“Hopefully this keeps my car from smelling like a dead seal!” Photo: RinseKit
What happens when you use a jug of warm water to shower yourself after a frigid surf? Utter euphoria.
Save the hit of endorphins generated from actually riding a wave (that goes double for getting barreled), there may be no greater feeling than warm water thawing out your bones and bringing you back to life.
Every surfer has their go-to container for a post-surf cascade. A flushed out laundry detergent bottle, a kitty litter jug. These all serve their purpose. But when I learned of a new product being hawked by RinseKit (purveyors of very fine portable showers) that heats water on the go, my interest was piqued. I had to try it.
Until now, that’s been my hesitation with shelling out cash for a RinseKit, different models of which have been on the market for several years. While the promise of a pressurized shower without pumping or batteries was tempting, the idea of filling it up with a spigot and the water being cold was a non-starter. Especially since my local had installed showers. I should note that RinseKit has had a sink adapter for some time so you can fill it with hot tap water. But something about fumbling with adapters seemed clunky to me. The Hot Rod Water Heater, though, plugs into a car’s cigarette lighter and heats water while you drive. Just fill up at the hose, turn it on, and go.
Fast forward several weeks and the package with my name on it arrives: The Rinse Kit Lux and Hot Rod Water Heater. I was psyched to try them out. Because the focus of this review is on the Hot Rod Water Heater, I’ll go over some quick pros and cons I’ve noticed after two weeks of use.
The RinseKit Lux (left) and the Hot Rod Water Heater (right) may be just what you’re looking for in a post-surf shower. Photo: RinseKit
Cons:
1. The water is warm, not hot. The way the system works is you plug the heater in (the other end of which is literally a stainless steel rod that’s plugged into the tank of the RinseKit) and press a button indicating you want it to heat for 30, 60, or 90 minutes. Obviously, the longer it heats the warmer the water will be, so it’s not super fair to expect three gallons of water to heat to a piping hot temperature in the 10 or 15 minutes it takes to jet down to your local. On longer beach excursions (about 60 minutes), though, the warmest I was able to get the water (after a few hours of it sitting in my car while I surfed, mind you) was comfortably tepid. Much better than cold. But not totally hot.
2. You have to turn your car on before you turn the heater on. For safety, the Hot Rod heater’s cigarette lighter plug has a button to turn it on. It doesn’t turn on automatically when the plug is getting power – likely so that water doesn’t overheat. The only problem there is this means you need to turn your car on before turning on the heater. In my case, I have an outlet in the back of my Honda Element, where I keep my RinseKit. This meant turning the car on, getting out, opening the back and turning on the heater. Also, if you stop for gas (or anything else) you have to remember once you turn on the car again to turn on the heater. I learned that one the hard way and on more than one occasion missed out on a half hour or so more of heat.
Pros:
1. No more frigid showers. In spite of the small inconveniences above, the heating mechanism does work like a charm and is easy to use. It also solves the problem of traipsing through the house to get warm water for an after surf spritz.
2. Being powered by the cigarette lighter is sweet. I mentioned the inconvenience of getting out of my car while it’s running to turn on the heater. The cord for the plug, though, is about eight feet long so theoretically I could plug it in close to the front seat and make things easy on myself. The fact that it works with a cigarette lighter is wildly convenient, and beyond the small inconvenience I mentioned, super easy to use.
Bottom line: After being the proud owner of a RinseKit for several weeks now, I can easily call it an essential part of my quiver. I’m surprised I went so long without it. The soft case of the Lux keeps the thing from sliding around in the back of my car, is easy to clean, and filling up at the spigot is incredibly easy – the shower nozzle pops off and an adapter quickly screws onto the spigot. When connected, there are no annoying leaks. It’s great. While better than nothing, the tepid water would be even better if it were hotter. Not to mention you have to drive a ways for the water to fully heat. This seems great for road trips or if you live at least 30 minutes from the beach, but if your five minutes down the road, don’t expect to have steaming-hot water when you get there. Overall, the RinseKit with its Hot Rod Water Heater are a great product pair. Just don’t expect it to miraculously turn water from cold to boiling in seconds.
To learn more about RinseKit, visit their website here.
