Thursday, September 16, 2010

Don't Forget your Towel

one of the best investments i ever made, is the size large pack towel by MSR. the material is lightweight, thin and super absorbent. i always have it in my backpack, whether i'm trippin around for a day or taking off across the country. a towel can be used for warmth, as ground cover to stretch out on, and of course, to get you dry.

one night on a backpacking trip, i realized that i had forgotten to bring a sweater. my pack towel tied over my shoulders like a parka kept me warm, kept my arms free to work around camp, and continued to keep me warm through the night.

a perfect way to be inconspicuous about sleeping in public, is to stretch out on a towel on a beach or in a park. pick a nice shady spot, pull your cap over your face, and use your pack as a back rest or pillow and you're good to nap.

super absorbent pack towels can hold roughly 4 times their weight in water, which will prove useful when hit with sudden rainfall. find an overhang to hide under, a ledge, or set a tarp and wrap up with the towel. it will absorb the water off of you quickly, and help it evaporate from your skin as your body warms it up. also handy when using public restrooms to clean up, you can be assured that you have a means to get dry quick. the towel can be hung from the pack to dry while on the move.

the towel i used before the MSR was a freebie from a hostel in Vancouver. it was pink and purple flowers, oh so pretty.. haha. it's a must-have, no matter if you pay a good penny for it, or get one for free. for me, it's always worth the storage space.

an out stretched towel can be used when gathering branches and brush to get a fire started. a folded towel can be used as a pillow for sleeping, or for making your sitting spot more comfortable. i have used my pack towel to relieve my skin from sweaty pack straps rubbing during long hikes by draping it over my shoulders before lifting my pack back on. with so many uses there's no excuses to be without a towel. to call it crucial or creature comfort, that's for you to decide. for me, definitely a pack necessity.

7 comments:

  1. I love the MSR pack towels. We ordered mediums not realizing they were about the size of a dish towel but they still dried us off just fine! I've also just started a blog on our backpacking/hitching trip here www.westplease.blogspot.com

    I'll be following yours!

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  2. great, thanks for the link! i'll add it to my link library once i get this site rearranged, i hit up the follow button:)

    i picked mine up in the outdoor store so i got to sea the size before i bought it. best 30 bucks i ever spent. i have dreadlocks, and nothing sucks the water out of them like one of those baddboys!

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  3. hi there... great post. do u have any info on vagabonding in the US... any recommendations? i'm going to be homeless soon with little money to begin with... what should my priorities be from the beginning? How should i travel? what areas would be better during the winter? etc

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  4. thankyou! i have never been a vagabond in the US no, but many places across Canada. shelter and food are your top priorities, always. you must maintain your health. check my 'jobs and moneymaking' post, and the other topics. i have outlined the basics so that you can do further research for your area. for more info on vagabonding in the US check 'Survival Guide to Homelessness' under my links. thanks for reading!

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  5. hey, same guy that wrote you yesterday... thanks for responding so quickly... do you have an email i could reach you at?.. it would be cool to meet up with u if i ever ended up in canada.. or maybe if u came through the us.. thanks for the advice, i will keep it in mind.. its difficult to think of having good food and shelter when i barely have a penny to my name.. i think im gonna have to get lucky for a while and hopefully run into people that are willing to help me out. my name is Darius.. take care and god bless

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  6. you can find me on facebook @
    www.facebook.com/sadiesea
    or email:
    sadie.sea.photography@live.ca

    take care Darius, keep a positive attitude. and get in touch for sure! don't be afraid to ask for help, seek and you shall find!
    stay irie

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  7. oh also this is an amazing and detailed blog about 'free sleeping' in the US, i found it recently and it's pretty dope, check it! it's called homeless by choice :)

    http://freesleeping.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete