



What sets this shower head apart

The keys to the High Sierra design are the way it restricts flow to 1.5 gallons per minute (GPM) and the way it produces its shower stream.  High Sierra designed these to make it nearly impossible to clog.  The other key feature is the all metal construction.  High Sierra even sells a version of these to prisons, schools, and beaches.

Most shower heads take a large stream of water, reducing it to 2.5 GPM (the legal limit since 1994), and then splits the stream into a lot of tiny streams.  The High Sierra reduces it to 1.5 GPM, and then forces the water to crash into itself, creating a more rain-like spray.  There is plenty of pressure to wash your hair, but not so much that it hurts your back.  We had a larger head 2.5 GPM shower head before, and the High Sierra has around the same pressure.

Why low flow?

Water Conservation

The first one for me is ethical: conservation.  In Wisconsin, there are a lot of farms and municipalities that pump groundwater.  With the current state government, the DNR hasn’t been enforcing certain water regulations.  On top of that, limits on the amount of water that is pumped are trying to be repealed, dubbed “Death by a Thousand Straws“.  Let’s solve Wisconsin’s big groundwater problems. Using more efficient appliances, rain barrels, and this shower head, I am doing my part to conserve.

Money Conservation

Next, the 40% savings in shower water make a significant impact on my water bill.  After less than a year of using this shower head, it has already paid for itself in water savings.  And this without any decrease in my showering happiness.  The difference in water used is significant: a ten minute shower used to use 25 gallons of water, now it only uses 15.

Hot Water Conservation

Before, if Alyssa took a longer shower and I hopped in right after her, I could count on the hot water running out.  With the new shower head, this has never been an issue.  These hot water savings also saves us a small amount of money to power our water heater.


I definitely recommend High Sierra Shower Heads to anyone!  There are a variety of colors, and they even look nicer than they used to.  If you need a hand-held one, they have those too.  The full selection is available on their website.