h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

A few years ago I was embarking on a year long round the world trip and I wanted to travel light, so I went to the the YHA camping shop and bought a travel towel. It was made of a shiney blue material probably developed by Nasa, supposedly super absorbent and it folded to about 6 inches square. Just the thing! IT WAS ABSOLUTELY USELESS. I kept it for emergency use only , but now I always travel with a nice fluffy multi purpose one and to hell with the space it takes up.

I don't know what your hi-tech towel was made out of, but fear not, there are alternatives. I favor an item marketed in the US as the PackTowel. It's kind of a flannel like synthetic material that's super-absorbent. I bought the small size (about 6"x24"), which is just a little too small to dry a body of my modest size. However, the material itself is quite effective.

Now I know what all you hitchhikers are thinking: what's the use of a tiny scrap of super-absorbant material? Sure, you can dry stuff with it, but that is only one of the more insignificant uses of the common towel. What kind of a hithhiker would leave the planet without something to lie down on, cover oneself with, sail a raft by, etc.? Well, I might not be the hoopiest frood in the Galaxy, but I'm not that dumb. However, what I'm about to say may surprise and even disturb some readers. I warn you, continue reading only if you are the type of hitchhiker who is genuinely open minded, and willing to learn new things. Towel dogmatists, hit your "back" buttons now. The rest of you, stick around and hear me out.


I have discovered an item which I believe is at least as useful as the common hitchhiking towel. It is known as an Emergency Blanket. This item is essentially a 6'x6' (or so) tarp, complete with grommeted holes along its reinforced perimeter. But it has one special feature which sets it apart from the average tarp: one side is covered in a metalic material designed by NASA, which reflects back around 80% of a shivering hitchhiker's body heat. I have been using this item for quite some time, and have found that, though it is ineffective as a means of drying surfaces, or wetting for use in hand to hand combat, it is superior to the common towel for just about everything else. As for drying things, I carry the above mentioned pack towel, and as for cushions, I find that dirty clothes work fine.

Some of its advantages are: waterproofness (try using a towel to keep you dry in the rain, or when sitting on wet ground), compactability (when folded it's smaller than the average daily newspaper, and weighs less too), warmth (the average towel, porous as it is, is not much use in any but the most subtle drops in temperature, whereas the emergency blanket, as I said, reflects 80% of your body heat, and, though not exactly a down sleeping bag, it is quite a bit warmer than anything else its size and weight. Also, because it is not permeable, it is effective against wind chill.)


So there you have it, fellow hitchhikers, heresy, or good thinking, you decide. Just don't expect me to let you huddle under my emergency blanket the next time we meet in a wet ditch (I will, cause I'm a nice guy, but nonetheless, don't expect it.)

-Radagast

Interesting point.
I must say that I still believe a towel is more useful. http://www.h2g2.com/A391754

Perhaps I shoud have stopped reading at the warning but at least you still carry a pack towel

The pack towel is totally useless except as a curiousity. However, I am familiar w/ the emergency blanket and they are useful. Why not a regular fluffy lovable towel and your emergency whosis.

I figure the pack towels work well at getting all the soppy wet stuff off but leave you rather damp. So my solution is use the pack towel which dries quick as your first towel, and getting rid of the damp with you normal towel. This keeps your normal towel in better condition as it has less water in it and thus gets less mold and evil smells. And you fast drying towel can be washed more often and such not leaving you with a towel that won't completely dry for days. (Backpacking Spring 1999 - 3 Months)