Camping towel

[bretonbikes]

I'm a great believer in muslin nappies - cheap as chips and especially if hate the feel of the camping towel jobbies. Just pop into mothercare and buy a pack. One will dry you nicely after a shower and they dry on a summer's day in about 10 minutes - obviously longer in less clement weather:-) I usually carry three on the 'rule of three' principle - http://www.bretonbikes.com/generalartic ... three.html which generally keeps me reasonably fragrant. If in cruddy weather you end up with them all wet they do wring out well and you can get yourself dry.

[foxyrider]

i've used several over the years, 'swimming towels' that are like synthetic chamois, a tea towel like affair from Polaris but i've currently settled on a Trekmates micro fibre job.

Generally if i shower in the evening its pretty dry by morning to go in my bags, i sometimes wish it was a bit bigger but the size was my choice so its hardly a complaint.

[MadMalx]

I've tried a variety also.

microfibre fluffy type - useless
sea to summit microfibre (£10 for small) - quite good
microfibre cloth for cleaning the car - just as good for about £3 from Lidl

[tonupgilly]

I bought a microfibre towel some years ago and found it absolutely brilliant. At first I thought it was rubbish because it didn't seem to pick up any water, just spread it around - until I realised I was trying to use the fluffy side against my skin when I should have been using the flat side - bingo - dry in no time - water absorbed as if by kitchen roll. And the brilliant bit - the fluffy side is meant to wick the water away - so it only goes in one direction - hence the reason for it not drying the skin when used on that side - which also means, the towel itself is dry in no time at all. I was so impressed with it I bought another for my husband. I will be taking both on our cycling trips again this summer.

[ANTONISH]

I bought a microfibre towel some years ago and found it absolutely brilliant. At first I thought it was rubbish because it didn't seem to pick up any water, just spread it around - until I realised I was trying to use the fluffy side against my skin when I should have been using the flat side - bingo - dry in no time - water absorbed as if by kitchen roll. And the brilliant bit - the fluffy side is meant to wick the water away - so it only goes in one direction - hence the reason for it not drying the skin when used on that side - which also means, the towel itself is dry in no time at all. I was so impressed with it I bought another for my husband. I will be taking both on our cycling trips again this summer.

Would that be two towels or one husband and a towel

[tonupgilly]

Lol -- I'll be taking all three

[tripwire]

I've used a couple of different microfiber towels in the past. This one is my favorite:

http://www.webtogs.co.uk/MSR_Packtowl_U ... aliteLarge

That's my favourite too. I used to use one of the lifeventure microfibre towels, but found it really had to be hung up in the sun to dry out. After a few days of being packed damp it started to smell pretty unpleasant too.

The MSR packtowl is more compact and I find it dries out overnight just by hanging it up inside the tent porch.

[bigjim]

Car wash sponges are pretty good and weigh nothing. My army mate swears by a chamois leather. Just squeeze it out and done. Mind you he washes stood up in a washing up bowl in camp.

[NUKe]

Vileda doa super absorbent spounge cloth a bit like chamois . I've taken these in te past when either space or weight is an issue

[RickH]

Just back from 8 nights camping (Lowestoft to St David's) in mixed weather conditions. I used one of these microfibre towels. Dried myself after a shower every night with it plus a couple of mopping ups of a little wet from inside the tent (mainly because it had to be packed sopping wet the morning before) to keep it dry inside before putting out bedding. I dried it by hanging it out when I could then laying it out over my sleeping bag overnight & it was dry each morning (no problems with a damp sleeping bag either).

Rick.

[pjclinch]

You can get really thin, lightweight cotton towels that are near as light yet much better than travel towels.

For Some Values of "Better".

Big fluffy cotton towels work excellently by absorbing a great deal of water. Small thin cotton towels don't have the capacity to absorb much, and once they have their fill they'll take an age to dry out before which time they're over-sized damp cloths. The main advantage of a microfibre towel is it'll dry out much quicker than a cotton one, so you can use it again more readily.

Eagle Creek do some that are textured like a traditional loop-stitch towel but made of microfibre. They're heavier and bulkier than a typical travel towel but dry out a wet body more effectively, and dry out faster than a cotton towel. A good compromise if you're drying from a full wetting and it's not warm enough to just stand around getting dry.

Pete.

[JakobW]

If you want to stay with natural fibres, linen travel towels are supposed to work well. I've been meaning to pick one up to give it a try - a mate swears by them for his gym bag.

[dinger207]

Have tried micro fibre towels previously, but better by far are "Hammam" towels, various sizes but very absorbent and dry quickly.

[freiston]

I use LifeVenture trek towels (or similar products from other manufacturers) - soft smooth microfibre affairs with a feel not dissimilar to suede. I find them excellent and they are what I use all the time at home too - I am prone to flare-ups of eczema and these smooth towels don't exacerbate the condition like 'abrasive' traditional towels do. They certainly get me dry but I do find I need a large one - the smaller ones get overloaded with moisture too quickly.

[horizon]

I try and avoid synthetic products and we have lots ol old thin (from wear) cotton towels around at home. Yes they do take longer to dry and I presume they are heavier so I'm not going to make any claim for them. But what I do notice is that it's possible (I think) to dry yourself with a wet towel (no, I didn't think so either). If you squeeze a wet towel, it emits water, so that is the amount of water it can hold even if wet. So a wet towel is capable of absorbing more water, in fact enough to remove the water that's on you, even if you are left a little damp.