i was also thinking of a rain can in the middle of the shower - but not sure if it's worth it. anyone have any brands they recommend?

I don't particularly care for body sprays. That said, some sprays have different gpm rates than others, but for the sake of argument they are all considered "shower heads", so we'll apply the 2.5gpm rate to each head. With five outlets, you're looking at 12.5gpm. That flow through 1/2" copper tubing is well beyond the recommended range...friction losses are great and fluid velocity would be well beyond what is recommended for that size tubing. From a table that may be a bit outdated: Upping to 3/4" tubing still results in a loss of about 0.15 psi per foot, or 15psi per 100' of tubing, and a velocity of about 8.3 feet per second. That velocity is still a bit fast even for 3/4" tubing. You need a properly sized hot water heater to feed the properly sized tubing, then you need properly sized valves and diverters, properly sized outlets, and a properly sized drain. Oh, the humanity! Mongo

Rainshowers are fantastic! It was a cheapskate upgrade for my bathroom. No problem at all on the nights I don't want to wash my hair. I just don't stick my head under, duh! I haven't experienced the water up my nose thing because my nostrils exit down, not up. One thing I wish I'd known.... there is a toggle between the rain head and the handheld on the arm of my new fancy shower, where the arm goes into the wall. I can't reach it. I'd have to use a step stool. It's set at what is supposed to be the standard height, but I don't believe that's the spec height for that fixture. The rain head must be about 3 feet above me, so the shower runs cold, too. "Next time around" I'd be sure I could reach.

I love jetted showers. i have a shower tower unit in my outside shower that was a dyi assembly and works pretty well but i have terrific water pressure😊. In my master shower I four jets and hand held and large ceiling rain can plumbed with 3/4 pipes in a loop attatched to its own instantaneous water heater. i can use all heads together or alone with out losing hot water or water pressure but a plumber needs to kniw how to do the loop properly and you need great water pressure. I have three water valves to turn on each shower head( the jets are on one valve, the rainhead on another and the hand held on the third) and one thermostatic pressure valve that sets the temp for all heads. I rarely use my rain can but use the body jets for a minute or two every shower and longer when needed. My jets can spray or be jets with a twist. I used grohe shower tower