Packable towels

[Janne]

Well, Linen/Flax fiber is THE original fiber for humankind.

The feel against the skin is that it feels cool, similar to silk.

Drying yourself with a towel of linen, I think it has a rougher feel than those terry cloth cotton fabrics.

I like that. I have never timed the drying of anything ( has anybody) so I have no opinion there.

Silk is slippery of course, also has a cool feel.

Never had a silk towel. We had a couple of silk bed linen but did not like that.

Cotton rules in bed, imo.

I do not like synthetics against my skin. In clothes, in the bed.
The worst one were the Nylon shirts I had to wear as part of my regimental uniform.
Nylon is the material invented by the Devil.

 

[Billy-o]

I was just doing a little search on linen hand/bath towels and noticed that a lot of the companies are in northern europe and lay emphasis on the use of traditional northern european weaving techniques and the general northern europeanness of flax. I wish I had a clue what that meant.

 

[Robson Valley]

Cooler climatic conditions usually result in much longer fiber growth.
Not always and not for every plant or tree species.
And that fiber length might, in turn, have an effect on their processing technology.
Their growing conditions might be ideal for flax plant biology, for both fiber and seed crops.
Maybe it isn't easy to grow flax of top commercial grade just any place.

I take a roll of biodegradable "Tow-Tabs" in my pocket. Each one is a hard dry pellet, about 5 mm thick x 20 mm diameter.
Add a table spoon of water. The pellet swells up to become a 25 cm x 25 cm cellulosic hand wiper.
The wet strength is good and they dry quite quickly. No idea of their tinder value as I bring all used ones home. Not TP.

 

[Janne]

Our towels are made in Sweden, and weaved with a kind of waffle effect.
It is a traditional locally grown fiber, has been grown since the Middle ages.
Plus we use the oil in our world famous cuisine!.

 

[pieinthesky]

I find that you get yourself feeling much drier if you have 2 towels.

A quick wipe over with a small flannel sized pack towel to remove 90 % of the moisture and then finish off with your full sized towel. Saves trying to get dry with a damp clammy towel.

Next wash, it doesn't particularly matter if your small towel hasn't dried out completely and your large towel, because it never got very wet in the first place, is usually bone dry.

 

[Billy-o]

So, I did a bit more looking and found a number of manufacturers of flax/linen towels. Ranging from a full size bathtowel (52" long) to a variety of handtowels at about a metre long (and which I suspect are what my mum used in the kitchen) I can only find flat woven cloths which are described as 'thin' and 'light' in the usually effusive reviews. Often people say that they aren't very absorbent, which is what I would have thought instinctually. The weirdly effective absorbency of microfibre is why I like using it, also it being lighter to pack and it dries fast.

Could you have a look at the label on your waffly linen towel, Janne, and see who it is made by? Thanks

Big problem with searching is that linen is used in a generic sense describing bedding and cotton towels more often than it is used to indicate the use of flax in the making. Have to be careful. On the other hand, flax quite often just refers to the colour of the item.

 

[Janne]

I will have a look tonight if the labels are still there.
They were a wedding gift from my parents, 24 years ago. I know they were made in Boras.

The quality is fantastic, if you can buy Swedish made things online they will last your life!
As you say, it is important to check what they are made of.
The material should be well specified.

 

[Janne]

Thinking of it, in English we say 'linen' about these flat fabric things. In Swedish we say 'linne' about the innermost warming top/shirt.

I guess using the same word for the fabric material and the item is because they were made from Linen/flax fibre?

Remember, cotton became popular, cheap and plentiful only about 200 years or so.
We have our black brothers to thank for that!

 

[Robson Valley]

What makes any towel of any value is its ability to soak up water.
That means that the water must stick (hydrogen-bonding) to the fibers.

That can be chemically adjusted as is done with "microfiber." Much harder to do with natural fiber so best pick a fiber which
has excellent water-holding capacity in the first place, like cotton. Much less blocking lignins and pectic substances.

The best way to damage any water-holding fiber characteristic is to use an anti-static "Cling" sheet in the dryer.

 

[Janne]

http://www.brahmsmount.com/blog/cotton-vs-linen-whats-the-difference/
https://www.amazon.com/ThingStore-O...1527800320&sr=8-3&keywords=linen+waffle+towel

Some info here.

 

[Robson Valley]

Subjective evidence but very useful. I'll stick to the plant biochemistry of the carbohydrate cell walls = fibers.
Wool is protein and hollow and does not lose it's loft when wetted.

 

[Billy-o]

Remember, cotton became popular, cheap and plentiful only about 200 years or so.
We have our black brothers to thank for that!

Another of the reasons to dislike cotton, I suppose. As an industrial product it remains socially damaging, producing sweatshops around the world, it sucks up water in the environment terribly whilst growing, and is saturated with insecticides. In some senses it is as dirty as oil.

There are moves here and there to use readilly available vegetable fibres like from beans, bananas, even nettles which aren't so needy.

 

[Janne]

Use a larger towel, or one with a larger surface area, or prior to drying yourself, shake like a dog!

When in the bush, I tend to only wash my privates, hands, feet and splash some water on my face.

No need for a huge towel.

 

[Janne]

Another of the reasons to dislike cotton, I suppose. As an industrial product it remains socially damaging, producing sweatshops around the world, it sucks up water in the environment terribly whilst growing, and is saturated with insecticides. In some senses it is as dirty as oil.

There are moves here and there to use readilly available vegetable fibres like from beans, bananas, even nettles which aren't so needy.

All vegetable fibers can be made into useful fibers by some chemistry ( type Viscose). Some are useful in the natural state.
I can not stand Viscose ( the newfangled 'Bamboo fiber' is Viscose, the advertising is pure , smelly BS) by principle, and prefer natural fibers.
I do not know how Viscose ages or decomposes.

Bad end products? Plastic (Viscose) particles in your favourite Friday evening treat, the famous Jewish dish Fish & Chips? I do not know.

 

[Janne]

I looked, and no labels have readable print.
I will try and google and see what I find!

 

[Billy-o]

Ah! Never mind. Thanks for looking Janne

I found this company ... Linenme ... https://www.linenme.com/us/bathroom...ve=All&sort_by=field_product_new_value&page=1

They have all the stuff. 2 x linen handtowels for $27 is rather cheaper than 1 x PackTowl of the same size. I shall be giving this a go

 

[Janne]

Good find!

You will love the skin defoliating feel of that fabric!

 

[Jason Young]

Another vote fr Decathlon Microfibre

 

[Billy-o]

Good find!

You will love the skin defoliating feel of that fabric!

Yes, I will be looking for lotions and other men's grooming products with avidity Curtains too

 

[petrochemicals]

I use a cut down sheet, get most of the moisture off and it dries me fine and dries out very quick, and has a button and loop so doubles as a sun shawl to protect my arms from the sun, so with my hat on too it's a lot better than suncream and I'm nice and cool. Weighs 160g