Sea to Summit Drylite Towel, Lightweight Camping and Travel Towel

I purchased the Large Sea to Summit DryLite Towel in Cobalt Blue back in 2011. My main interest in purchasing the towel was for emergency preparedness and, more importantly, backpacking trips. This towel has come in rather handy for backpacking and camping trips.In looking for quality and low weight options for backpacking, I came across Sea to Summit and went down the rabbit hole of pack gear on offer. I knew I would be hitting the trail into Havasu Pai and knew this trip would require an easy to lug around towel. If you are not aware, Havasu Pai is an oasis 10 miles from the North rim of the Grand Canyon. There are waterfalls, rivers for wading and stunning blue natural pools to soak in after a long day of the trails. It is only accessible by trail (or helicopter for part of the way) so you have to be prepared to pack everything in that you want to use. I was not looking for a full size, luxury hotel towel, I was looking for a fit-for-purpose towel for a quick dry after a day in the water. This towel fit the bill.Things to note, microfiber towels are most effective if you pat down the area you want to dry. This is how I dry off regardless of what type of towel I use, so it was not a big change for me. If you are used to rubbing your towels across your body to dry off, you might find this towel dragging more than gliding. For me, this towel has been effective in drying skin and hair. I have a lot of hair, so I need something to bundle the whole of it and help grip the drips.A "large" backpacking towel is a far cry from a large bath towel, and this is a fine detail to note. I was not looking for a towel to wrap around my body, or to use as a shield for changing. If you need this, look carefully at the dimensions to find a towel that will fit your needs. This "large" towel will probably not be it.After use, this towel dries incredibly fast. I aid in the quick dry process by laying the towel out as flat as possible in places where the air flows freely. I am often camping or hiking in warm climates, so the warm air and sun also help. I've also looped this through a belt or pack loop and let dry while I keep hiking and it dries pretty quickly.This towel has held up pretty well against the elements, including multiple trips to Havasu Pai and hitting the lap swim pools at home (which I believe have mostly been saltwater chlorination systems). I have not experienced any mold or mildew growth. I have not experienced any funk or lingering smell on the towel. I have not experience any other mineral buildup, which is great. I was a bit worried about that, with the heavy concentration of calcium carbonate in the waters at Havasu Pai. This is the mineral that gives the waters their amazing color, but the sediment also builds up in your hair, in your clothing and in everything it touches while you swim these waters. It is great while you are there, but a beast to remove from everything when you get home (think travertine, think limestone, now you get the picture). This towel has not retained the mineral build-up. Phew.One thing I do to help minimize retention of smells and limit static is to add vinegar when I wash my clothes. The vinegar smell does not stay with the clothes. This may have helped to keep my towel smell free, but it all in all I am pleased with the retained freshness of this towel. I usually air dry this towel, but I think it made it into the machine dryer a time or two without issue.The structure of this towel is still intact. There are no holes or no tears in the fabric. I have not experienced any fading, bleeding, pilling or fraying. I store the towel in my hiking pack, so I know where it is. It is lightweight and takes up very little room. I like the performance of Sea to Summit goods so far, including this towel. I would recommend and will look to Sea to Summit again if I need to replace this towel.

We live in Michigan and enjoy an annual backpacking camp trip on the dunes of Lake Michigan. We have used the chamois type of towels, that are essentially the size of a wash cloth but very absorbent. We've also brought actual beach towels-talk about weight and space! I shopped around for awhile and it seemed like the other options just didn't have the quality we were going to need. We bought 2 XL in eucalyptus (I heard the other colors run). I gave them a wash with our other tiny camp towels before our trip to reduce the color issues and all was fine on that front. As for the XL size, well, I'm a petite gal and love a big towel; I was able to fit laying down on the beach no problem! My boyfriend, is about 6'3" with a waist size 38. His first size test before we left was to see if he could wrap and tuck it in around his waist, and it was certainly able to do that no problem! The material is soft, I used it as a wrap around blanket at times. Now about the wicking/absorbency; it definitely wicked well. However, as we were coming out of the water onto a sunny beach, we really weren't all that drenched. So, had I wrapped my soaking wet hair in it would have had a much better test of absorbency and drying. It dried decently overnight and was fine the next day, but always better after some sun and wind on the beach. It did the job fine. We barely used our other towels (just to dry off our dog and some dishes). Overall, these particular towels were soft, big, didn't run, wicked well, dried overnight, and seem like they are going to last for a good many more beach trips to come! Worth the price and glad we bought it!

I highly recommend my DryLite towels an effective and compact portable towel that dries you adequately and dries out quickly; However, be aware it does not dry a body like a cotton bath towel.Normal bath towels scrub and rub and buff you completely dry. They don't stick to you. You have to press them on your body. (Think: "He-heee that tickles! OK, let's put on some clothes!")This is not the DryLite experience. At its best, in drier air, the DryLite feels like buffing yourself with super-lightweight suede leather. At its worst, in a really humid steamy shower room, it feels like a clingy micro-sued cloth that gets damp and grabs and skids over your wet skin until you peel it off. In both cases it feels like your skin air dries a moment after the towel is removed. This is highly effective but sort of unsettling until you mentally adjust to the wet-suede-rubbing feeling. (Think: "Wait was I just licked by a moist calf tongue or...? Oh hey, I'm dry!")While I would never admit to my girlfriend that I actually like that sensation, and I'm not sure that I do, I can completely justify paying good money for an approximately 2-foot by 4-foot towel that I can dunk completely under water, wring out well, hang dry and pack in 45 minutes. I'm 6' 210 average body type, and I can wrap it around my waist and change my clothes underneath. It rolls up and packs in my small toiletry kit with razor, comb, deodorant, camp soap, band aid box, sunscreen, etc. So far, I've used it about a week on the road, and I'm going to take it wherever I go camping again or swimming even.Five-star travel/packable effectiveness. Three-star towel feel. Useful and effective, but they still leave you wondering if you like using them or not.