BootsnAll Travel Community

There are pack towels that are made of polyester microfiber and others made of viscose. Which is better in your opinion?

I get those for 1/2 off because I am in that industry, but I still travel with a ratty old hand towel.

quote:

Originally posted by static:
I get those for 1/2 off because I am in that industry, but I still travel with a ratty old hand towel.

Ditto industry. Ditto no packtowel.

Actually, usually I don't even bring any towel.

-Air drying is pretty nice if it's warm enough.
-At a hostel, you can use your bedsheet as a towel on your last morning there.
-If you're doing laundry that day, just use a shirt as a towel and throw it in the wash.
-Often a hostel/guesthouse will lend you a towel for free (or cheap)

I use a cotton sarong, dries me well enough, dries quickly and multi-functions as a wrap, pillow or picnic rug. Men look great in sarong too!

I just bought an Aquis Microfiber towel, extra large ( 29" x 55"), and even at that size it compresses small. And it's very soft and it dries very quickly. I travelled before with a regular towel and it was a real pain to deal with that heavy damp cotton while moving around. I'm looking forward to using this towel.

I just bought something called a Sham Wow. I'm sure there are many others.

I like those super-absorbent, super-wringing super-towels. You can wring the water (weight) out very easily.

Most of all I like that you can roll it up in wet clothing, give it a wring, and it removes maybe 50% of the water before hanging the clothes to dry. You can then dry the towel in ways not so easily done with clothing, like flapping in the breeze/sun on the side of your pack.

These things also work very well for drying the dog !

Cotton handkerchiefs: Easy to wash, versatile and cheap to replace.

I have a small microfibre towel. A lot of people don't seem to like travel towels or just find them useless. I've used mine often and I love it. A sarong is good too, dries very quickly and so many other uses...doesn't work great on my long hair though.

We brought travel towels and it was one of our smartest choices ( we have been traveling the world for almost 2 years now as a family).

I wondered if it would be a waste of money, but they are great...fold up to nothing, can be used as a sarong, shawl, blanket, etc.

They dry extremely quickly, so you can take a shower in the morning use it and have your towel dry before you head out.

Expensive, kind of weird compared to a regular towel ( feels ike faux suede or something) but oh so great for travel.

Get it in a dark neutral color ( mine is gray).

The Best! I got mine online at a travel store...it has been worth its weight in gold.

I have to say, for years I traveled with a normal towel and always considered the backpacker towels as just another 'cool thing' that isn't really necessary. For the last cycling trip I bought a microfiber towel - because I was in the shop and it was cheap and it was small. I have to admit, I am converted. The damn thing dried under the tent fly while it was raining cats outside. Pretty impressive.

If you're just backpacking, i.e. going from one hostel to the next, it's not really necessary though.

I have a packtowel and use it very often even at home. I think I lucked out..the material is fantastic. The recent ones i have seen..not so impressed.

Other option is to buy a small cloth towel...in India because of the monsoon many use the terry cloth type only in summers and then also the cloth one which work way better in damp conditions. I picked couple there...very very light and easy to dry. Barely cost me a $1 or $2.

A sarong works as well.

Basically you need something that packs light and drys fast and does not smell and get mold.

Even if you are hosteling or hoteling..take your easy dry option..makes it a greener travel experience.

I started out, in my bginner days, with a beach towel.
It has gotten smaller ever since, and now I use a 1' by 3' small dish type towel as my regular towel. It is also the cheapest towel I could find, for the cheap ones have less weight and are sufficient. When I make the move to a 50 liter backpack as my normal backpack, which will be SOON, I may be forced to buy a travel towel to save space.

Until then, I traded my big towel stolen from my parents house for this smaller version, and it works. It dries fast enough. and packs small enough.

People with packtowels you LOVE -- please share which brands you are using! I have traveled with a pack towel before (from RickSteves.com) and HATED it. It smelled quickly, did not dry as quick as I had hoped, was as absorbent in drying water off me as paper is...horrendous. Last time I left the country, I brought a thin old towel...much happier!

I had a microfibre which I've had for none years and mine never smelled, so I'm always surprised when hearing other people's do.

I recently purchased a new one, but they're better than the old ones, bought from the same place (Kathmandu). It can be used as a bath wrap and a sarong so I reckon it's pretty good being multi-functional like. I also bought a small one to wrap around my hair. Small one can double as hand towel etc.

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