Dometic makes a better portable water faucet

As a reluctant doomsday prepper and enthusiastic vanlifer, Dometic’s battery-powered Go faucet has, in recent years, played a central role in my candle evacuation kit and camping gear’s water system. So it took me two minutes with Dometic’s new Recon 360 faucet to realize it was an upgrade in every way that counts, then confirmed after a week of testing.

As for upgrades, the Recon 360 faucet ditches the easy-to-miss touch surface for real mechanical buttons. One button produces a standard flow of water for brushing your teeth or filling a glass, and the second, larger button emits a more powerful stream for washing dishes, your hair, or quickly filling a water bottle before heading out on a hike. The water jet stops by pressing the active button a second time, otherwise it will automatically stop the flow after 90 seconds or 1.5L/3L to avoid depleting this precious resource.

In my tests, pressing the smallest button extracted a liter of water in 41 seconds (at a sound level of 52 dB at arm’s length), while the fast button produced a liter in just 24 seconds at an even louder 60 dB. Low flow mode is quieter than the original one-button Go Faucet, with a less annoying drone due to its lower pitch. However, it is still too noisy for vanlifers to sneak a glass of water at night while others sleep, although the bright LED light that illuminates the stream certainly makes it possible.

And as the name suggests, the base can now rotate 360 ​​degrees for more placement options. It’s a welcome change that should reduce the number of times I have to clean water off my kitchen counter when the stiff, crimp-resistant water hose — included with both Dometic models — has caused the sink’s lightweight Go faucet to kink.

Fortunately, the new faucet has also migrated from Micro USB to a USB-C connector for charging, with a battery that can still hold around 150 liters (around 40 gallons). The Recon 360 faucet now also has a 4-level LED meter on top that shows the remaining charge.

The faucet is slightly smaller but a little heavier than the Go model. It comes with a selection of metal washers that can be stuck to a counter or water jug ​​to create a platform for the faucet’s magnetic base. The strength of the new magnet is about twice as strong as the old model, which should hold the faucet in place better when driving on bumpy roads. That’s good because I’ve sent my Go Faucet flying through the van about five or six times now, but it’s still pumping. I hope the Recon 360 faucet is just as durable.

The only real problem is the price: $149.99 for the Recon 360 Faucet, instead of $99.99 for the Go Faucet, which Dometic still sells. The Go Faucet is great, but the Recon 360 solves so many small problems that I think it’s worth every extra penny. Yes, there are cheaper and less functional alternatives on Amazon and Aliexpress, but if you need to use a portable faucet regularly, like me, then Dometic’s durable and feature-rich faucets won’t disappoint if you can afford them.

All photographs by Thomas Ricker / The Verge