Composting toilets are increasingly common for people living off the grid, and even for those simply looking to save some money and reduce their environmental impact. High-quality composting toilets should be easy to install, easy to use, odorless, and space-efficient. There’s lots of choice on the market, and we are about to compare two of the best compost toilets.
The Nature’s Head Composting Toilet
We reviewed this brand and found it produces some of the most popular composting toilets for tiny-house owners and enthusiasts of mobile housing. The Nature’s Head Composting Toilet is self-contained, odorless, and suitable installation for limited spaces.
The Air Head Composting Toilet
The Air Head Composting Toilet is quickly taking up more market share in this eco-friendly niche, and for good reason. It offers an exceptional user experience and adheres to the same basic physics and mechanics that make Nature’s Head an efficient, waterless flushing system. However, there are several design features that separate these two market leaders, marking one out as our clear winner. Read on to find out which one!
Head to Head!
In this comparison, we’ll focus more on user experience rather than the two products’ pricing and ability to conserve the environment, as in these regards the difference between them is negligible.
The main reasons why we are pitting Air Heads against Nature Heads together are:
- They are odorless by eliminating the need for smelly pump-outs.
- They focus on easy installation.
- They demand little maintenance.
- They are space-efficient: no need for holding tanks.
The design nuances constitute all the functional differences.
Design Comparison
| Parts | Air Head | Nature’s Head |
| 1. Urine Container | Smaller | Bigger |
| Opaque with transparent capacity indicator. | Transparent, revealing contents of the bottle. | |
| Easy to remove and empty without lifting the toilet bowl. | Must slide up the toilet bowl when removing and emptying the container. | |
| Has a thin, metallic handle for easy cleaning. | Has a fabric handle, which is difficult to keep hygienic. | |
| Features its own installation brackets. | Is integrated with the entire base. | |
| 2. Solids Hatch | Features side handles for easy carrying when removing compost. | Doesn’t have suitable handles for easy carrying when removing compost. |
| Hatch has lids to cover so you don’t look at your compost as you take it out. | Hatch is uncovered, and you don’t get lids to cover your compost as you take it out. | |
| 3. Toilet Seat | Lighter and easier to remove when emptying the solids hatch. | Heavier and more clunky to handle when emptying the solids hatch. |
| Features toilet lids to give it a more comfortable, homely feel. | The toilet seat lacks lids, and it is less comfortable than Air Head’s toilet seats. | |
| Features rubber seals to ensure air-tight, odor eradication, and prevent water leakages. | Doesn’t have rubber seals, and it is susceptible to leakages in shower settings. | |
| 4. Toilet Bowl | Men can pee while standing, anywhere into the bowl. | Pee and solids go into different holes. |
Key Design Differences
- The Air Head is more space-efficient and compact than the Nature’s Head, which means they fit in smaller spaces, and you can rely on them for boats and RVs.
- The Nature’s Head is easier to install than the Air Head. Both composting toilets come with integrated bases for the solids hatch and pee container. The Nature’s Head only requires one pair of installation brackets, whereas the Air Head has two: one for the solids hatch and the other for the urine bottle.
- The Air Head diverts urine into the liquids tank, and gentlemen can pee anywhere in the toilet bowl while standing. The Nature’s Head has a solid trap door and urine drain holes. Men are advised to pee while sitting so they can direct urine into the liquids tank without making a mess and wetting the compost in the solids hatch.
- Unlike the Nature’s Head, the Air Head’s urine bottle is opaque, making it less obvious if you need to drain it in public toilets, public drainages, or trailer-park farms.
Conclusion
Both are great toilet options and have many common features like being able to connect up to operate as an electric composting toilet.
The Nature’s Head Composting Toilet is ahead in market share and popularity when compared to the Air Head. The Nature’s Head brand has had a major, positive impact on saving nature, it functions reliably and has contributed tremendously to the growth of the composting toilet markets.
Nonetheless, we believe the Air Head has superior design functions, making it no surprise that it’s picking up impressive traction among trailer-park dwellers and RV adventurers. It is also undisputedly more suitable for boat installations because of its compact design.
Crucially, the Air Head is more user-friendly than the Nature’s Head, and the no-flush efficiency exudes fresher air. The Air Head is our preferred unit because it’s more aesthetically appealing, whilst being more effective in eliminating odors.
