Camping Towels

Most camping towels suck. The Fox Outfitters MicroSoft Towel (Amazon Link) does not. Campers and especially ultralight campers are picky. We want all of the functionality of a home item with 1/3 the weight. Which means that compromise has to be made somewhere. In this MicroSoft Towel review we will see how it compares to other towels on the market.

The compromise made by many camping towels is comfort. You get a lightweight absorbent towel that feels like sandpaper. The material used wants to stick to your skin. Even more so when wet. Unlike a cotton towel that glides across wet skin easily.

So Why don’t we just bring a normal cheap cotton towel? For a few reasons. A cotton towel that is thick enough will weigh too much to backpack in. Yes you could get a really cheap thin one. But don’t! I remember showering at a friends house once that had the thinnest towels ever. Like a giant ass rag. It filled with water and became useless with more than half my body left to dry off. That towel ended up just moving around the water. I had to use my shirt to finish drying off.

Another reason to not get a cotton towel is drying time. It will take forever for a cotton towel to dry. If it does where you are. If you are in a very humid environment then your cotton towel will probably not get completely dry. Which means than you will have to keep it hanging in a sunny place with good air flow 24/7 just to combat the moisture. I would prefer to use it, hang it up a while then pack it back up.

Bullet Points

SUPER SOFT QUICK DRY DESIGN
COMPACT & ULTRA LIGHTWEIGHT
EASY HANG SNAP LOOP
PERFECT CAMPING & SPORT TOWEL

Fox Outfitters MicroSoft Towel

How does the MicroSoft Towel stack up? To review a camping towel there are three main factors to judge it by. Weight, How fast it dry’s and comfort. I could have also included how well it packs up. However I will talk about packability with the weight.

Weight

I weighed my MicroSoft Towel and the dry weight was 5.9 oz. For the size I have, a medium 20×40, That’s a respectable weight. If you are a true ultralight hiker or camper then that might be too much. You could always try the small or extra small to save ounces. For me I prefer to have the larger size. I don’t like to try to dry off on a tiny square of material.

I’m not the best at folding things so that might be a factor in how the MicroSoft towel packs for me. I was able to fold it down to about the length and width of my palm but it was as thick as a dictionary. If you unfold a few times it will lay flatter and thinner. I prefer to have it be thinner but be longer and wider. It will pack better that way for me. If you toss it on the top the other stuff in your pack it won’t take up any space.

Fast Drying

In my tests of the MicroSoft Towel it never took more than an hour to dry. I didn’t stand over it will a stopwatch to time the exact time. I used it to shower with then hung up to dry. Outside with a high temperature it will dry faster. If you are using it to wipe off sweat then it will dry before you have to wipe again.

If you are hiking and don’t have time to stop hang the MicroSoft towel on your pack with the hang loop. It can dry while you’re on the move.

Comfort

Comfort is often the biggest compromise with pack towels. I have used some that are extremely abrasive. You should not be afraid to dry off with your towel. Drying your face with some is like shaving with a razor that is long overdue to be changed. You know where it just rips out the hair?

With the MicroSoft towel there are no worries of sandpaper towel. It is by far the softest camping towel I have ever used. It does not suffer from sticking to the skin either. When you are drying off it will glide over the skin. With it you can dry off like normal. No inventing new ways to dry off because the towel sticks to you and is painful to wipe with.

Conclusion

In conclusion I really like the MicroSoft towel. It has a good balance of what I look for in a pack towel. It is large enough to be useful as a towel. This towel is really soft and comfortable. I would say that it’s softness is really the star of the show. I would not care how light it is if it feels like chainsaw on my face. The weight is light though. Coming in at under 6 oz for a towel this big is impressive. Lastly the fast drying time is the deciding point in why the MicroSoft towel is so great. Go grab one and find out for yourself.

Do you use a camping towel? What do you use? What do you like and not like about it? Let me know in the comments!

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