KickAss Shower Awning Review

What’s in the box

A shower and change tent that folds into a 112 cm long, black 1000D PVC bag, with brackets and bolts to mount it on a roof rack. Inside are four walls of 300D ripstop polyester with an inner lining, on a fold-out aluminium alloy frame, with YKK zips, mesh pockets on the inside walls, a hook-and-loop holder for the shower hose and pegs for the corners. A shower isn’t included. Open, it’s 105 × 105 cm, and the hanging straps set the height anywhere from 1.6 to 2.1 m.

Quick Specs

Fitting it to the car

The awning stays on the car. Two black L-brackets, the bolts and nuts and the pegs come in a small bag with it, and the back of the awning is an aluminium rail with channels along it. The bolts slide into a channel, the brackets go over them, and the L-brackets are made to bolt to the side of a roof rack. The 1000D PVC bag is thick and UV resistant, and it zips shut along its full length.

We didn’t use the L-brackets. We wanted the awning on the channel along the side of our Kings Grand Tourer Lite rooftop tent, so we used other brackets we still had. They bolt into the awning’s rail the same way, and then into the tent’s channel, so the awning rides there between trips and is ready whenever we stop.

Setting Up

Unzip the bag and the walls are rolled up inside, held with hook-and-loop straps. Undo the straps, swing out the alloy arms, and the walls drop down into a square cubicle. KickAss says it unfolds in seven seconds; after that, peg the corners. The weighted poles along the bottom of the walls keep it square, so it doesn’t sag when you hang a towel over the side.

Build Quality

This is where it beats our Kings shower tent. The walls are 300D ripstop with an inner lining instead of 210D, and the fabric feels thicker and a little better made. The frame is aluminium alloy, the zips are YKK, and each corner has a strap and a peg to hold it down.

At Camp

It works as a shower, a toilet tent or a change room. A zip runs down the side wall, so you open it like a door to get in and out. The mesh pockets on both inside walls hold soap, shampoo and hand sanitiser, and the hook-and-loop holder keeps the shower head up so your hands are free. There’s no floor or shower base, so stand on a mat on muddy ground, or add the KickAss Portable Shower Base, which is sold separately or in a bundle with this shower awning. At our Blue Mountains campgrounds it held up really well; just peg the corners when it’s windy, or the fabric starts folding inwards.

KickAss or Kings?

Both are vehicle-mounted shower tents at the same price, and both work. The KickAss has tougher 300D fabric, an alloy frame and a height you can adjust, and its materials feel a step up from the Kings shower tent, which weighs about the same.

	This oneKickAss Awning	Same priceKings Shower Tent→
Floor	No	No
Size set up	105 × 105 × 160–210 cm	100 × 100 × 200 cm
Fabric	300D ripstop	210D ripstop
Weight	6.65 kg	6.5 kg
Price paid	$130	$130
Our score	8.8	8.4

KickAss Shower Comparison

Ours is the standard Shower Awning: four walls, an open top and no floor. KickAss also makes premium versions with a roll-out canvas roof, in the same 300D ripstop. The Roof & Base one includes a shower base with a drain plug and pipe, and the Roll Out Roof & LED Light one a detachable LED light strip: the Premium with Roof & Base, the Premium with Roll Out Roof & LED Light and the Premium Black and Orange with Roof. If you camp where it’s cold or wet, or want to shower on muddy ground, a roof and a base are worth having; for changing and quick showers in the dry, the standard one does the job.

Conclusion: KickAss Shower Awning

The KickAss Shower Awning is a budget ensuite that feels sturdy: 300D ripstop walls, an alloy frame, YKK zips and a height you can adjust, in a tough bag that lives on the roof rack. There’s no floor or shower base, and you’ll want to peg the corners in wind, but for $130 its materials feel a step up from the Kings one, and we think it’s really good.