This is my first-hand review of Sea to Summit Drylite towels after extensive use during hiking and backpacking trips. This towel has been my consistent travel buddy over the last few months.
During all this time, I have put this towel through thick and thin to test its durability, performance, and limits. Based on my field testing, I will dive into the features, performance, durability, comfort, portability, and overall value of the Drylite Towel.
Related: Best Camping Towels
I will put my experience with this towel into words and describe the features of the Sea to Summit Drylite Towel, along with comparing it with two of the best rivals.
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How I Tested
I put this towel through literally everything! I am a frequent hiker and backpacker, and you’ll find me on the trail most days a week. The climate changed over the past few months and went from extreme summer to moderate cold.
During all this time, I used this towel to dry my body after showering and wipe the sweat. I went on multiple hiking, rock climbing, and mountain camping trips.
During these trips, I experienced the different forces of nature, such as wind, rain, and a little bit of snow. These were the best parameters to test this towel; however, many of you won’t be experiencing such harsh climates or weather.
Performance Comparison and Testing Results
Features
Honestly, it’s hard to carry a regular towel on the trail due to its extra weight, lack of quick drying ability and high chances of odor after a few uses. That is where we preferred to take Drylite Towel due to its quick drying ability, innovative design, lightweight and compact design.
We can even attach it to our backpack using a snap loop instead of opening it after every use. We use it more frequently in summer to clean sweat from the face and hands. So its lightweight and quick drying ability make it a preferred choice for our hiking trips.
I love the meshed storage pouch, which even helps dry the towel while it’s packed.
Quick Drying Capability
The quick-drying capability of this towel was presented as one of its standout features. Now, there are two ways to dry a towel. One is to wring it completely when it is soaking wet, and the other is just hanging it as it is without twisting it.
If you travel a lot like me, then you know that I had to wring it totally before putting it to dry. It took an average of 40 minutes to dry outside. It would obviously take hours to dry indoors. So, is 40 minutes a good time? It is not that bad.
I have used some expensive travel towels; the best they can do is half an hour. Given the price of this towel, it did a pretty decent job.
Packability & Portability
I was really happy to get rid of my conventional cotton towel when I bought the Sea to Summit Drylite Towel. This was because the Drylite towel is almost ⅓ of the size of a conventional cotton towel. It is extremely easy to carry and is highly portable.
It can easily fit in your hiking bag. There are two ways to carry it. You can either hang the towel to your bag directly using the hanging loop that comes with the towel. Another way is to pack the towel in the sleeve that comes with it and carry it.
I preferred to use the hanging loop to attach the towel to my bag as I am not a huge fan of carrying the sleeve in my bag. It saves me some space.
Another problem is that the sleeve doesn’t have a hanging loop. You have to fold the towel until it fits inside the sleeve. I am lazy, so I prefer picking up the towel and hanging it in my bag instead of folding it multiple times and trying to fit it inside the sleeve. However, sometimes I used the sleeve to keep the towel from getting wet or dirty.
Moisture Absorption & Retention
The Drylite towel has at least ten times better moisture absorption than my notorious cotton towel. The retention is pretty good. It can retain moisture for about 40 minutes when wrung out totally.
Please note that 68% of the water is already eliminated after carefully wringing the towel. If you don’t wring it, the moisture retention would be significantly improved.
Comfort & Texture
The towel is soft. I can say that it is not stiff at all. Also, it is comfortable to use except for one little thing. It tends to stick to your skin somewhat. I found this a bit irritating, but I adjusted and started to wipe less and pat more to dry my skin.
The texture is a bit of a concern. However, I noticed a lot of color loss when I washed them. I recommend always washing this towel separately as it gives off a lot of color that may damage other clothes.
By looking at the towel, you won’t feel that it will actually be soft and skin-friendly. I had the same impression. But the truth is, it is actually soft and feels gentle on the body.
Quality & Durability
The quality & durability of this towel was not what I expected. Honestly, I expected better from this towel. Discussing the quality, the towel lost a lot of color when washed, as discussed above.
During a few months of usage (approximately 3) with fair usage, the towel lost 1% of its original weight.
One thing that I was happy with was the stitching. The stitching was perfect, without any mistakes or gaps. This was the only good thing about the quality. Also, the quality of the sleeve was not good. It was satisfactory, but it kept my towel from getting wet in the rain and served its purpose.
The towel is highly durable. I performed some tests by dragging the towel across rough surfaces to see how much dust it retained. The dust retained was very low; the plus point is that the dust immediately fell off after a few shakes.
Value for Money
So, did it really provide value for the money? It is not the best on the market. And considering its price and quality, I was a little disappointed. It is not cheap or a steal deal when considering its price.
There are better options available within the same price range. So, this towel is not a good value for money. However, I cannot confirm how long it will stay with us as it’s been a few months since I used this towel.
It provides a few advantages over an ordinary cotton towel.
Things I Like
- Better than my cotton towel. The Drylite towel outperformed my ordinary cotton towel in everything. It is a compact travel towel.
- Hanging loop. The hanging loop is certainly the best part. It is durable, and I even ran across the country with the towel hanging on to my bag. It never fell off.
- Dirt resistant. The Drylite towel is resistant to dirt. Even after dragging it through the dirt, I shook it a few times to get rid of all the dirt.
Things I Don’t Like
- Not value to money: Quality is still questionable and does not seem to hold for long, though. It lost color and also stuck to my body while wiping.
- Bad Quality: The towel gave off color while washing. It tells you that the towel’s quality could be better.
- Odor: Due to the absence of an anti-bacterial coating, the towel developed a peculiar odor after 3 to 4 days of usage.
Comparison with Similar Towels
Rainleaf Microfiber Towel is one of the best travel towels. It is similar to the Drylite towel, but it has a few characteristics that make it better. It has a quicker drying time, the material used is better, and the quality stands out.
It is the #1 best seller on Amazon for this very reason. The sleeve also comes with a strap that you can easily wear across your body or over your shoulder, enhancing the portability of the sleeve.
It is better in dealing with odors and drying. However, it is a bit weak in absorbing when compared with Drylite. Overall, it’s a win for Rainleaf.
Wise Owl Outfitters Camping Towel is another fierce competitor. It is better than the Drylite when it comes to quality, comfort, drying, and portability, but it has a few drawbacks. It develops odors and also sticks to the skin. Overall, the Wise Owl camping towel does a better job than the Drylite towel.
FAQs
How do you wash a Sea to Summit Drylite towel?
You can wash the Sea to Summit Drylite towel in a machine within a normal laundry. Please note that the first 2 to 3 washes should be done separately to avoid the effects of color bleeding. You can also wash the towel in a bucket when laundry may not be available.
Final Verdict
If I had to buy a travel towel now, I would opt for the Rainleaf Microfiber Towel as it is more durable, better in quality, and serves the purpose equally well. The Drylite towel is not the worse; however, it is not a value-for-money product.
I was concerned with the quality and the consistent color bleeding. And after consistent use, it started losing weight which is not normal. I would recommend not to buy this product. It is just better than the ordinary cotton towel and that is it.
