Gear

I'm after a new microfibre towel (my old one had a tragic accident with a cat and a washing machine with an attitude. Very sad.)

 Preferably large - i've got a lot to cover- but weight and effectiveness come first.

 any recommendations?

Bonus points if it's not blue - the b/f has a habit of going "oh this one's mine" mostly because I wash and unpack my kit as soon as we get back.

 Thanks

http://www.outdoorwarehouse.co.uk/index.cfm?action=shop.detail&pid=2383A9EE-FF29-08BD-487040B00A689D56

Nicest one i've used, helpful shop staff too. Not sure how it compares on weight but this wins for me as I hate that feeling when they feel like a chamois.

Parky Again wrote (see)

pet towel from your friendly pound shop.

 If you knew my pound shops you wouldnt even suggest that *shudder*

Blacks have a lifesystems on sale - I'll nip in and take a look as well as the website - they're a little pricey to buy one and then not like it...

lakeland do a selection of microfibre stuff.

ebay throws up rather a lot of options too.

No towel - why do you need one?

If you really must a J-cloth is as good as the 'microdoodabs' that are sold....and a tad cheaper.....

You used to get Pertex towels, very light.

What about linen? teatowel?

I tried a pertex towel years ago - nowhere near as effective as the Packtowl types imo.

Is this how you do it, ed?

MoS wrote (see)

Is this how you do it, ed?

I personally use a Rubytec sports towel. Available in green and blueish color. It always stays soft dries reasonably quick and even totally wet you can still dry your self. When wet You just wring the towel and go further with drying your self. 

They have different sizes th smallest a 40 x40 cm or so towel (including stuff bag and carbiner 17 gramms). The second smallest is a single towel of 90 x 40 cm. I use the latter size and cut it up in two pieces.... So I get a towel of aprox. 45* 40 cm which weighs even less than 17 gramms (no karabiner and stuffbag)

More info: www.rubytec.com

I use j cloth or spare item of clothing when lightweight. 

In summer I carry a very light cotton sarong - dries very quickly, and much nicer to use and more effective than synthetic IMO.

Also has multiple uses -  clothing, scarf/hat, towel, bedding, shade, screen for tent door when too hot but need privacy etc.

> Preferably large - i've got a lot to cover

There's a fundamental problem of using a towel as a pseudo-dressing gown; they need to be big, and therefore will be heavy.  The answer is to do what a man does <cough>, and actually use the towel to dry oneself, not to wear as a temporary item of clothing after getting out of the shower...

My preference has switched back to using a flannel; wash, wring, dry.  Repeat.

Prior to that, I went through a series of pound shop/Lidl microfibre cloths, including the 99p Store's Pet Towel.

captain paranoia wrote (see)

There's a fundamental problem of using a towel as a pseudo-dressing gown; they need to be big, and therefore will be heavy.  The answer is to do what a man does <cough>, and actually use the towel to dry oneself, not to wear as a temporary item of clothing after getting out of the shower... 

While I may be tempted to wrap myself in cotton at home I was more thinking along the lines of the incredibly small shower stalls I have come across in the past. It's normally easier to get relatively dry, nip to the loo and finish the job off there.

and if i did what a man did it would be three brisk rubs and then saunter across the shower room naked - not an option - (I used to work on a building site and came across this scenario more times then you could imagine when the ladies loos either a) hadnt arrived yet or b) the key had been lost.)

I'll give the MSR a look-see as I've tried variations of flannels and j-cloths and found them either a) unsatisfactory or b) take too long to dry...