diff --git a/internal/config/config_test.go b/internal/config/config_test.go
index 75c246f5..5de60462 100644
--- a/internal/config/config_test.go
+++ b/internal/config/config_test.go
@@ -261,6 +261,7 @@ func TestSetup(t *testing.T) {
 
 var expectedConfig = `k9s:
   refreshRate: 100
+  dockerShellImage: busybox:1.31
   headless: false
   readOnly: true
   noIcons: false
@@ -320,6 +321,7 @@ var expectedConfig = `k9s:
 
 var resetConfig = `k9s:
   refreshRate: 2
+  dockerShellImage: busybox:1.31
   headless: false
   readOnly: false
   noIcons: false
diff --git a/internal/config/k9s.go b/internal/config/k9s.go
index a65dff42..605f3010 100644
--- a/internal/config/k9s.go
+++ b/internal/config/k9s.go
@@ -2,11 +2,16 @@ package config
 
 import "github.com/derailed/k9s/internal/client"
 
-const defaultRefreshRate = 2
+const (
+	defaultRefreshRate = 2
+	// DefaultDockerShellImage specifies the docker image and tag for shelling into nodes.
+	DefaultDockerShellImage = "busybox:1.31"
+)
 
 // K9s tracks K9s configuration options.
 type K9s struct {
 	RefreshRate       int                 `yaml:"refreshRate"`
+	DockerShellImage  string              `yaml:"dockerShellImage"`
 	Headless          bool                `yaml:"headless"`
 	ReadOnly          bool                `yaml:"readOnly"`
 	NoIcons           bool                `yaml:"noIcons"`
@@ -24,10 +29,11 @@ type K9s struct {
 // NewK9s create a new K9s configuration.
 func NewK9s() *K9s {
 	return &K9s{
-		RefreshRate: defaultRefreshRate,
-		Logger:      NewLogger(),
-		Clusters:    make(map[string]*Cluster),
-		Thresholds:  NewThreshold(),
+		RefreshRate:      defaultRefreshRate,
+		DockerShellImage: DefaultDockerShellImage,
+		Logger:           NewLogger(),
+		Clusters:         make(map[string]*Cluster),
+		Thresholds:       NewThreshold(),
 	}
 }
 
@@ -98,6 +104,9 @@ func (k *K9s) validateDefaults() {
 	if k.RefreshRate <= 0 {
 		k.RefreshRate = defaultRefreshRate
 	}
+	if k.DockerShellImage == "" {
+		k.DockerShellImage = DefaultDockerShellImage
+	}
 }
 
 func (k *K9s) validateClusters(c client.Connection, ks KubeSettings) {
diff --git a/internal/view/exec.go b/internal/view/exec.go
index 226833d2..b229bb13 100644
--- a/internal/view/exec.go
+++ b/internal/view/exec.go
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/derailed/k9s/internal/client"
+	"github.com/derailed/k9s/internal/config"
 	"github.com/rs/zerolog/log"
 	v1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
 	kerrors "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/errors"
@@ -139,7 +140,7 @@ func ssh(a *App, node string) error {
 	if err := launchShellPod(a, node); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	shellIn(a, client.FQN(k9sShellNS, k9sShell), k9sShell)
+	shellIn(a, client.FQN(k9sShellNS, k9sShellPodName()), k9sShell)
 
 	return nil
 }
@@ -148,7 +149,7 @@ func nukeK9sShell(c client.Connection) {
 	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 500*time.Millisecond)
 	defer cancel()
 
-	err := c.DialOrDie().CoreV1().Pods(k9sShellNS).Delete(ctx, k9sShell, metav1.DeleteOptions{})
+	err := c.DialOrDie().CoreV1().Pods(k9sShellNS).Delete(ctx, k9sShellPodName(), metav1.DeleteOptions{})
 	if kerrors.IsNotFound(err) {
 		return
 	}
@@ -158,7 +159,11 @@ func nukeK9sShell(c client.Connection) {
 }
 
 func launchShellPod(a *App, node string) error {
-	spec := k9sShellPod(node)
+	img := a.Config.K9s.DockerShellImage
+	if img == "" {
+		img = config.DefaultDockerShellImage
+	}
+	spec := k9sShellPod(node, img)
 	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 500*time.Millisecond)
 	defer cancel()
 	dial := a.Conn().DialOrDie().CoreV1().Pods(k9sShellNS)
@@ -167,7 +172,7 @@ func launchShellPod(a *App, node string) error {
 	}
 
 	for i := 0; i < k9sShellRetryCount; i++ {
-		o, err := a.factory.Get("v1/pods", client.FQN(k9sShellNS, k9sShell), true, labels.Everything())
+		o, err := a.factory.Get("v1/pods", client.FQN(k9sShellNS, k9sShellPodName()), true, labels.Everything())
 		if err != nil {
 			time.Sleep(k9sShellRetryDelay)
 			continue
@@ -185,13 +190,17 @@ func launchShellPod(a *App, node string) error {
 	return fmt.Errorf("Unable to launch shell pod on node %s", node)
 }
 
-func k9sShellPod(node string) v1.Pod {
+func k9sShellPodName() string {
+	return fmt.Sprintf("%s-%d", k9sShell, os.Getpid())
+}
+
+func k9sShellPod(node, image string) v1.Pod {
 	var grace int64
 	var priv bool = true
 
 	return v1.Pod{
 		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
-			Name:      k9sShell,
+			Name:      k9sShellPodName(),
 			Namespace: k9sShellNS,
 		},
 		Spec: v1.PodSpec{
@@ -213,7 +222,7 @@ func k9sShellPod(node string) v1.Pod {
 			Containers: []v1.Container{
 				{
 					Name:  k9sShell,
-					Image: "busybox:1.31",
+					Image: image,
 					VolumeMounts: []v1.VolumeMount{
 						{
 							Name:      "root-vol",