12" Ophanie 5-Setting High Pressure Rain Shower Head w/ Hand Shower & 70" Hose

Going to go down a little bit of a shower head rabbit hole.. all of these are just my opinions and experience.

Similar to lightbulbs , I have accumulated a random library of experience when it comes to showerheads. TLDR is in my experience none of these "high pressure" rainshower heads really deliver what they promise. It's kind of an oxymoron actually because for the amount of water rain shower heads deliver, I don't see how they can physically deliver "higher pressure". Typically the only way to do this is to remove any restrictors in the showerhead to increase GPM (gallons per minute) flow. If you do this, then maybe you can get higher pressure/flow, but at the cost of paying 2-3 times as much for a shower session. For a family of 5, this is a no go for me.

Awhile back I went down the oxygenated (Oxygenics) shower head route. FWIW, these shower heads absolutely deliver on higher pressure, but almost to a fault. First time I used one it actually hurt it came out so hard, but eventually I learned to actually enjoy the pressure. They also do it using a reasonable GPM rate (1.8'ish). The basic principle is that the head actually sucks in air using the pressure of the outcoming water, mixes it back into the water and pressurizes it more. This achieves both higher pressure as well as the feel that there's more water than there is actually coming out because the water is "bubbly" if that makes sense. Bigger globs of it vs. streams.

After using Oxygenic shower heads for a few years, me and the wife actually decided we didn't like them. The main down side to these are that they work SO well, that they create a vortex of air inside your shower. This air can absolutely be felt , like a breeze or draft, especially around the lower parts of your body where the water isn't hitting directly. It's strong enough to lift shower curtains. Having parts of your body feel cool during a hot shower sucks. Also, Oxygenic shower heads are ugly IMO.

Eventually we landed on High Sierra shower heads. These have similar performance of an Oxygenics head, but without using oxygenated water.. rather just good shower head design. We own all 3 GPM flows, 1.5, 1.8 and 2.0, and while you can tell the 1.5 is more water efficient, the pressure and enjoyment level is relatively equal for all 3.

So, efficient water usage.. amazing pressure, no draft. All around win for the most part.. the only downside is that High Sierra heads use the basic principles of a firehose design, so all the water comes out of one center hole, which means there's no reason to have this big plate hanging above you. Aesthetically this makes it a bit of anamoly vs. other showerheads.

So there you have it. Take all my useless knowledge and experience on traversing the shower head landscape. Recommend High Sierra if you're after good pressure that's water efficient.

Rain shower heads are a totally different type of sensation. Personally I would much rather have high pressure vs. avg pressure + a bunch of streams, and I've never seen a rainshower head that can deliver both decent pressure and water efficiency. I've never stood in the rain and marveled how nice it felt. But to each their own.

Really depends. If you're okay with sacrificing efficiency a little, the 2.0 GPM "Half dome" unit is great. The design of it is the least "weird" because it tries to emulate the shape of a normal shower head.

Aside from that, they're all pretty identical. Just need to pick which flow rate you want. I would say 1.8gpm ( as the number suggests) is the best middle road. The 1.5gpm still feels great, but there is a noticable difference in how much water falls down your body vs the 2.0 gpm. It's actually kinda surprising (in a good way) how satisfying the pressure and flow is relative to how little water actually hits the ground.

Another thing i forgot to mention about the Oxygenics vs High Sierra is that the oxygenic heads tend to cool the water temp due to the injected air. Depending on how hot your water is to begin with, this could result in you never being able to get the water as hot as you want.

Seems you should be on someone's showerhead design team. Thanks for the info.