PackTowlPersonal Quick Dry Microfiber Towel for Camping, Yoga, and Sports

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has this to say about the PackTowl:“As all Hoopy Froods know, a towel is the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. But not all towels are created equal.Some towels are so bulky that you need three backpacks, a suitcase, and a personal assistant to carry them around. Not this towel. You will barely know it is there until you need it for hand-to-hand combat (please abide by all local planetary regulations regarding concealed weapons).Some towels, when they get wet, are as difficult to dry as the ocean during a hurricane, causing them to smell about 1/3 as bad as the sewers of Kastar 6. Not this towel. A quick wringing and it will be perfectly dry again for all your further drying needs.Buy this towel. No, seriously, buy this towel.”

This towel is great for camping and hiking, especially for cold weather camping. My small dog got into some very cold water and this towel dried him quickly, then I wrapped him up in it and it did an amazing job of reflecting his own body heat and keeping him toasty warm. Much more than I was expecting from such an inexpensive towel. (It actually wasn't this particular towel, to be honest, it was the exact same one bought from Steep and Cheap, but I was so impressed with it that I bought another from Amazon to have on hand. And this one I bought from Amazon looks to be the same as the S&C one, not a knockoff, so I feel confident in writing this review.)

It's kind of hard to get excited about what amounts to a low-pile microfiber towel with a snap and a carry sack, but for hiking use this is a surprisingly nice product.At a size of 10X14, this is basically a useful enough size for most tasks for a backcountry hiker. Washing hands, cleaning dishes, using as a pillow cover, use as a pee rag (obviously, you'd get a second towel for this), and yes- cleaning off your body. You won't be using this as a regular towel, but a backcountry shower consisting of a couple of wet body wipes and a Packtowl slightly dampened with water goes a LONG way to keeping you feeling fresh and motivated. It collects and holds an enormous amount of water and it dries off when clipped to the outside of your backpack. Very simple and reliable.Packtowl does carry a couple of other lightweight, small towel options, including the Nano. However, what you'd find with the Nano is that it's so thin that it's essentially a very large eyeglass cleaning cloth. I'm sure that this is enough for a ultralite hiker, but to me this really degrades one of the best features of using a microfibre towel in the first place, which is its enormous absorbency. So to me, the Personal is still the best towel to bring along with you.

This towel is great in so many ways yet there are some cons. One con in particular makes me rate this a 3 of five.Cons:1. As others have noted, the threading on the edge of the towel unraveled after one wash. The washing was as per the manufacturer's directions; cold water, like colors, normal wash cycle; no fabric softener. I allowed it to air dry overnight. After using it once, I noticed the edge opposite the loop corner has frayed off. I don't know now if the actual towel fabric will start fraying or not, but this shouldn't happen after 1 wash. And I mention it only because others have, so I'm guessing this was a design flaw or a quality control issue.2.This is less a con than a caveat. The material feels strange on the skin. It's not bad; just very different from terry cloth. My wife likened it to a chamois, and it is very chamois-like, though synthetic. Don't be put off by it; just be aware that it feels differently on the skin than a regular towel.The pros:1. I got the "hand towel" size. It's rather large for a hand towel, but yet rather small for a body towel. Nonetheless, I could use both hands on the ends to dry my back, meaning it is just large enough if you're not a huge person to use after a full immersion shower.2. It really does soak up the moisture. Unlike a terry towel, this actually only requires one pass of the towel. So the caveat I mentioned above (how it feels on the skin) is more than compensated for its performance. This thin piece of material really does dry a normal sized man thoroughly.3. Out of the wash it dried overnight. It's sitting on a rack right now drying from the shower I took with it this morning, and mostly dry some hours later. I suspect it will be completely dry by morning, despite being rather wet when I hung it up.4. It packs really, really small. The "hand towel" size, despite its generous dimensions for a hand towel, packs into a small, zippered bag (included) the size of a birthday card envelope, and not much thicker than that. So for backpackers, or for a day pack, or a go bag, it's pretty hard to beat for size and weight. This would be a superlative for an emergency kit.Final Thoughts:I want to buy another of these towels maybe more, in a larger size. Yet I hesitate for the con I stated above: there's no point in shelling out more money if there's a consistent QUALITY CONTROL issue.

Overall - Excellent buy. There are many variations of "quick dry" towels out there, and I figured I would go with a recognized brand name. I would imagine the material content is what one should pay attention to most.Pros:1. Dried pretty quick and wicked moisture off body really efficiently. Won't replace the plushy bathroom towel, however this is not being sold as a replacement as such. Efficiently does what it is supposed to do.2. Packed flat and into its own little bag - this was great however, doesn't add any extra value to the product. Pro nonetheless.Cons:1. Price - I don't think the towel should be priced as high it currently retails for.

I take this when I travel and often times I am going to hot and humid places. I love how absorbent this towel is. It is very compact and one thing that is really nice is it is easy to fit back into the little pouch. Back at the hotel I would wash it the sink and it would be dry the next morning.

I bought this for backpacking initially but once I saw how light and absorbent this was. I use it for everything : beach, hiking, and pool days. I’m in love. You won’t ever have to deal with the hassle of carrying backpacks or bags full of towels for yourself and kids

I am a person who (embarrassingly) perspires a lot. I never leave home without this towel. It’s super absorbent, dries quickly and takes up no space at all in my bag. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone

Nice light weight towel. Ideal for travelling. Drys quick and feels soft

you wont find any better

Very soft and big.

Good quality