After many years of using a travel towel that was much too small, I finally decided to get a more practical one. At 15 Bucks, which was totally worth it.

This towel is the M size at 90 x 50 cm (35 x 20 in.). I could have gone L at 120 x 60 cm (47 x 24 in) or even XL at 150 x 80 cm (59 x 31 in.), but then they would pack bigger. Cocoon actually also has an ultralight series of towels with the same dimensions, but they pack slightly smaller, weigh a little less, but also don’t absorb as much water. I figured the medium-sized, slightly bulkier but more absorbent one was a good compromise and I haven’t regretted it.

Although it is much smaller than a “normal” towel, it works much very well and completely dries me off and it itself dries quickly as well. It does pack bigger than my travel hand towel, but that’s to be expected. It also has a clippable loop for hanging it on a bar or something to dry.

It does have an interesting texture. The microfiber kind of has a subtle “catchy” feel to it. It’s hard to explain: it’s not really scratchy, but it feels like the cloth keeps getting caught on your skin. It feels funky at first, but it doesn’t really bother me, but I could see some people not agreeing with how it feels on the skin.

Unfortunately, the loopy nature of the fabric means that stuff can get stuck in it. I had it out once while I was backpacking, and I put it on a rock while I bathed in a lake. The rock had some twigs and pine needles on it, and they easily got lodged in the towel, forcing me to meticulously pull them out, so I would recommend against using it to sit or lay on outside.

Regardless, it is a very effective towel that packs small and completely dries me off as well as drying quickly.

Pros:

Packs small for its size and effectiveness

Dries me completely off

Dries quickly

Cons:

Twigs can get lodged in it very easily

Texture could be bothersome for some people