I’ve been experimenting with a few different towels, and think I’ve found the perfect towel for backpacking; the Naturehike Ultralight Towel.
In this short review, I’ll share what I like and don’t like about it, and whether I think you should get one or not.
Table of Contents
Let’s dive in! 🙌
Disclaimer: I bought this product with my own money, this review is not sponsored, and there are no affiliate links on this page. All opinions are my own.
Overview
The towel comes in blue or grey, I have the blue one.
It’s a simple 40 by 80 centimetre rectangle made of a mix of polyester and polyamide, with a small loop at one of the corners so you can hang it easily.
Here’s a quick overview of the Naturehike Ultralight Towel;
| Technical Details |
|---|
| Weight 34g (additional 3g for stuff sack) |
| Materials 88% polyester fiber, 12% polyamide fiber |
| Size 40*80CM |
| Colour Blue |
| Washing Machine wash at 40°C, do not tumble dry |
They advertise the towel as 30 grams, but it came back as 34 grams on my scale plus an additional 3 grams for the stuff sack.
Personally I won’t be using the stuff sack, I think it’s easier to just stuff it into a pocket or hang it off the backpack 😋
Using the towel & features
Size
The smallest size I got is pretty small, and you can’t wrap yourself in it.
But I’m able to grab both and, and dry off my back with it’s 80cm length.
It compresses well and easily fits in the palm of your hand.
Feel
It’s not like a fluffy soft towel, but it’s not hard either.
However, when I first used it my hands were a bit dry and it felt slightly sandpapery.
The fabric feels very thin, which you would expect for a ultralight towel, but not so thin that you can easily tear it.
Super absorbing
I was a bit skeptical at first, but the fabric is quite absorbing.
For fun I did a little test, and weighed the towel after submerging it.
Here are the results;
- Completely dry: 34g
- Fully saturated with water: 119g
- After squeezing water out: 82g
The Naturehike towel absorbed 85g of water, which is more than twice its weight, meaning a pretty strong absorbency.
After squeezing, the towel retained 48g of water, which is still quite a lot but the twin fabric dries quickly.
Hanging loop
There is a small ribbon with a push button on the corner of the towel which you can use to make a small loop to hang it onto something.
I like the push button, which makes it easy to hang it onto a tree branch or backpack strap without having to unclip the backpack strap.
If you don’t care for this feature and want to save a few gram, you could consider cutting off the corner of the towel 😅
Which size towel should you get?
They offer this towel in two different sizes;
| Size | Weight |
|---|---|
| 40*80CM | 35g |
| 80*128CM | 100g |
I went with the smallest size because it’s lighter and works well enough to dry myself with.
If you want to wrap yourself in your towel, use it to cover yourself while changing, or want to lie down on it while sun bathing, you might want to grab the bigger size.
I would maybe have liked a size in between, but you could cut the bigger one easily if you really want.
Usage Timeline
New
Condition: Excellent
Arrived in perfect condition, but smelled a bit funny. Washing it once removed the smell.
Conclusion
It’s just another towel, but it’s a third of the weight of my old similarly sized Cocoon Travel Towel, which makes it a win in my book for backpacking.
I’m curious how the thin fabric will hold up, but for now I’m happy with it and can recommend it to others 💪
