Best Travel Towel For Backpacking, Camping, And Hiking

After years of traveling full-time, I’ve learned that the best travel towel can make life on the road so much easier. And the wrong one leaves you with a musty smell that clings to everything and a perpetually damp travel towel.

I’ve tried so many travel towels, and a lot of them aren’t worth the money. In this review, I’m sharing my top picks for quick dry travel towels based on real-world use in gyms, campgrounds, remote trails, humid campers, sandy beaches, and everything in between.

In This Article:

• My review of the best travel towels
• The best backpacking towel (it’s ultralight!)
• The best camping towels that dry quick and don’t smell
• Budget-friendly hiking towel options

Disclaimer: This article features some affiliate links. I only endorse things I’ve personally used or that come highly recommended by trusted peers. If you purchase anything I mention using my referral links from Amazon, REI or other retailers I may receive a small commission. However, there is never extra cost to you. You can read more here. Thank you for your support.

In this best travel towel review, I’m breaking down my top picks for backpacking, camping, hiking and beyond. I’ll score each travel towel based on:

• 💧 Absorbency – How well it actually gets you dry
• 🌬 Dry time – Because nobody wants a damp, musty towel
• 🏖 Sand resistance – For beach and lake days
• 👃 Odor resistance – Important when laundry isn’t an everyday luxury
• 🎒 Packability & weight – Key for both backpacking and hiking
• 📏 Size & feel – Comfort and coverage matter too

For quick comparison, this chart shows the best travel towels reviewed in this post. Keep reading for more details on each!

1. Nomadix Original Towel – Overall Best Travel Towel

If I could only pack one travel towel for the rest of my life, it would be the Nomadix Original. I’ve had mine for years, and it’s survived van life humidity, sandy beach days, hot springs and countless public showers.

While it’s not the lightest travel towel, it’s still a very compact option.

The primary reason I love it so much is that it’s the perfect size (large enough to cover me but not unnecessarily big) and the most absorbent towel I’ve tried to date.

Nomadix towels are made with high quality products, but one of the other reasons I love everything they make (I also own their Festival Blanket, Puffer Blanket, and Ultralight Towel) is because they go the extra mile with their design.

These towels have a loop that makes it easy to hang up nearly anywhere and dry. And they dry in about an hour! So there are no weird odors because it sat wet for too long.

If you’re someone who is bothered by texture, this is also one of the best travel towels of any I’ve tried. Some of the microfiber travel towels feel squeaky on my skin… but not this one!

Additionally, the Nomadix Original towel dimensions are perfect. It’s wide enough I can wrap it around me and it covers everything (I’m a tall girlie, so this can be a challenge!) and long enough I can use it as a beach towel to lounge on. Other brands have really wide towels and I find it’s just unnecessary bulk and weight.

The only complaint I have with the Nomadix Original towel is that it develops a musty odor over time. However, while living in a camper full-time this was my daily towel and it still took years to develop a musty scent – that should speak to the quality of Nomadix!

Unfortunately, this is par for the course when it comes to microfiber travel towels because the fabric doesn’t wash as easily as something like cotton.

It’s an easy fix, though. About once a year, I drop my Nomadix towel in a tub with hot water, washing soda and borax for a few hours. This combination of powders clean more deeply than most detergents and cover a larger range of residue normal washing can’t remove from fabrics.

This is called laundry stripping and I do it with all of my travel towels about once or twice a year. It’s quick and easy, and they come out feeling softer, absorbing better and without that funky odor.

Nomadix Original is the best travel towel for just about every use case. The only time I would not recommend this is if you need an ultralight backpacking towel… in which case, keep reading!

PS: I love this travel towel so much I’ve also included it on my list of 100+ Gifts For Outdoorsy Girls

➡ Available on REI.com: Nomadix Original
also available on Amazon

2. Nomadix Ultralight Towel – Best Backpacking Towel

When weight and space are your top priorities, the Nomadix Ultralight is the backpacking towel I recommend. I originally got this for backpacking trips, but it’s also perfect for any kind of minimalist travel where every ounce counts.

This towel will get you dry, but it’s not going to give you that plush “spa day” feeling like Nomadix Original.

The thinner material means it takes a little more effort to fully dry off compared to the Original. Still, for its weight class, it performs better than every other ultralight backpacking towel I’ve tried.

Thinner material also means the Ultralight towel dries faster than the Original towel (although both are quick!)

Like the Original, it shakes off sand fairly easily, but the thinner weave makes it even less of a sand trap. It’s great for beaches, and I also use it for day hiking trips with alpine lakes.

The biggest selling point for the Nomadix Ultralight travel towel is how compact it is. When folded up it’s about the size of a softball.

While it’s large enough to cover most of me, it’s not as modest as the Original. Since I mostly use this backpacking towel in remote places I tend to care less about that.

➡ Available on REI.com: Nomadix Ultralight
also available on Amazon

3. Nomadix Mini Towel – Best Hiking Towel

The Nomadix Mini didn’t exist when I bought my Ultralight, but I think it’s the perfect alternative hiking towel for day trips where you don’t need a full coverage towel, but ultralight isn’t crucial either.

It’s basically the same amazing material as the Nomadix Original, just shrunk down to something a little larger than a hand towel.

Nomadix Mini has excellent absorbency for its size. It’s essentially a glorified hand towel, but it soaks up water like a full-sized Nomadix travel towel. Combine that with the best quick dry towel material and it’s far superior to a basic hand towel. Plus it won’t stink.

Can you use this on the beach? Yeah, kind of. It’s big enough to sit on, but you won’t be able to lay out and sunbath on it. It has decent sand resistance, and it won’t collect twigs and other debris either.

If you just want a hiking towel you can dry off with, but don’t need the comfort of anything large enough to wrap yourself in this is the perfect travel towel.

➡ Available on REI.com: Nomadix Mini
also available on Amazon

4. REI Multi Lite – Best Quick Dry Travel Towel On A Budget

The REI Co-Op Multi Towel Lite has been with me for years (my OG travel towel), and while it’s fairly lightweight and affordable, it’s not my first choice anymore.

This was the first travel towel I purchased. It’s a basic microfiber towel that works in a pinch, but after trying higher-quality options like Nomadix, it’s hard to go back.

I’m usually very fond of anything REI makes, but this towel falls a little short for me.

However, for the price it’s a decent quick dry travel towel. I’d recommend it if your budget is tight, or you’re just getting into outdoor and travel adventures (because, yikes! beginner hiking gear can add up quickly)

For the price point, the absorbency is decent(ish). It’ll get you dry, but it takes more effort than the other travel towels above. To its credit, it dries just as quickly as the more premium travel towels.

It’s also a fairly sand resistant travel towel, but the REI Lite and Deluxe fabric attracts and clings to hair, twigs, etc. They get embedded so deeply that they don’t usually come out in the wash, and I have to pick them out manually.

One thing I do reallllllly like about the REI travel towels are their hooks. First, they have an integrated buckle which means you can hook them to literally anything, even if its not a hook. I use this a lot on tree branches and clotheslines and it’s incredibly useful (and shocking none of the other travel towels on this list offer this feature!)

Second, since I bought my REI travel towel they’ve redesigned the hooks and located them to the center of the large towels. Mine has it at the end, so my towel usually drags on the floor. By hanging it from the middle you way more height options.

If you need a quick dry travel towel on a budget this is what I’d recommend.

TIP: The REI travel towels come in multiple sizes. In my experience, the sizes aren’t very intuitive so pay close attention to what your buying. They tend to run small, you’ll probably want an XL if you need a bath towel.

➡ Available on REI.com: REI Co-Op Multi Towel Lite

5. REI Multi Deluxe – Large Quick Dry Towel For Travel On A Budget

The Deluxe version promises a thicker, more plush feel — but in reality, the fabric tends to pick up hair and lint and, over time, it starts to feel rough, almost like sandpaper.

The Deluxe is less absorbent than the Lite travel towel, surprisingly. It doesn’t seem to wick moisture well, and I often end up air-drying the rest of the way.

I honestly don’t understand how the deluxe has thicker fabric, yet is less absorbent (but even the REI website says the Lite absorbs 8x it’s weight and deluxe is only 6.5x.)

Between the longer drying time, less absorbency, and the dog fur that is constantly stuck to this towel it’s my least favorite travel towel.

The only potential positive on my list is that the Deluxe towel a much wider towel than the Nomadix Original; it’s more modest (comes down to my knees!), doubles as a blanket in a pinch, but overall I find it to be unnecessary bulk.

➡ Available on REI.com: REI Co-Op Multi Towel Deluxe

Final Thoughts – The Best Travel Towel For Backpacking, Camping, Hiking & RVing

When it comes to finding the best travel towels for backpacking, hiking, camping, or RV adventures, the winner for me is hands-down the Nomadix Original for all-around comfort and durability, with the Nomadix Ultralight taking the top spot for best towel for backpacking.