Touring/towels

should be available in most camping shops, esp ones that cater for
backpacking.

"archierob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

It was when packing my panniers for my recent short tour of North
Wales that I realised just how much room an ordinary towel takes up.
Then in the back of my mind I remember reading somewhere of 'wonder'
travelling towels that were of little bulk, dried in an 'instant' and
were easy to pack..

Can anyone point me to such a commodity and where they can be bought?

Cheers.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Can anyone point me to such a commodity and where they can be bought?

But prepare yourself for the price...

In message <[email hidden]>, archierob
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

It was when packing my panniers for my recent short tour of North
Wales that I realised just how much room an ordinary towel takes up.

Indeed, and once they are damp can take ages to dry.

Quoted message said:

Then in the back of my mind I remember reading somewhere of 'wonder'
travelling towels that were of little bulk, dried in an 'instant' and
were easy to pack..

Well not exactly an instant, but much quicker.

Quoted message said:

Can anyone point me to such a commodity and where they can be bought?

There are various ones around. Made of microfibre of one sort or another
it seems.

I have a Lifeventure Softfibre one (bought because it's what the shop
had and I'd lost my previous one - different make)

It feels like a very fine fleecy material and works well. I have large
one - 620x1100 mm and find is sufficient to dry myself after shower.

,http://www.lifeventure.co.uk/htm/washgear/softfibre-towels.htm>

They do other material variations, not entirely sure what the difference
is. Seem to be pretty widely available in camping shops.

Goggling for 'lifeventure' seems to show plenty of online supplier
links.

Googling on 'Travel Towel ' will probably find others
--
Chris French

Google "Pack towel" and you'll get plenty of links.
They're OK if weight and bulk is really at a premium, but in IMHO don't dry
you much better than a T shirt.

"archierob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

It was when packing my panniers for my recent short tour of North
Wales that I realised just how much room an ordinary towel takes up.
Then in the back of my mind I remember reading somewhere of 'wonder'
travelling towels that were of little bulk, dried in an 'instant' and
were easy to pack..

Can anyone point me to such a commodity and where they can be bought?

Cheers.

In message <[email hidden]>, Mark
Thompson <[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Can anyone point me to such a commodity and where they can be bought?

But prepare yourself for the price...

Are they esp. expensive? just Googled for mine, one place had it at GBP
14.99. doesn't seem particularly outrageous, certainly not compared to
other bits of my camping gear.
--
Chris French

archierob said:

It was when packing my panniers for my recent short tour of North
Wales that I realised just how much room an ordinary towel takes up.
Then in the back of my mind I remember reading somewhere of 'wonder'
travelling towels that were of little bulk, dried in an 'instant' and
were easy to pack..

Can anyone point me to such a commodity and where they can be bought?

Cotswold and (IIRC) Blacks sell them:

http://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/Cat/111421

I took one of these on a 6-month backpacking trip recently and was
generally pleased with it. It's not as good as a normal towel - there
is a certain amount of smearing moisture around instead of picking it
up - and after approximately one use it will stink to high heaven, but
for the size and weight it's a winner. It can be washed as normal (or at
least that's what I did and it's fine).

Cotswold also do these:

http://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/Cat/111424

I looked at them when I was buying a towel but decided that they feel a
bit like a brillo pad. Not quite was I was looking for to dry myself.

Hope this helps,

Mark

archierob said:

It was when packing my panniers for my recent short tour of North
Wales that I realised just how much room an ordinary towel takes up.
Then in the back of my mind I remember reading somewhere of 'wonder'
travelling towels that were of little bulk, dried in an 'instant' and
were easy to pack..

Can anyone point me to such a commodity and where they can be bought?

We have a couple of different ones, from Cascade/MSR and Lifeventure.
They both seem to do what they say "on the tin" and though they're not
as good as a normal fluffy loopstitch cotton towel to dry you off they
are pretty good considering the pack size. It's a pretty long "instant"
to dry them out, but you can wring them quite effectively and they do
dry much quicker than a standard towel.

Both come form pretty outdoor/hiking/camping shops, the Lifeventure ones
seem to be a bit more widely available and come in a bigger range of sizes.

http://www.lifeventure.co.uk/htm/washgear/towels.htm
http://www.msrgear.com/packtowl/

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

An alternative to the ones you get in the camping shops are the kind
sold in sports shops. These are like a synthetic chamois, so gently
wringing it out will remove nearly all the moisture. They take a bit of
getting used to because they're not so good for "rubbing" as a normal
towel, but they soak up water very quickly so that's not a problem. You
can rinse and wring after use so they are light and don't smell.

chris French said:

In message <[email hidden]>, Mark
Thompson <[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> Can anyone point me to such a commodity and where they can be bought?

But prepare yourself for the price...

Are they esp. expensive? just Googled for mine, one place had it at GBP
14.99. doesn't seem particularly outrageous, certainly not compared to
other bits of my camping gear.

I saw a mug in cotswold camping at the weekend. It had a security tag
on it. It was made of titanium (the mug, not the tag) and cost.......

Twenty five quid.

Tim

archierob said:

It was when packing my panniers for my recent short tour of North
Wales that I realised just how much room an ordinary towel takes up.
Then in the back of my mind I remember reading somewhere of 'wonder'
travelling towels that were of little bulk, dried in an 'instant' and
were easy to pack..

Can anyone point me to such a commodity and where they can be bought?

Cheers.

I have one, made by the people who make ThermaRests. It is about 3ft x
1ft, works better when damp. Got mine from CCC Outdoor in Sheffield.
Top touring tip. On dry days fasten the towel to the top of yoru rack
to dry as you ride along.

archierob said:

It was when packing my panniers for my recent short tour of North
Wales that I realised just how much room an ordinary towel takes up.
Then in the back of my mind I remember reading somewhere of 'wonder'
travelling towels that were of little bulk, dried in an 'instant' and
were easy to pack..

I'm about to buy about a dozen or so of those wee microfibre cloths (about
80p each). A few quick wheechs with the sewing machine and you've got
yourself a fairly decent sized, multi-coloured, packable towel! The cloths
are great, I used them to clean just about everything (and you generally
just need water, smelly bodies possibly excepted).

Graeme

archierob said:

It was when packing my panniers for my recent short tour of North
Wales that I realised just how much room an ordinary towel takes up.

When youth hostelling I don't take a towel.

Get there, have shower, use your undervest to dry yourself then wash
vest + shorts for the next day.

This seems a bit too minimalist for most people though.

Arthur

--
Arthur Clune

"archierob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

It was when packing my panniers for my recent short tour of North
Wales that I realised just how much room an ordinary towel takes up.
Then in the back of my mind I remember reading somewhere of 'wonder'
travelling towels that were of little bulk, dried in an 'instant' and
were easy to pack..

Can anyone point me to such a commodity and where they can be bought?

Cheers.

I have a bath size one and a hand size one and find them quite good. Others
have made all sorts of suggestions of where to get one but after searching
the web I found that one I got at an outdoor shop in Skipton (can't remeber
which but either Yeomans, Mountain Warehouse or Ultimate Outdoors - I think
they all have websites) and the other the local Millets, and the prices were
similar to the web when you add the postage etc.

Dave
West Yorks

Also sprach Tim Hall <[email hidden]>:

[Mug-O-Munny]

I have seen both a lightweight coffee cup / saucer / spoon set and a beer
"glass" costing IIRC 120 Euros, this being because they were molished from
carbon fibre by a German company with too much time on their collective
hands. Even at that price, I was sorely tempted by the latter...

--
Dave Larrington - <http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk/>
Dead pigs make perfect, if heavy, earrings.

Arthur Clune said:

archierob said:

It was when packing my panniers for my recent short tour of North
Wales that I realised just how much room an ordinary towel takes up.

When youth hostelling I don't take a towel.

Get there, have shower, use your undervest to dry yourself then wash
vest + shorts for the next day.

This seems a bit too minimalist for most people though.

Arthur

--
Arthur Clune

Many hostels will rent you a towel for £1.

MSeries said:

Many hostels will rent you a towel for £1.

Or you could 'borrow' the curtains ;-)

John B

MSeries said:

Got mine from CCC Outdoor in Sheffield.

One of the things I really miss from Sheffield. I used to go climbing in
the Edge and could waste too many hours (And too much money) in CCC.

Jon

Dave Larrington said:

Also sprach Tim Hall <[email hidden]>:

[Mug-O-Munny]

I have seen both a lightweight coffee cup / saucer / spoon set and a beer
"glass" costing IIRC 120 Euros, this being because they were molished from
carbon fibre by a German company with too much time on their collective
hands. Even at that price, I was sorely tempted by the latter...

I was discussing the Expensive Ti Mug with my chum Cat Head, he of
short arms and deep pockets. I said the advantage of such a Mug is
that it is very lightweight. He pointed out that a plastic cup would
also be lightweight and cost less than the price of a pint of BEER.

Tim

Tim Hall said:

I was discussing the Expensive Ti Mug with my chum Cat Head, he of
short arms and deep pockets. I said the advantage of such a Mug is
that it is very lightweight. He pointed out that a plastic cup would
also be lightweight and cost less than the price of a pint of BEER.

And not being metal, wouldn't have festive burn your hands and burn your
lips when filled with hot tea inna enamelled tin mug stylee feature...

One of those things for where the reason to make it in titanium is
because it'll be made out of titanium, methinks.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/