Camping is great fun, but just because you're getting back to nature doesn't mean you have to rough it the whole way. There are host of options these days that make camping less of a privation and allow you to experience the great outdoors without completely giving up the trappings of modern life. Using the technology that goes into waterproofing tents, or hard-wearing backpacks, is no less inappropriate than taking a little bit of home comfort with you when trekking through the wilderness. So why not consider taking that ultimate symbol of civilization with you when you camp: the ability to have a hot shower.
Heating Up
Being able to heat your water (and indeed your food) is a pretty basic for any campers not determined to live off the land, or from iron rations. There are a variety of commercially available camping stoves of course, but it's also entirely possible – and cheap – for the adventurous explorer to make their own. You can make a rocket stove, which burns a very small amount of wood, pretty easily and out of cheap components. The stove's design means that a lot of heat is generated as the fuel burns both in the fuel opening and in a reburn combustion chamber, and incorporates insulation so that the generated heat is absorbed and radiated outward for several hours afterwards. All you need is 4 soup cans, 1 larger #10 can, tin snips, and a bag of vermiculite for insulation, and you can assemble a rocket stove in less than an hour.
You can also make a simpler DIY stove out of fewer cans. Take the lid off of a 4-in can and turn it into a rim that fits around a smaller 3-in can. Then punch and drill some holes around the bottom of the large can, and around the bottom, top, and base of the small can. The upper holes allow hot air to be injected into the top of the stove, acting to reignite gases that would otherwise be wasted. Then you just need to assemble the stove and pack it with small pieces of firewood, some lint or paper on top, and a bit of kindling. Using this method, you can heat water in around 8 minutes or so. Not bad for something that costs very little time and money to make.
The Sunny Side
Also, there's an alternative to burning things to produce heat: the handy thermonuclear fusion reactor hanging in the sky that's responsible for all life on Earth. (That's the Sun, in case you were confused for a second.) There are several methods for solar water heating, ranging from expensive solar panels if you really don't care for roughing it to a dark-coloured bag that will heat up around 10 degrees for every hour left in the sun, up to about 45 °C. Plenty warm enough for a nice shower, and you just need to lift the bag up and attach a hose to it to wash yourself clean.
If the sun isn't being cooperative, it's back to the stove though. Having a pot of water on the boil is hardly a shower, but If your heart's set on that prize, there are a few ways to achieve it. A tankless water heater is all very well, but really you need something to store that water so that you can spray it all over yourself later. From a DIY perspective, consider the innovative weed-sprayer shower, which will cost about $70 in parts and give you a good seven minutes of continuous flow.
Buying Out
We've already touched on it, but there are a few off the shelf options you can go for as well. Gas camping stoves are fairly popular, and water heater rental is ideal for those who don't want camping equipment cluttering up their home or vehicle. One possibility is using a turkey fryer, which can heat water up pretty quickly. It really does depend on your budget and how far from civilization you wish to be, though. And if you really want to head out in the lap of luxury, portable hot tubs are now a thing for the low, low price of several hundred dollars. How very civilized.
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