A shower at camp usually means one of two things: a bag you hang from a tree and hope has enough pressure, or a 12V pump wired to the car. The FlexTail Max Shower is a third option: a rechargeable pump the size of your hand that you drop into any container of water.
I paid $88 for it. We’ve used it on a few trips now, including our trip to the Snowy Mountains in September 2025, where campgrounds like Jounama Creek have no showers.
What You’re Getting
The Max Shower is three parts: a small white pump with a built-in battery, a grey hose and a shower head. They push together with quick-connects. Also in the box are a USB charging cable, a few spare O-rings and the manual.
What we like
- Small and light: 310 g pump
- Works from a jerry can or bucket
- Push-on hose and shower head
- Low and high flow
- 70 to 110 minutes per charge
- USB-C charging, IPX7 waterproof
What we don’t
- Doesn’t heat the water
- Pricier than a shower bag
- Needs charging before the trip
Quick Specs
| Spec | Details |
|---|---|
| Brand | FlexTail |
| Model | MS2500 |
| Weight | Pump 310 gWhole kit 615 g |
| Spray holes | 0.33 mmStainless steel plate |
| Pump size | 12 × 6.9 × 4 cm |
| Flow | 2.17 L/min on low2.96 L/min on high |
| Run time | Up to 110 min on low70 min on high |
| Battery | 18.5 Wh7.4 V, 2,500 mAh |
| Charging | USB-C5V/2A |
| Hose | 2.2 m |
| Water rating | IPX7 |
Setting it up
There’s not much to it. The hose pushes onto the pump, the shower head pushes onto the other end of the hose, and that’s the shower built. The connections are the push-on kind you know from a garden hose, so there are no threads to tighten and nothing to cross-thread with wet hands.
The power button sits on the end of the pump, next to the USB-C port, with both under a rubber cover. Press the button, drop the pump into the water and it starts pushing water up the hose.
We use it with a 5 L jerry can. The pump is small enough to go through the opening, so we don’t need a separate bucket: it sits under water in the can and the hose comes out of the top. The hose is 2.2 metres long, so the water has to be close to where you shower, and a 5 L can is easy to move around and put right next to you. It’s rated IPX7, so being under water is what it’s made for. A bucket, a tub or a calm spot in a creek works the same way.
The shower
The shower head is a proper one: a stainless steel plate with rings of fine 0.33 mm holes, which gives a dense, even spray. A tab on the face of the head switches between low and high flow with one hand, so you can turn it down to save water. The listing gives the spray a reach of 1.8 metres on low and 2.4 metres on high. Where the hose meets the head there’s a fold-out hook to hang the shower from, which leaves both hands free. We use it with our Kings shower tent on the side of the Prado.
On low, the pump moves 2.17 litres a minute; on high, 2.96 litres. That matters for how much water you bring. Our 5 L jerry can gives a bit over two minutes of running water on low, so it pays to turn the water off while you soap up. A 20 L can would last about nine minutes on low.
What it doesn’t do is heat the water. The shower is as warm as the water in the container. We fill the jerry can with cold water from our water tank and add a bit of boiled water, which gives a lukewarm shower. For more ways to wash at camp, see our guide on how to shower off-grid.
Battery and charging
The battery is built into the pump: 18.5 Wh, charged over USB-C at 5V/2A, so it charges from a power bank or a USB port in the car. One charge gives up to 110 minutes on low and 70 minutes on high. At two to three litres a minute, that’s more than 200 litres of water, so on a normal trip you run out of water long before you run out of battery.
The only thing to remember is to charge it before you leave. It’s the kind of gear that sits in a drawer between trips, and a flat pump is no shower.
Filter and cleaning
One end of the pump is a grille with a metal filter screen behind it, and the water goes in there. The pump draws water in from the top and not from the bottom of the container, where the grit settles, and the filter comes off for cleaning. That’s handy when the water comes from a creek or a dam and not from a tap, because sand and leaves stay out of the pump and the fine holes of the shower head.
Size and weight
This is where the Max Shower beats most camp showers. The pump is 12 cm long and weighs 310 g on my scale, close to the 302 g on the box.
The whole kit, with the hose and the shower head, weighs 615 g in a mesh bag. The bag doesn’t come with the shower: we added it ourselves to keep the parts together, and it lives in a drawer in the back of the Prado. If you like small rechargeable gear, the same brand makes the Flextail Tiny Pump we’ve also reviewed.
Conclusion: FlexTail Max ShowerConclusion
The FlexTail Max Shower is a small rechargeable pump that turns a jerry can or bucket into a real shower. The pump weighs 310 g, the parts push together in seconds, the head has a low and a high flow, and one charge lasts far longer than the water you carry. It’s a very good lightweight solution for washing at camp. It doesn’t heat the water, it has to be charged before the trip and at $88 it costs more than a shower bag. For 4WD tourers and car campers who want a proper shower without a 12V setup, it’s a great piece of kit.
A 310 g rechargeable pump that turns a jerry can or bucket into a shower, with low and high flow and 70 to 110 minutes per charge.
It doesn’t heat the water and costs $88. A great pick for 4WD tourers and car campers who want a real shower without a 12V setup.
- 4WD tourers
- Car campers
- Beach & picnics
Yes, if you want a real shower at camp without wiring anything into the car. I paid $88. A shower bag is cheaper, but this gives steady pressure from any container and packs down to a small bag.
