoors. For many of the same reasons—fresh air, heightened senses, and reduced stress among them—taking a shower at the end of a day’s cruising, whether at anchor or in camp, is much more enjoyable and restorative than showering at home. As I get older, and perhaps wiser, I have become less eager to make miles and more interested in being comfortable while afloat or ashore. Flextail, the company that makes an air pump that quickly inflates my thickest and most comfortable sleeping pads, has made a submersible water pump that is at the heart of my new system for taking a shower anywhere I might cruise.

Photographs by the author

The Max Shower has three parts—pump, showerhead, and hose—with quick-release connections that make the system easier to pack. While this photograph was taken on a sandy beach, it’s best to keep the system out of sand and dirt to minimize the chances of clogging the water outlet holes.

Flextail’s Max Shower pump measures 4 3⁄4″ × 3 1⁄8″ × 1 5⁄8″ and weighs 11 oz. The hose is 7′ 3″ long, and the showerhead is 2 7⁄8″ across and 3 3⁄4″ front to back and has a folding clip so that the shower can be hung and used hands-free. A 7.4V, 2500mAh battery supplies the power and is recharged via an included type-C USB cable. Fully charged, the battery should power the pump for 70 minutes on high flow or 110 minutes on low.

Flextail’s website specifies the Max Shower’s flow rate as between 2.2 and 3 liters (0.58 and 0.79 gallons) per minute. (The manual included with the device specifies 6–10L/min 1.36–2.27gal/min, which is evidently incorrect.) With the showerhead positioned at the same level as the pump, I measured 2.97 liters (0.78 gallons) per minute on low flow and 3.3 liters (0.87 gallons) per minute on high flow. Typical domestic showerheads deliver a maximum of 6.8 liters (1.8 gallons) per minute. The Max Shower’s rate of flow diminishes the higher the showerhead is above the pump, and while it doesn’t provide the pressure one expects at home, it delivers plenty of satisfying flow for bathing.

The pump is waterproof—its motor, switch, and charging port are rated IPX7—and operates by being fully immersed. I use a collapsible bucket as the reservoir. The pop-up shower tent I use is as much for retaining warmth as it is for privacy.

The Max Shower web page notes the water outlet holes in the showerhead have a diameter of 0.012″, which produce “a strong and invigorating water flow for a truly refreshing and enjoyable shower experience.” While this is true, the holes can get clogged and reduce that flow. The pump’s intake has a stainless-steel-mesh filter, but its openings are about 0.05″ wide, and can allow the passage of particles large enough to block the water outlet holes. The Max Shower is still functional even if some streams are blocked; clogged holes are quickly evident because they either deflect a stream or block it. With the showerhead disconnected, I was able to clear most of the grit by blowing air through a soda straw at the face of the showerhead, or poking the grit back through the holes with a needle, and then flushing it out of the housing with a strong faucet stream. While the showerhead can be disassembled by unscrewing the ring that holds it together, it’s not a good way to remedy clogged outlet holes—it’s difficult to put the head back together so that the interior parts are aligned to provide the proper flow of water.

The Max Shower can be used for more than showers: it can wash dirt off feet, children, dogs, and gear, to mention but a few. While the manual doesn’t specify if the Max Shower can be used with salt as well as fresh water, when queried, Flextail replied it can but they recommend rinsing the system with fresh water after use with salt water.

A pop-up shower tent and a collapsible 2.6-gallon bucket complete my shower system. The shower tent serves not only for privacy but also to retain the warmth provided by the shower spray and eliminate any chilling breeze. With the bucket filled with warm water, heated by camp stove or campfire, there’s more than enough for two thorough showers if you stop and restart the flow between soaping and rinsing. The water can be turned off by either closing the valve on the showerhead or switching off the pump. Using the whole bucketful for one shower is a soothing indulgence.

At the end of a long day on the water, the Max Shower can make the difference between collapsing into bed feeling worn out, or turning in happy, relaxed, and restored.

Christopher Cunningham is editor at large of Small Boats.

The Max Shower is available from Flextail for $56.99 and from online and retail outdoor equipment retailers.

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