As per the tantalizing notion of an outdoor shower, I have two modest requirements: the first is that they provide a modicum of privacy; the second is that the range for water temps surpass “bone-chilling.” And this isn’t to say the thought of an occasional ice cold cleansing is repellent (quite the contrary, on the single day I was most desirous of an outdoor shower —twelve hours in July spent laying sod—39 degrees sounded about right), but rather because I’d like a little choice with my imagined indulgences: say, an 85 degree shower on a 72 degree September afternoon.

Odalo Teak Solar Outdoor Shower. Designed by Les Jardins.

For like-minded consumers, the Odalo Teak Solar Outdoor Shower by les jardins au bout du monde should sound about right. This eminently portable contribution to ablution is constructed of solid teak slatting with a teak frame and teak duckboard platform—and as you may or may not know, teak three ways equals triple performance, since the Southeast Asian species is renowned for its durability, strength, and weather resistance, thus warding off “all molds, rain, warping, and any other rough condition your backyard may throw at it.”

Formidable selling points indeed, but the coup de grace of les jardins’ outdoor shower is the ultra-thin Camelback-esque apparatus adorning the piece’s posterior region like neoprene on a sun-kissed surfer’s back. This six and one half gallon tank holds enough water for multiple (and back-to-back) showers of solar heated water, with temps modulated courtesy of the garden hose–yes, any garden variety garden hose–that plumbs in from beneath the duckboard platform. All this adds up to an attractive, easy-to-install outdoor shower that makes clever use of the free boon of the sun. And as to that privacy business? The Odalo Solar Shower’s curtain-less design is certainly not for the prudish, so let’s just say that a dose or two of naturism is sure to build a proper pound of character…