The Best Camp Towels: 4 Compared (and One to Skip)

RBE top pick

PackTowl Personal

Check price on Amazon See why it wins Compare all

The Personal wins on disclosure: four sizes, each with a stated weight and dimension, plus published absorbency and drying figures, a combination no other towel here matches. The Matador is the one to take when the towel has to disappear into a pack, at roughly half the weight per unit area.

A camp towel is judged on three things: how much water it picks up, how fast it gives it back, and how little of your pack it occupies. The industry has settled on expressing the first as a multiple of the towel's own weight, which sounds precise and turns out not to be comparable, because nobody publishes a test method. What is comparable is weight against area, since several makers publish both, and that number varies by roughly three to one across this field. We read the four maker pages and did the arithmetic.

RBE top pick

PackTowl

Personal Towel

Buy it

Four sizes, each with a published weight and dimension, plus the two performance numbers the category is sold on.

Best for: Most campers and travellers, and anyone who wants to pick a size from published numbers rather than guess.

$$ · mid-range

Why we like it

• Four sizes with both figures stated: 0.7 oz at 10 by 14 in, 2.9 oz at 16.5 by 36 in, 6.4 oz at 25 by 54 in, and 9.7 oz for the beach size.
• PackTowl states it absorbs 4 times its weight in water, tied with Nomadix for the highest published multiple in this comparison.
• Also states it dries 70 percent faster than comparable cotton towels, which is the figure that actually matters on a multi-day trip.
• Microfiber polyester and nylon blend, made from 50 percent recycled fabric.
• Wrings out easily, which is what makes a high absorbency figure usable rather than just heavy when wet.

Know before buying

• Heavier per unit area than the ultralight options, at roughly 20 grams per thousand square centimetres in the body size.
• PackTowl is a Cascade Designs brand sold through the same Cascade Designs store as MSR, so shopping MSR and PackTowl is shopping one catalogue.
• No stated packed size, so you cannot tell how much pack volume it takes before it arrives.
• The absorbency multiple comes with no test method, so it is not strictly comparable to a rival's figure.

Check price on Amazon Read our detailed assessment ↓

Matador

Ultralight Travel Towel, Large

Buy it

Full towel coverage at a stated 2.7 ounces, packing down to something you can close your hand around.

Best for: Backpackers, cyclists and one-bag travellers where packed volume decides what comes along.

$$$ · premium

Why we like it

• A stated 77 grams, or 2.7 ounces, for an unpacked 47 by 24 inches, which is about half the weight per unit area of the PackTowl body size.
• Packed dimensions published at 4.3 by 2.2 by 2.2 inches, which very few towel makers state at all.
• Nanofiber material, and Matador states the towel is PFAS-free.
• A side-release buckle on the towel for hanging it, and machine washable.

Know before buying

• Matador claims absorbency of over twice its own weight, half the multiple PackTowl publishes.
• Being both very light and very thin, it is likely to need wringing more often than a heavier towel.
• Premium price tier for a single size.
• One size and one colour in this listing, so there is no smaller version for a day trip.

Find it on Amazon Read our detailed assessment ↓

Sea to Summit

Drylite Towel

It depends

A named recycled fabric with a suede finish, positioned by its own maker as the lighter, more compact alternative to its bigger sibling.

Best for: Campers who care more about how a towel feels and what it is made of than about a headline absorbency number.

$$ · mid-range

Why we like it

• Fabric composition published precisely: 80 percent recycled polyester and 20 percent polyamide, which Sea to Summit calls DRY+.
• Microfiber with an ultra-suede finish that Sea to Summit describes as super soft.
• Sea to Summit states it is lighter and more compact than its own Tek Towel, which is a useful internal comparison.
• Hang loop with a press stud and a mesh-faced storage pouch, which Sea to Summit says keeps the towel fresh.
• Offered in four sizes, S to XL, each with a published weight, packed size and dimensions.

Know before buying

• No absorbency multiple published, which is the figure the rest of the category competes on.
• No drying-time claim either.
• At about 20 grams per thousand square centimetres by the published figures, it is no lighter per unit area than the PackTowl.
• Positioned against another Sea to Summit towel rather than against the field, which tells you less than it seems to.

Check price on Amazon Read our detailed assessment ↓

We'd skip it

Nomadix

Original Towel

Skip it

A large, heavy, good-looking towel sold for travel, beach and yoga, which is a different job from drying yourself at a campsite.

Best for: Beach days, van trips and yoga, where size and pattern matter more than packed volume.

$$ · mid-range

Why we like it

• Large at a stated 72.5 by 30 inches, so it works as a beach towel, a mat or a groundsheet.
• Nomadix states it is sand-resistant with a grippy texture, which is the property it is really sold on.
• Made in a wide range of designs, including a National Parks collection, which is a large part of its appeal.

Know before buying

• A stated 16 ounces, the heaviest towel here, which works out to roughly 32 grams per thousand square centimetres.
• That is about three times the Matador's fabric mass per unit area, despite the 4 times absorbency claim.
• Pack size is given in only two dimensions, 3.75 by 6.75 inches, so packed volume is unclear.
• At that size it is a beach and yoga towel, and the product page says so, which makes it the wrong tool for a pack.

See our pick instead See it at Amazon anyway Read our detailed assessment ↓

How we judged the field

Five things decide a camp towel and only two of them get published consistently. The first is absorbency, expressed across this category as a multiple of the towel’s own weight, which sounds like a specification and behaves like a marketing claim because no maker states how it was measured. The second is drying speed, which matters more than absorbency on any trip past one night, and which only two makers here quantify. The third is weight, the fourth is unpacked area, and those two together give the number we actually trust: fabric mass per unit area, which you can calculate whenever both figures are published. The fifth is packed size, which is what determines whether the towel comes along, and which only two makers here state in full.

So we sorted the field by what could be checked. PackTowl publishes a weight and a dimension for all four of its sizes, plus an absorbency multiple and a drying claim, which is the most complete disclosure in this comparison. Matador publishes a weight, an unpacked size and a packed size, which is rarer still, and a lower absorbency multiple. Sea to Summit publishes its fabric composition, weights, dimensions and packed sizes, but no absorbency or drying figure. Nomadix publishes a size, a weight, a two-dimension pack size and both performance claims. One brand note before the verdicts: the Personal Towel is sold on the Cascade Designs store, which also sells MSR, Therm-a-Rest and Platypus. Shopping MSR and PackTowl separately is shopping one catalogue.

The Personal is the towel we would tell most people to buy, and the reason is that you can make an informed size choice before it arrives. PackTowl publishes both a weight and a dimension for each of four sizes: 0.7 ounces at 10 by 14 inches for a face cloth, 2.9 ounces at 16.5 by 36 inches for a hand towel, 6.4 ounces at 25 by 54 inches for a body towel, and 9.7 ounces for the beach size. Only Sea to Summit matches that, and it publishes no performance figures. On top of it PackTowl states the two performance numbers the category competes on, absorbing 4 times its weight and drying 70 percent faster than comparable cotton, and notes that it wrings out easily, which is the property that makes high absorbency useful rather than merely heavy. The fabric is a microfiber polyester and nylon blend, half of it recycled. What it is not is the lightest option: run the arithmetic on the body size and it is around 21 grams per thousand square centimetres, roughly double the Matador.

The Ultralight Travel Towel is the one that changes what you pack. Matador states 77 grams for an unpacked 47 by 24 inches, and crucially also publishes a packed size of 4.3 by 2.2 by 2.2 inches, which few towel makers do and which is the number that decides whether a towel makes the cut. Divide weight by area and it comes out around 11 grams per thousand square centimetres, about half the fabric mass of the PackTowl body size for a similar footprint. The material is described as nanofiber and Matador states it is PFAS-free, which is worth something in a category full of treated fabrics. There is a side-release buckle on the towel for hanging. The honest costs are two. Matador claims absorbency of over twice its weight, against PackTowl’s 4 times, and a very light thin towel does need wringing more often. It also sits in the premium price tier.

The Drylite is the towel for somebody who cares what the fabric is. Sea to Summit publishes the composition exactly, 80 percent recycled polyester and 20 percent polyamide in what it calls DRY+ fabric, finished with an ultra-suede surface that Sea to Summit describes as super soft. It comes with a hang loop with a press stud and a mesh-faced storage pouch, which is a genuinely good detail because a mesh face lets a damp towel keep drying instead of sealing it in. Sea to Summit positions it as lighter and more compact than its own Tek Towel, which is useful if you are choosing between the two and tells you nothing about how it compares to anything else. Sea to Summit does publish weights, dimensions and packed sizes for all four sizes, which put it at about 20 grams per thousand square centimetres, no lighter per area than the PackTowl. The limitation is performance: no absorbency multiple and no drying figure, so the only performance claim available is a comparison to a sibling product.

The Original is a good towel doing a different job. Nomadix states 72.5 by 30 inches, which is beach-towel size, and describes it as sand-resistant with a grippy texture, which is why it works on the beach and as a yoga towel. The designs are the real product; a National Parks collection is not something you buy on absorbency. The page does publish the numbers: 4 times its weight in absorbency, drying 4 times faster than cotton terry, and a stated 16 ounces. For a beach day or a van trip the weight does not matter. For a camp towel it matters a great deal, because it works out to roughly 32 grams per thousand square centimetres, about three times the Matador, and Nomadix’s own framing of travel, beach and yoga puts drying yourself at a campsite well down the list. Buy it for the beach and buy something else for the pack.

PackTowl Personal Towel vs Matador Ultralight Travel Towel, Large: which should you buy?

The PackTowl Personal and the Matador Ultralight are the two to choose between, and the question is whether the towel is carried or transported. PackTowl gives you four sizes with numbers attached, an absorbency multiple of 4 times its weight, and a drying claim of 70 percent faster than cotton. It feels like a towel, wrings out properly, and costs less. If the towel lives in a car or a duffel, that is the end of the discussion.

Matador wins the moment pack volume is the binding constraint. Half the fabric mass per unit area, a published packed size of 4.3 by 2.2 by 2.2 inches, and 77 grams total, which is less than the PackTowl hand towel for nearly twice the area. The trade is real: a lower published absorbency multiple, more frequent wringing, and a premium price. There is also a sensible middle path, which is to buy the PackTowl in the hand-towel size rather than the body size, since 2.9 ounces at 16.5 by 36 inches is enough towel for most people and closes much of the weight gap. Buy the PackTowl for value and information. Buy the Matador when grams and volume decide what comes.

What to look for

• Divide weight by area: it is the only comparable performance figure in this category, and it varies about three to one across these four.
• Treat absorbency multiples as class indicators: no maker here publishes a test method, so 4 times and over twice are not directly comparable.
• Look for a drying claim: it matters more than absorbency on a multi-day trip, and only two of these four quantify it.
• Check for a packed size: it decides whether the towel comes along, and only two of these four state it in full.
• Buy a smaller size than you think: a hand towel is enough for many people and weighs a fraction of a body towel.
• Check who actually makes it: PackTowl and MSR are both Cascade Designs brands sold through one store, so the two catalogues are one.

Our final take

This is a category sold on a number that cannot be compared and judged on one that rarely gets printed. Absorbency multiples make good packaging copy and mean little without a method; weight divided by area is checkable whenever a maker publishes both, and across these four it swings by about three to one. PackTowl’s Personal is the sensible default because it publishes a weight and a size for every option it sells, plus a drying figure. Matador’s Ultralight is the right answer when packed volume is what decides your kit list, and it publishes exactly how small it gets in all three dimensions. And a 16 ounce, 72.5 inch towel sold for beach and yoga is not a camp towel, however good it looks.

Deciding between the top two? See our head-to-head: PackTowl Personal Towel vs Matador Ultralight Travel Towel, Large.

More in Outdoors & Fitness

Camp Towels, Explained Plain-English guide → PackTowl Personal Towel vs Matador Ultralight Travel Towel, Large Head-to-head → The Best Camping Chairs: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) The Best Camping Hammocks: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) Which Camping Lantern Should You Buy? 6 Compared The Best Camping Quilts: 4 Compared (and One to Skip)