I’ve had a lot of showers over the past few weeks. When testing a shower head system, I consider many factors: head diameter, gallons per minute output, number of settings, materials, design, and more. We also conducted anecdotal testing of water flow, water pressure, and power in the dry egg yolk spray mode. Most importantly, I shower and record how I feel each time I shower.
I leave each model installed for a few days so I can take a variety of showers. When I shower for the first time with a new shower system, I pay close attention to each spray pattern and how it feels, but I also like to shower when I’m not thinking about it. For each model, I showered in the morning when I was groggy and showered after exercise to cool down.
After every shower, I record my shower experience. Is it firm, relaxed or both? Is the shower experience intense enough to wash away soap and shampoo quickly, or do I have to change the settings? Is it easy to change the settings?
For the egg test, I brushed egg yolk onto a cutting board and let it dry for 24 hours. I then placed the board 20 inches from the nozzle, let the nozzle run for 10 seconds, and recorded how much yolk was removed. I did this test on every setting of every shower head. Most only have a little yolk removed (if any), but it turns out that some settings are weaker or stronger than the rest.
Different showers will check different boxes, but at the end of the day, what matters most to me is the actual shower experience. None of the models I tested were terrible, but there were a few that rose above the rest and stood out from the competition.