The two water-saving hand showers
A measured flow, or a stated minimum pressure?
Both of these limit the flow, and both are the right idea. What separates them is which half of the equation each maker chose to publish — and on a weak supply, that is the whole decision.
GROHE Vitalio Comfort 110 hand shower, 8 l/min, full flow from 1.0 bar
Wins 2 of 8
Check price≈ £20 / 29 €
| Compared on | Universal hand shower, 9 l/min at 3 bar, 11 cm face | Vitalio Comfort 110 hand shower, 8 l/min, full flow from 1.0 bar |
|---|---|---|
| Flow rate | 9 l/min at 3 bar | 8 l/min, without a stated reference pressure |
| Minimum pressure for full performance | Not stated by the maker | From 1.0 bar — stated |
| Face diameter | 11 cm, on a 24.5 cm body | Not stated by the maker |
| Spray modes | Three, named: Rain, Intense Rain, Soft Rain | Three, on a rotary control |
| Cleanable nozzles | EasyClean silicone | SpeedClean silicone |
| Flow limiter removable | Not described as removable | Not described as removable |
| Drop protection | Not stated by the maker | A silicone ring around the rim — stated |
| Manufacturer warranty | Five years — stated | Not stated as a term |
A tick marks the better answer on that line only. Counting ticks does not decide the page — the two verdicts below do, because these products answer different questions.
Take the Duravit on a normal mains supply. It publishes a face diameter, an overall length and a flow with its pressure — three figures, where the rest of this shelf gives one at most — and backs it with five years.
Take the GROHE if your system is gravity-fed or weak. "Full performance from 1.0 bar" is a compatibility statement, and it is the one that decides whether a restricted head is a shower or a dribble. The silicone ring is for the way these actually die: dropped on tile.
Neither listing describes the limiting as removable, so assume not. One filtering hand shower elsewhere in this catalogue states that its limiter can be taken out; these two build the reduction in.
If your pressure is good, the flow figure — it tells you what you will actually use. If your pressure is poor, the minimum pressure, because a head that needs 3 bar on a gravity system is unusable whatever its flow figure says.
Hand shower · three named modes · 11 cm face, 24.5 cm long · MinusFlow 9 l/min at 3 bar · EasyClean silicone · 5-year warranty
The best-specified hand shower in this catalogue: a face diameter, an overall length, three named patterns and a flow rate with its pressure attached.
Best for: A household on decent pressure that wants the shower measured rather than described, and kept for years.
≈ £25 / 19 €
Hand shower · three modes on a rotary control · 8 l/min stated · full performance from 1.0 bar · SpeedClean silicone · drop-protection silicone ring
The only hand shower here that states the pressure it works properly at — 1.0 bar — which matters far more than the saving it advertises.
Best for: A gravity-fed or low-pressure system, where most water-saving heads simply feel thin.
≈ £20 / 29 €
