When I went on my first backpacking trip to Europe I made a big mistake – I took my ordinary bath towel that I used everyday at home to dry off after having a shower. My bath towel took up lots of space, got heavy when wet and dried slowly so was really annoying.
Now when I go backpacking I take a specialist Travel Towel, designed to be Light, Small and Quick Drying
The main difference is that a Travel Towel is made of fast drying synthetic materials like nylon/polyester/polyamide/viscose and a bath towel is made of heavier, slow drying cotton. Don’t make the mistake of carrying around a bathtowel in your backpack that becomes a smelly haven for bacteria because it never dries properly.
Whether you are an avid traveler, backpacker or outdoors enthusiastic taking a travel towel with you will help you:
- Dry quickly after a shower because its highly absorbent
- Spend less time drying the towel itself (a good one usually has an attached loop for quick air drying)
- By lowering the total weight of travel gear in your backpack
- Because its compact and takes up less space in your backpack
An XL (Extra large size) travel towel cost me $27.97 – smaller towels should of course cost less. Ask a sales person at your local travel gear store to open a Travel Towel packet to make sure the one you buy is big enough for you and also that you find its fabric texture comfortable on your skin.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
You need to pack lightly for backpacking. I totally agree with your recommendation. Towels are commonly used clothing considering your bathing or sweating too much in a day. Therefore, anyone who is always on the run needs something like this, to avoid packing dampened towels and have them smelling bad on your next destination.
Very true…bath towels can be quite a hassle to use when traveling. In your travel balg, it can occupy ample space. It also doesn’t dry up quickly. There’s a really nice towel which can be good for travel. That’s Aquazorb. It’s quick-absorbent.
Yes, I have been using the synthetic towel .. and have found it to be very absorbent and user-friendly. I highly recommend it to any one who back packs or does any activities that require a synthetic towel.