Camp towels: they're lightweight, dry fast, and take up very little room in a pack. But they're also often not very effective—dryingyourself with onecanfeel like you're trying to suck up water with a paper napkin. Are they really that much better for backpacking trips than a cotton option? To find out, I testedthe—a full-size synthetic camp towel (85 percentpolyester, 15 percentnylon) made by Cascade Designs—against a similarly-sized version that I pulled from my bathroom closet.
Absorbency
PackTowl claims that the Luxe can sop up five times its weight in water. To test that claim, I weighedout 62 ounces of water (five times the weight of the dry towel), put the Luxe in, and watched it wipe the bowl dry. I then weighed out 101 ounces of water in the same bowl (five times the weight of my bathroom towel) and let the cotton go to work. I gave it a little more time than the PackTowl, but it still left a full cup or water sitting at the bottom.
Point for the camp towel.
Dry Time
PackTowl claims that the Luxe dries 30 percent faster than a cotton towel. After soaking both of my test subjects, I let them hang over my shower rod,checking each by hand for moisture every 30 minutes. The Luxe took about seven hours todry, and the cotton took 12 hours. That's still pretty slow, of course, and at camp, you’d likely have to let eitherdry overnight.
Smell
Last June, I let a Luxe towel sit in a pile of wet rafting gear in my garage for three days. When I finally cleared the mess, my trunks and dry top had a mildewy funk, but the towel barely smelled. Credit the inclusion of Polygiene—a silver-salt liquid compound that actively kills stink-causing bacteria. I wouldn’t leave the towel wet for a week, but it was totally fine in my short-term test. As for cotton, well, leave a wet bathroom towel on the rack for a few days andit’s rendered unusable.
Packability
The Luxe measures 54 by 24 inches and foldsdown to the size of a classic journal. The 48-by-28-inch cotton towel rolled down to the size of a Nerf football. On my scale, the PackTowl weighed 12.4 ounces. The cotton towel weighed 20.2 ounces.
Next-to-Skin Feel
When comparing both towels side to side, I preferred the Luxeto the cheap cotton one. Credit the terry knit of the polyester and nylon blend that makes these materials softer than what you'd find on other camp towels.
Beach-Blanket Comfort
To test both as beach towels, I spread them out on the gravel in my backyard and laid down. The Luxe, which doesn’t have much loft (which is why it packs down well), felt like a dish towel underneath, while the cotton at least provided some cush.
The Bottom Line
A regular cotton towel costs about $10. The Luxe costs $30. So is it worth the $20 difference?
For regular car-camping trips, I’d say no. You don’t need to save space and worry about dry time, stink, or absorbency while out with the family here. On a river trip, I’d takethe Luxe. That packability counts when you’re rafting, and the faster dry time and anti-stink properties will help ensure your towel doesn’t rot away in a drybag.
For backpackers, a of the Luxe camp towel would beuseful, too. Cotton would be way too bulky.