Best Portable Washing Up Bowls for Camping
In this buyers guide we look at the ever over-looked portable washing up bowls for camping or whilst you are out on the road. We look at pack away, foldable, and rigid washing up bowl options to see what is the best at this simple task, cleaning up dishes, dirty boots and other items that you may want to clean with the aid of a water bowl.
You could combine the wash bowls with the pump action portable pressure washers we have reviewed to make the perfect wash kit for your car or bicycles.
Best Camping Wash Bowls
It’s a pretty simple task, washing the dishes, we’ve done it thousands of times here at the car stuff, on many adventures and at hundreds of different camp sites, wild and not so wild around the world. No matter how ultralight you want to go, or not, washing up your dishes, pots and pans is inevitable.
Below we look at a few different types of camp wash sinks that may work for your next camping trip ad beyond.
First of all there is the soft bowl with a rigid rim which the Sea to Summit use. This has advantages of packing away small, can hold a lot of water for its size but it needs to be full for it to fully support itself.
Similar to this is the other packable camping wash bowl, it is made of a harder wearing material and actually has handles.
We have even reviewed a rigid washing up bowl which can be used at home and for camping, one positive with this type of product is that you can pack away all your food utensils and washing up things within its rigid box like frame.
The final camping sink design we had a good look at was the pop up silicone and rubber bowl. It packs away completely flat, just 1cm thick and pops up to hold a large amount of water.
Other Uses For Camping Bowls
Because of their size, they can be utilized for more tasks than just washing up dishes. Here are a few things you can use them for;
- Dog food and water bowl, the pop up silicone design can be good when feeding your pet
- Holding all of your camping food items and utensils, the rigid version by Joesph Joseph can hold all your plates, bowls, knives, forks, washing up liquid and sponges too, this keeps it all together and makes it easily packable
- If you get a big enough one, you can use it to have a foot bath, something you may not want to spend time setting up, but if you’re camping at a decent campsite with hot water on tap, you can fill up a bowl in minutes and have a fantastic foot bath and soak, which could do you wonders if you’ve been hiking all day
- Washing up your boots, other outdoor gear or even a bicycle, combined with a portable pressure washer you could have the perfect setup for keeping your gear clean and ready to go.
The Best Washing Up Liquid and Sponge
The good thing about car camping is that you can fit everything and the washing up sink in to your car to make your experience and camping trip as comfortable as possible. You want to be close to nature but stay warm, comfortable and make the little things work, like keeping your washing up an easy experience.
With that in mind we would like to recommend our favourite scrubbing pad and washing up liquid combination we have used for the past two years on camping trips near and far.
Washing Scrub Pad and Scourer
Our best washing pad we have ever used is the Safix Coconut Scrub Pad. For something that eventually rots away and gets binned, we wanted to use something we could just chuck in to the food waste bin and with this coconut scrub pad, you can. It’s made entirely of coconut shell hair strands that are intertwined and looped together and it makes easy work of grime and stuck on food without harming any of your fave pans or pots in the process. It doesn’t sud up as much as a plastic sponge but as long as you have soaked the dirty dishes in warm water with a washing up liquid then thats not a problem
Eco Washing Up Liquid
Our fave washing up liquid is that made by Ecover, a plant based eco washing up liquid which doesn’t harm the environment and also makes easy work of cleaning your greasy and oily pots, pans and dirty dishes. We have tried different eco and plant based washing up liquids for a few years and this is one of our faves. The good thing about this, is if you can’t rinse your dishes, you’re not leaving any nasty chemicals on your plates as you would with using a non plant based washing up liquid, this is one of the most important factors for us and we find people often overlook.
We have rated the collapsible wash bowl the best camping sink as it really makes sense for camping purposes, more so than the others. It can be packed away by popping the silicone material down and the it ends up packing away flat, the height of the frame, just a couple of centimetres thick.
The great thing about this type of camping sink is that it can hold a small, or large amount of water. If you need something quickly to put some water in so your dog can have a drink during a long drive to a campsite, then you can use this product no problem.
For washing dishes, which would be its main focus, its not the best, the rigid Joseph Joseph gets that award, but it is very versatile, is a great price, you want to be spending the real money on your tent and other important gear.
Our second ranked washing bowl is the Joseph Joseph rigid washing sink. It’s another versatile washing up bowl and has some nice features and also looks fantastic. It’s more of a home based extra sink but we have added it specifically for car camping because of how you can pack it.
Because of its rigidity, you can fill the inside with whatever plates, bowls, cups, cutlery, utensils and even the washing up things like liquid and sponges and pack away in to your boot ready for your car camping holiday. Without this washing up sink you would have to pack away all of these things in to a different box or container
The final two products by Sea to Summit and the packaway soft washing up sink are both the smallest when folded away and are both made of a soft, hardwearing material. If space is something that you need to save on, these two could be ideal. They both carry a large amount of water, the Natuche has carry handles for easy movement as well.
If you are after the lightest possible camping sink and washing up bowl, then the sea to summit can’t be beaten, it’s much lighter than the rest and packs away in to a small flat shape, easy to stuff or pack away.
Review of Orbit Innovations Collapsible Washing Up Bowl
This is a review of the Orbit Innovations Collapsible Washing Up Bowl
The Orbit Innovations Collapsible Washing Up Bowl is made from a thermoplastic rubber. It is a very simple design that pops up in seconds and can be easily folded away flat. To the base of the bowl is a footed plastic to help keep the bowl stable.
This washing up bowl can hold up to 10 litres of water, the rim around the edges helps to carry the bowl as there are no carry handles. Your unlikely to spill other than when you are draining it of water this can be a little awkward to do. Once upright the bowl is sturdy and strong.
I would say it is durable and strong for holding water however I would avoid using this bowl to carry items from the car as I feel it may tear the bowl making it redundant therefore only use it for the application it is intended to do and keep it packed away.
This type of bowl can be used for other uses as well, it would be great as a food bowl for your dog or water bowl as it can be packed away, weighs very little and you can put whatever amount of liquid or food in to it without worrying about it falling over or holding it’s own weight.
This one is probably the most universal and can be used for more tasks than the others.
With this rubberised pop up type of washing bowl, there are plenty of other brands making similar products so we’re sure you’ll find a decent version.
Pros
- Easy to use
- Folds away flat
- Durable
- Easy to clean
- Holds 10 litres
- Can be used for many different tasks, cleaning dishes, cleaning other products, used as a dog food bowl, etc
Cons
- You cant place products or items in this when you’re going camping like the Joseph rigid bowl
- Has no carry handles
Verdict
The Orbit Innovations Collapsible Washing Up Bowl is a simple design for simple washing up uses when you just need a container to wash you items and then stow away once your done no accessories, handles or fuss.
Orbit Innovations Collapsible Washing Up Bowl - Ideal for Camping (Colours may...
& Free shippingReview of Joseph Joseph Wash and Drain Washing Up Bowl
This is a review of the Joseph Joseph Wash and Drain Washing Up Bowl
The Joseph Joseph Wash and Drain Washing Up Bowl is made from a hard rigid plastic that incorporate carry handles. The sides to the bowl are square and tall providing little chance of spillage. The bowl is rigid and stands firmly on its own. You can use it while camping, in a sink at a campsite or in your home as a washing up bowl.
Although it does not foldaway or pack down to a more compact nature, its sturdy shape allows for you to store things in it while you travel and also carry them to your tent or caravan from your car.
Its key winning feature its the plug in the centre of the bowl. This means no need to lift a heavy bowl of water after use to tip and empty it simply requires pulling the plug out. The plug is also able to collect large food particles such as pasta but not so much small particles such as rice.
Because it is rigid and you can carry things in it, it means when packing your car, you can place things like dishwasher soap, sponges, scourers, platers, cutlery, bowls and cups all in this huge washing up bowl. Keeping it all together is one of its best points and it means the bowl doesn’t actually take up any more space when your packing it in for your next trip but does keep everything nice and neat and together.
Pros
- The bowl has a plug to drain water and catch large food particles
- No need to lift the bowl to empty it
- Steep wall sides keep water inside
- Large strong carry handles
- For use while camping or within kitchen side at home
- Easy to clean
- Can be used to carry small items to and from the car
- Available for next day delivery with Amazon Prime
Cons
- It is not compact and will not fold away
- A little pricey
Verdict
The Joseph Joseph Washing Up Bowl, is great for home and away use, providing you with a further box to carry items and an ability to drain water from the bowl.
Because of it’s larger size, it is great for many more uses than just washing dishes and its rigidity means it won’t break and is one of the most hard wearing we have reviewed.
Joseph Joseph 85056 Wash and Drain Washing Up Bowl - Grey, 31.5x31x20...
& Free shippingReview of Sea To Summit Ultra-Sil Kitchen Camping Sink
This is a review of the Sea To Summit Ultra-Sil Kitchen Camping Sink
The Sea To Summit Ultra-Sil Kitchen Sink is a decent size washing up bowl, even big enough to wash your feet in after a long day of walking! The bowl itself is made from an Ultra-Sil 30D siliconised CORDURA fabric. It has the capacity to hold up to 10 litres of water and around the top of the bowl is an reinforced stainless steel wire rim to keep it standing and rigid. What we did find is that your really do have to fill the bowl near enough to the brim for the bowl to hold its own, if only a small amount of water is used the bowl will remain near enough flat on the floor and pour out.
With this camping sink what you find is that the material is very strong and waterproof able to hold water after multiple uses. It packs away to pocket size and is very lightweight meaning it is one of those handy travel items that others wish they had heard about.
A good consideration for the product is its price and how you pack it. Due to the stainless steel wire you need to pack the sink away carefully and in a way that the wire does not become miss-shapen.
If you’re looking at using this for camping, it would be better if you had a hot water supply nearby, at the campsite you are staying at. This does not mean that you can’t use mainly cold water and add some hot water from a fresh boil, but you will have to remember that you need to fill this up as much as you can before you add dishes to wash.
Other Uses For the Sea To Summit Washing Sink
It has a 20cm diameter so you can fit small feet in it if you wish to use it as a foot bath after a long day hiking. If you have a pet you can use it as a wash bowl to help clean them off, especially if your dog is like ours and aims for the nearest puddle of mud.
Pros
- Lightweight and compact
- Pocket size
- Can hold up to 10 litre capacity
- Seam sealed and leak proof
- Strong synthetic material
- Have a Delrin stainless steel wire reinforced rim for ease of use
- Strong Hypalon carry handles
Cons
- To use properly it needs to be nearly or completely full or it can collapse
- The supporting wire rim can become miss shaped when packed many times
- A little pricey
Verdict
Overall the Sea To Summit Kitchen Camping Sink is an excellent travel companion for those on longer hikes as long as you have access to sufficient amount of water.
Sea To Summit Unisex's Ultra SIL Kitchen Sink-Green, 10 Litre
& Free shippingReview of NATUCE Ultralight Camping 15L Storage Pouch
This is a review of the NATUCE Ultralight Camping 15L Storage Pouch
The NATUCE Ultralight Camping 15L Storage Pouch is a neat little container made using an inner layer of non toxic PEVA and an outer layer of Oxford Cloth. This combination of materials means that the container is quick drying, water proof, tear resistant and durable. It is also ultralight and easy to fold away to a compact size.
Although it doesn’t look very sturdy , it surprisingly is even with a small amount of water inside. It does not rely on the water to keep it upright. The pouch can hold up to 15L of water however due to its tall upright nature cleaning large plates is a little tricky. You do have the option of putting in water of up to 60 degrees which helps when washing up your dirty dishes and cutlery. This pouch has multiple options and could be used to wash small items of clothing, washing your feet or even just carrying your dishes to and from the camping sink or car.
Pros
- Portable and foldable
- Lightweight
- Has multiple uses
- Cheap and cheerful price
- 15L capacity
- Tear resistant
- Quick drying
- Can withstand 60 degrees water
Cons
- Good for cleaning bits and pieces but not large plates
- Not rigid so there is some movement to the sides
Verdict
This is a cheap and cheerful container to clean all your bits and bobs while your out on an adventure, its portable nature and overall durability makes it an easy addition to your car camping pack.