I'm looking for a couple of compact towels to stuff into the overnite bag. Are the ones sold as "pack towels" really worth the money (seem kinda' pricey), or is there something that works just as well for less?

I like the pack/camp towels, but you don't have to go too expensive. Try the Coghlan's camp towels and go small. You can always wring it out a time or two when drying yourself and will save yourself a ton of room over a regular cotton towel. They do dry very quickly.

well i have tryed a few. The pertex ones are the smallest and are not very good at getting you compeltely dry. I also have a cheap kind of thin micro fiber, which is a bit between like a pertex one and a thicker pack towel. It doesnt get you completely dry either. Both dry quickly.

The coughlans sure feels like a large house hold cleaning cloth. Takes forever to dry.
I also have a thicker packtowel, which is great in absorbing moist, but also takes forever to dry.

Have not tryed any expensive pack towel.

I guess this is what I meant by pricey: pack towel

Fifteen USD for something smaller than an average kitchen towel seems a bit much.

Hey guys, my experience is that the Cascade Designs pack towel is very much worth it. I use the really large one. Run it through a washer/dryer cycle when new to soften it up. It absorbs a lot of water, dries quickly and takes up very little space in your bag compared to a standard terrycloth towel.

Well worth it in my opinion if you're into effective, lightweight, low-bulk gear.

I have an XL McNett Micronet Towel (35"x62") and carrier in my BOB, and had a chance to use it heavily while camping last week. I really like it. It does hold quite a lot of water and because of that it's best to give it a wring after the first couple of swipes to get yourself dry.

It packs in it's own mesh carrier so you can hang it on the outside of your pack and let it dry while on the move if need be.

It was pricey, but after this weekend I came to the conclusion it was really worth the expense to me.

You can go smaller, and just wring it out more often if necessary. I wanted something that would double as a shemagh if circumstances were such that I needed one, so I went for the XL size. I probably could have easily made do with the Large.

I believe it's the same microfiber fabric or very similar to a lot of the other pack towels.

"The Absorber" and other PVA synthetic chamois drying clothes for cars are essentially the same product. Target, Walmart, and almost any place with somewhat of a selection of car washing stuff carries them. I got a store brand for about $6. They seem pretty small at 27" x 17", but they're big enough to do the job. You just can't wrap up in one.

I use one of these PackTowls by MSR. They are great! The hand & face model is very soft. It absorbs sweat perfectly and dries VERY fast. I always have it handy when I hike (or do search & rescue).

I second the reccomendation of the MSR packtowl. In addition to a very compact and effective towel, it also makes a good potholder, and as padding for a backpack or splint.
Another survival use is to collect dew for drinking water(it would probably work better than clothing, since almost all of the water can be wrung out).

Thanks ratbert, I picked up a bundle of microfiber "auto finishing" clothes recently for $5. They are a bit small to use a towel, but I was wondering how the material compared.

-Meatbert

I wasn't talking about the microfiber towels. I think they might make a fine backpacking towel as well, but I haven't tried them.

But ones I was talking about are PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) foam, not a fabric. They're more like a really thin but tough sponge. That's what a lot of specialized backpacking towels are.

Ah, I wasn't aware of that, never having had the opportunity to fondle one live and in person. I just assumed they were microfiber.

I have a couple of these towels from REI and they work well for me. I'm going to get one of the bigger ones one of these days for home use.

Thanks, Ors. I really should go poke around one of the REI stores one of these days. Bought stuff from them mail-order years ago but haven't done much business with them lately.

I have to do all my shopping online...no REI in my state <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

I find my 'pack towels' at the dollar store -- they're car cleaning cloths.

tro