Towels digest

[fkjaer]

Thanks a lot to everybody who answered my questions about light-weight towels.

I received seven answers of which five were sent to me directly.
One was sent both to me directly and later to the group.
Finally one was sent only trough the list.

Robert sent me an additional mail in which he expressed his amazement to discover
that his answer was only sent to me in spite of the fact that he had hit the reply button.

The ways of Yahoo are past understanding!

Anyway, to sum up the answers:

THE FEEL:
    - different to normal towels
    - not too comfortable
    - strange texture, not like a real towel
    - one gets a little nostalgic for the feel of a real cloth
    - hard to get accustomed to

EFFICIENCY:
    - do not dry you that good
    - barely do an adequate job of getting you dry
    - it did the job
    - even when a little damp they still absorb water
    - very effective

WEIGHT AND SPACE:
    - light-weight
    - light weight
    - very light
    - ultra light
    - weighs practically nothing
    - takes up very little space
    - folding up into a zip-lock bag

WASHING AND DRYING:
    - dry out fairly fast - certainly far faster than the usual cotton Terry cloth towels
    - quick dry
    - dry very quickly
    - dried overnight
    - easy to wash and dry and therefore they do not smell
    - dry out fairly fast - certainly far faster than the usual cotton Terry cloth towels

GENERALLY:
    - worth it to save the weight
    - good
    - the only right thing for longer hikes
    - highly recommended
    - excellent

COMMENTS AND TIPS:

My only complaint is the size. Since it was very cold in the refugios during November
and December, I found the "chamois" sized towel not at all effective as a wrap to keep me cosy and warm following my shower. Another luxury reserved for life back home.

be sure to put your initials on it with indelible ink. In just one small refugio, the laundry rack had two other fleece
towels on it identical to mine except for the initials.

An alternative is to take a "swimmer's chamois" available in any swim shop.
These are wash-cloth size artificial chamois which you see competitive
swimmers and divers use in meets. You dry off part of you, wring it out,
dry some more, then put it back into its covered plastic tube, still moist.
They absorb tremendous amounts of water and after bring wrung out, absorb
more. They take up no room and work best when starting out moist, not dry.
My significant other is a competitive swimmer and that is what he used last
year on the Camino.

One tip: Wash them before using them,
as it seems to loosen the fabric up and make them work better.
They are not very big and therefore not something to wrap around you as you get
out of the shower (unless you are very thin or inclined to exhibitionism!)


Bottom line:
I think they are worth a try.
I will buy one, wash it before using, try it at home and probably bring one with me.


Once again, thanks for your advice, everyone!

Frans.

[ 56° 11' 38.6'' N - 10° 14' 5.36'' E ]