Here at Pack Hacker, we review gear of all kinds. From backpacks to tech, we’ve done it all. However, something that we’ve learned while traveling is that a travel towel is a surprisingly helpful tool while on the road.
A travel towel is ideal for adventures where a towel isn’t laid out each morning for you and for trips where you’ll be utilizing Airbnb rentals, hostels, or staying with family and friends. Not having a way to dry off can be uncomfortable, but how do you choose the best one?
There are a ton of different materials, models, and sizes out there. Do you go with soft like microfiber or microsuede, or should you opt for a more durable option like linen? What about if you're looking for the best camping towel or a quick dry beach towel? The answer depends on what kind of trip you’re taking and what you’ll do when you get there. In this post, we’ll cover all that and more.
Whether you’re looking for a quick dry towel, something for the beach, or something that can do it all, we’ve got you covered. We also answer some frequently asked questions just in case you have a few lingering thoughts by the end of the list. Now, without further ado, let’s dive in!
Best for: Full-time Travelers
Matador Ultralight Travel Towel Review
Best Splurge Travel Towel
Best for Saving Space
When you’re heading off the grid, a travel towel is essential to ensure you have a way to dry off after a long day of hiking, a refreshing dip in the lake, or your first shower during camping. The Matador Ultralight Travel Towel is extraordinarily compact, so it can fit into your travel backpack, sling, or hiking daypack when you’re ready to hit the trail.
There are two sizes—a smaller one that’s roughly the size of a handkerchief and a larger one that’s approximately the size of a standard bath towel but skinnier. When compressed in the mesh carrier, the large towel fits into the palm of your hand and can still breathe to air dry while you’re on the go. It takes longer to dry than we’d like, though the size is the most significant factor here. Hypalon tabs on the exterior make it easy to fix it to the outside of your bag when it needs to dry, too.
Sea To Summit Pocket Towel
Best Value Travel Towel
Best for Working Out
Whether you’re vacationing for work, play, or something in between, staying in shape while away from home is a great way to stay on your regular routine. Hotel towels can be scratchy and uncomfortable, and not every travel towel is cut from the same cloth (literally or figuratively) to be used in the gym or out on a run. The Sea to Summit Pocket Towel is extremely lightweight once removed from its case, so you don’t need to worry about lugging around a scratchy white rag, and it’s absorbent enough to wipe off sweat after a long workout.
There are four different sizes to choose from, and it’s exceptionally soft, so there’s a model that will be comfortable for everyone. The case is a rectangle, so it’ll pack into your bag easily. It also has quite a bit of branding, which we aren’t the biggest fan of—to each their own. The case isn’t nearly as lightweight as the towel. However, unless you’re a dedicated ultralight one-bagger, this travel towel is a must-add to your Vacation Packing List.
6 Best Travel Towels For Any Trip
Best Travel Beach Towel
Best For Everyday Use
Sometimes you need a travel towel that you can always keep with you. The Matador NanoDry Towel offers just that, with its unique silicone case and carabiner (or a stainless steel key chain on the smaller model) on top, so you can easily take it anywhere. The larger size is similar in size to your bath towel at home but on the thinner side, whereas the smaller model is closer to the size of a bandana.
These travel towels are crafted from nanofiber, Matador’s fancy name for an 85% polyester and 15% polyamide mixture. We’ve found that it isn’t great for drying off entirely after a shower or dip in the hotel pool. Still, it’s a good towel to keep on hand for hikes, long walks across a new city, or for those who don’t mind being a little damp after a swim for the sake of having a minimalistic towel.
PackTowl Personal Towel In West Virginia
Best Microfiber Towel
Best for Long Trips
It can be difficult to find a travel towel that can go through multiple uses without being washed, which is essential if you’re one-bag traveling. However, we’ve got a solution for you. The PackTowl Personal Towel has a hook for hanging and utilizes its antimicrobial finish to ensure that microorganisms that cause stinkiness don’t take root within the fibers of your trusty travel towel. It’s crafted from microfiber, so it dries quickly, and you won’t have to wait long before stowing it in your pack.
Coming in at a similar size to what you’re used to at home, it doesn’t feel too small to use as a bathroom towel. Our main issue with the size is that it doesn’t pack down terribly small, but we think that the other features presented by the PackTowl Personal Towel make it a worthy addition to this list.
Best for: Frugal Travelers
Youphoria Microfiber Travel Towel
Best Budget Travel Towel
Some people might say that generic is a bad thing; however, when it comes to a travel towel, sometimes generic is all you need. The Youphoria Microfiber Travel Towel is a standard microfiber towel that comes in many colorways and sizes to ensure you can find a match for your style and size needs. There aren’t any extra features to get in your way, but in terms of use as a travel towel, Youphoria has all the basics covered.
It even comes with a carrying case constructed from mesh, so you can let it dry while you’re en route to your next adventure. Whether you’re going across the globe or on a weekend trip, this towel will have your back and won’t break the bank.
Best for: Sustainable Travelers
REI Co-op Multi Towel Mini
Others we considered
There are a lot of travel towels out there worth considering. If none of our favorites strike your fancy, here are some options that almost made the cut.
The Nomadix Ultralight Towel isn’t the most packable travel towel we’ve tested, but it comes in a ton of unique and colorful designs. The National Parks and Monuments colorway is particularly striking since it’s an entire map showing potential travel destinations. If personality is a huge factor, chances are you’ll find something to fit yours among the lineup.
The Rainleaf Microfiber Towel comes in a lot of sizes, from dishcloth to something worthy of sprawling out on at the beach. That said, among the towels we’ve tested, this somehow retains odors the most, so we had to wash it more frequently compared to the other towels on this list.
Despite the name, the PackTowl Luxe Towel is priced similarly to the PackTowl Personal Towel, and both are quick-drying towels. The only material difference is in the blend: the former has an 85-15 blend of polyester and nylon, and the latter has an 80-20 blend. The difference is perceptible when you have the towels side by side. However, we find the Personal Towel superior in colorway options and packability.
The Biospired Lightweight Footprint Pack Towel is an interesting prospect for those who want a really lightweight towel. It’s available in many sizes, so you can really squeeze and minimize bulk according to your needs. There are only two colorway options, but that’s worth overlooking if you want to maximize packing efficiency.
Feeling fancy? The Outlier Grid Linen Towel‘s linen fabric looks stylish, which could be fitting if you’re vacationing somewhere upscale. The linen fabric’s out-of-the-box coarseness can feel weird for a towel, but the material gets softer the more you use it. On a similar note, the Dock & Bay Quick Dry Towels‘ simple striped colorways are tastefully aesthetic, so they’re worth checking out if you don’t like linen.
If you need something larger, the REI Co-op Multi Towel Lite is an alternative to the REI Co-op Multi Towel Mini. Available in three different sizes—all larger than the Mini—you should have no problem finding one that suits your needs. Materials-wise, both are made of the same fabrics and blends. In other words, both are also made of recycled materials, so you’re not sacrificing sustainability if you just want a larger towel.
Why You Should Trust Us
Traveling all over the world has taught us many lessons, among which is that you can never tell what awaits you at your destination. Whether it’s involuntarily ending up in a water show’s splash zone or finding out that the hotel charges extra for towels after we’ve taken a shower, bringing our own always proves to be a wise choice. As such, we’ve tested a lot of travel towels over the years, ranging from budget and basic to extra fancy.
How We Tested It
Choosing the best travel towel can be tricky, but we’ve boiled down the key aspects to watch out for. The towels on this list may look worlds apart in aesthetics and design, yet they perform the same basic functions once you’re out there and using them. So, without further ado, here are the ways we’ve tested these travel towels.
Absorbency: Firstly, you’ll want a towel that’s really good at wicking away moisture from your skin. At a minimum, this is the core functionality every towel should have. However, this can differ from towel to towel because of different materials and how they’re woven together (pure and blend alike). That’s why we test how they perform individually. Yes, that means a lot of showers and baths among the Pack Hacker crew—not to mention there’s a non-zero number of us with long hair—but we persevered.
Dry time: The amount of time needed to dry a towel can be crucial when packing and leaving in a hurry. While these towels are designed to be packable, no towel will dry efficiently when scrunched into a carry case; that’s why we do our best to wring it out before hanging it to dry in a ventilated, sunlit place. The best travel towel won’t take long to dry, allowing you to pack up faster without worrying about a mildewy smell.
Packability: Packability is a particular area of interest for us since we always aim to maximize the available space in our bags. Travel towels aren’t usually hard to pack, but some are explicitly designed to be packable, so we’re interested in seeing how small every towel can get. That said, every towel in this post is still a towel, so we’ve already made sure no towelette or anything too small made the cut (though a lot of towels have a smaller size available if that strikes your fancy).
What is a travel towel?
A travel towel is designed to be easy to pack, carry, and use on long trips. Though nothing is stopping you from using the same towels you use at home for your vacations, travel towels come with distinct design advantages. For example, most use microfiber fabrics (more on that later) since the fibers are finer than more typical cotton or terry cloth fabrics.
Apart from materials, travel towels can also have quality-of-life features advantageous for traveling. Some include a breathable packing pouch so the towel remains compressed and easy to carry. Most will also have a loop or handle so you can hang the towel to dry or off the ground when you’re using it outdoors.
What material should a travel towel be?
Travel towels can be made of almost any material, but the most common one, in our experience, is microfiber. It’s an ultra-thin synthetic material often made from polyester or nylon, and its soft feel makes it suitable for wiping down even fragile items (hence, why they’re often used for glasses and lenses). While quality microfiber towels can have great absorbency and dry out fairly quickly, these towels become less soft over time and easily pill.
Microsuede is very similar to microfiber, as it’s often composed of polyester or nylon. Where they differ is in terms of texture. Both are soft and smooth, but microsuede is unmistakably more slick since it’s designed similarly to suede fabric. Whichever way you go comes down to personal preference, as both materials perform similarly.
Another option is cotton towels, which is likely the type you’re using as your everyday household towel. Cotton towels are fluffy and highly absorbent, but they are also some of the bulkiest ones out there, so we generally avoid them from a packability standpoint. That said, if you have particularly sensitive skin, these might be the best option for you.
Packable linen towels are not as common since they’re often more expensive. That said, they’re also very durable and longer lasting, all the while still being fairly absorbent. If you’re used to cotton towels, linen towels can feel weird at first because of their coarse texture, but experience tells us they get softer over time.
What travel towel size is best
You want your travel towel to compress down to the smallest footprint possible. That said, there’s a balance between packability and having enough coverage that you feel comfortable using it. It can vary from person to person, but we feel most comfortable with towels that can wrap at least once around the body with some room to spare. As for length, it depends on your needs. If you just want to cover your lower half, then you likely won’t need as much width as someone who needs to cover their whole torso and part of their legs.
On a similar note, you may also want to consider a large travel towel that can double as a beach towel to sit on. How big exactly? That depends on how much you want to stretch out and if you plan on sharing space with a buddy. Generally speaking, a towel that’s large enough to cover your body will work fine here, too.
How do you wash a towel while traveling
Fortunately, most travel towels—whether they’re made of microfiber, microsuede, cotton, or even linen—are machine washable. The latter may need gentler wash settings, but all are generally safe to put through a machine. As always, check the care instructions that come with the towel and stick to their guidance if you want it to last longer. Of course, you won’t always have the luxury of machine washing while traveling. Luckily, you can still hand wash travel towels fairly easily by scrubbing the fabric against itself with your soap of choice (we use a castile soap bar).
If you don’t have access to a washer, you probably don’t have access to a dryer, either. In this case, we hang dry the towel from a rack or hook until it’s dry before packing it away. Since travel towels dry out quicker, this shouldn’t take more than a few hours if it’s in a dry and well-ventilated place—preferably in direct sunlight.
So there you have it, 6 travel towels for nearly any trip. Whether you’re crossing the globe, hitting the hotel gym, or just going to the coffee shop, these travel towels will ensure you stay comfortable until you return. Who knows, maybe you’ll start using them at home, too!