FIRST IMPRESSION... upon un-boxing this product ---> I just received this in the mail today and will review again - after I use it. I am disappointed that this product is packaged so poorly for shipping. The hose came with a big fat crimp in it - all the way across - right under the connection to the bag. The reason I chose Advanced Elements was because of the brand recognition. I trusted that they would take better pride in how the product arrives - especially after reading some of the reviews of other people with different brand shower bags and their experiences - that are exactly like this one... a crimped shower hose. Surely Advanced Elements - you can do better than that with packing to protect the hose. When people buy stuff on Amazon, it is sight unseen, so a lot of trust goes into a purchasing decision. Bottom line of my First Impression -> I could have got a different shower bag and still have a crimped hose, for less money. SECOND IMPRESSION ---> I filled the shower bag with a tablespoon of Baking Soda and a Quart of warm water to rinse out the bag. It really did not stink, but I followed the directions. Upon dumping out and rinsing, out came slimy, slick water with somewhat of a greasy feel to it. I had to go back and fill it again twice with dish-washing detergent to get the slick out of the inside. I don't know what that was. Next, I had to dry it out somehow, so I put a small washcloth inside and shook it all around. It got most of the water out. I then took a wire close hanger and pulled it in the middle (bottom of the hanger) to make a long accessory to keep the sides open. (note - do not insert the hanger part at the top inside of the shower bag). No problems drying out the bag. That was pretty easy. By the way... the crimp is still there. The hot water and a lot of squeezing it with my hands while the hose was filled with hot water at least made a way for the water to flow through without interfering with the flow too bad - but the crimp is still there. *** Wouldn't it be great is someone would manufacture these shower bags with a FLEXIBLE SILICONE HOSE instead of a hard plastic one - and make them like a dry bag that you roll down at the top with an adjustable snap handle like they already come with? No more cleaning issues to prevent mold, you could just open it out and dry it with a cloth ... just saying.... Next update, on how it worked as a shower. FINAL IMPRESSION ---> Okay.... drum roll please LOL. I used the shower to wash my hair. The size (3 gallon) was just right. I did not fill it up all the way, so it probably had about 2 1/2 gallons in it. The flow was okay. It worked. I thought it would be a little bit stronger than it was, but it got the job done, and was what could be expected with a water saver shower head. Overall, I think the shower bag is made well, but I watched a YouTube video on it the other day by someone who had theirs for several years, and it looked like his shower bag had a FLEXIBLE SILICONE HOSE. Why don't they bring that back. I despise that stiff hard hose on this shower. It is always in the way while you are trying to fill it, or move it around to hang it. After you get it set up, it's a decent solar shower. I did put rubber bands around the base of the hose where it attaches to the shower head to help with wet slippery hands from the soap: that helped. Bottom line... it's a well made shower bag. It works. They do need to redesign the hose and make it either a detachable, flexible silicone hose, or just a plain flexible silicone hose. Not too much to ask for. As a result of my displeasure with the hard plastic stiff hose, that came shipped with a permanent crimp - I will only upgrade my review from 1-star to 3-stars. This could be a 5 star review if they used a flexible silicone hose on the shower bag. It does get the job done, but the product quality, in my opinion (the hose), needs to be improved. If I were designing this bag, I would manufacture it with a disconnect so that you could choose using either of two hoses: one short one -or- one long one, depending upon the camp needs at the time.
