Toiletries Reviews
All toiletries gear reviews.
Nabaiji Microfibre Towel Review
Decathlon's 186 g Nabaiji microfibre towel is a full-size, quick-drying, machine-washable towel for a few pounds, with a coarse feel and no ultralight frills.
Sea to Summit Trek & Travel Pocket Body Wash Review
Sea to Summit's dry-leaf body wash trades lather and shower-grade cleaning for near-zero weight and no leaks. Fine for bird baths, thin for full washes.
Banana Boat Sport Ultra SPF 30 Lotion Review
Banana Boat Sport Ultra SPF 30 lotion is a cheap, oxybenzone-free, sweat-resistant sunscreen, but the 8 oz bottle is a base-weight liability on the trail.
BoglerCo Ultralight Backpacking Trowel Review
At 13.5 g, BoglerCo's aluminum cathole trowel pairs a serrated blade with a palm-saving end cap. It's one of the best-liked trowels in ultralight circles.
Nabaiji Microfibre Towel Review
Decathlon's 80 x 130 cm Nabaiji microfibre towel weighs 188 g and costs about $14. It dries fast and packs small, but it's a smooth-weave towel that absorbs only moderately.
Nabaiji Microvezel Handdoek Review
Nabaiji's 39 x 55 cm microfiber towel weighs 80 g and costs about €3. It's a face-and-hands towel, not a body towel, and a fine one for the money.
PackTowl Personal Review
PackTowl's Personal is a soft, odor-resistant microfiber towel in Hand, Body and Beach sizes, built for comfort over grams.
Purell Advanced Hand Sanitizer Gel Review
Purell's 1 fl oz flip-cap gel is a 70% ethanol, 28 g convenience-store staple that suits a trail kit as a backup to soap, not a replacement.
PURELL Advanced Hand Sanitizer Refreshing Gel Review
PURELL's 1 fl oz 70% ethyl alcohol gel is a pocket-sized, widely available trail hygiene staple that weighs 28–34 g and works best as a post-privy backup to soap.
Sawyer Premium Insect Repellent 20% Picaridin Review
Sawyer's 4 oz 20% picaridin pump spray protects against mosquitoes and ticks for up to 12 hours without melting gear, but the bottle is heavy for ultralight kits.
Sea to Summit Pocket Towel Review
Sea to Summit's Pocket Towel is a silky recycled-polyester quick-dry towel that weighs 55–112 g, but it's more pat-dry than rub-dry.
Sea to Summit Wilderness Wipes Review
Sea to Summit's 12-count Wilderness Wipes are thick, plant-based body wipes that make a dry camp tolerable. Their weight adds up on long trips, and they dry out once opened.
Sea to Summit Wilderness Wipes Review
Sea to Summit's 36-count Wilderness Wipes are thick, tear-resistant body wipes that clean well on the trail, but at 292 g the full pack is too heavy to carry whole.
Lightload Towel Review
A compressed Lyocell towel that weighs 6–14 g and unfolds with a splash of water. Great for hands, faces and spills, but not a body towel.
REI Co-op Multi Towel Lite Review
REI's thin microfiber camp towel weighs 21–88 g across three sizes, dries fast and costs little, but it feels more like a sheet than a towel.
Carmex Weather Guard Stick SPF 30 Review
A featherweight, cocoa-butter lip balm with SPF 30 broad-spectrum protection — a smart addition to any backpacker's sun kit, with a few caveats.
Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Face Stick Sunscreen SPF 60 Review
A pocket-sized chemical sunscreen stick that's easy to reapply on trail, though its small coverage area means more swipes than you'd expect.
O'Keeffe's Lip Repair SPF 35 Review
A hypoallergenic, matte-finish SPF 35 lip balm built for chapped lips and sun exposure—here's how it holds up on trail.
Dr. Bronner's Pure-Castile Bar Soap Review
A trail-tested look at Dr. Bronner's classic bar soap—biodegradable, versatile, and cheap, but not without quirks for backpackers.
Sun Bum Paper Tube SPF 50 Sunscreen Face Stick Review
A pocket-sized, chemical-based SPF 50 face stick in eco-friendly paper packaging — solid for day hikes, questionable for multi-week thru-hikes in wet climates.
Scholl Hirschtalg Creme Review
A German deer-tallow foot cream that hikers swear by for preventing blisters and healing cracked heels on long trails.
Bushman Heavy Duty 40% DEET Insect Repellent Aerosol Review
A field look at Bushman's 40% DEET aerosol, the Australian bushwalking staple built for leeches, sandflies, and marchflies as much as mosquitoes.
Banana Boat Sport Ultra Lip Balm SPF 50 Review
A tiny, cheap SPF 50 lip balm that actually holds up on trail — here's how it performs on long days outside.
Coppertone Pure & Simple SPF 50 Mineral Lotion Review
A fragrance-free, 24% zinc oxide mineral sunscreen built for sensitive skin — honest look at the white cast, texture, and value.
Lifesystems MicroFibre Travel Towel Review
A budget-friendly, antibacterial microfibre towel that dries fast and packs small — here's how it holds up for backpacking and travel.
Quechua Compact Microfiber Travel Towel (Medium, 31"x23") Review
A budget-friendly, pack-down-small microfiber towel from Decathlon's Quechua line — here's how it holds up for backpacking and travel.
Pika Outdoors Summit Suds Review
Pika Outdoors Summit Suds is a pH-neutral, SLS-free powdered backpacking soap that consolidates your hygiene kit into 28g. Here's how it performs on trail.
Matador FlatPak™ Soap Bar Case Review
The Matador FlatPak Soap Bar Case is an 11g rolltop soap carrier that keeps your kit dry via vapor-permeable Dry-Through™ technology — a smart, durable upgrade from plastic cases.
Banana Boat Sport Ultra SPF 30 Sunscreen Lotion Review
A trail-tested look at Banana Boat Sport Ultra SPF 30 Lotion — a budget-friendly, oxybenzone-free sunscreen that earns its place in a backpacker's kit, with some ingredient caveats worth knowing.
Kula Cloth Review
A purpose-built antimicrobial pee cloth for backcountry hygiene — lightweight, odor-resistant, and a genuine upgrade over the classic bandana rag.
Décathlon 2-in-1 Face & Lip Sunscreen Stick SPF 50+ Review
A 9.5 g dual-purpose SPF 50+ stick for face and lips — ultralight, sweat-resistant, and reef-safe, with a lip balm tucked right into the cap.
Sawyer 20% Picaridin Insect Repellent Review
Sawyer's 20% picaridin lotion and pump spray protect against mosquitoes and ticks for 12–14 hours without DEET's gear damage, but the 4 oz bottle is worth decanting.
Burt's Bees Original Beeswax Lip Balm Review
A 4.25g, 100% natural-origin lip balm with beeswax, Vitamin E, and peppermint oil — affordable and widely available, but no SPF limits its trail utility in exposed conditions.
Body Glide Anti-Chafe Balm Review
Body Glide's plant-based, dry-formula chafe stick is a clean, fragrance-free fix for thighs, hipbelt lines and feet, but it needs reapplying on sweaty days.
CuloClean Portable Bidet Review
A 12g cork-style backcountry bidet that turns any squeeze bottle into a high-pressure rinse — a simple, nearly weightless swap for toilet paper on trail.
Sea to Summit Wilderness Wash Review
A super-concentrated, fragrance-free, all-purpose biodegradable camp soap that handles skin, hair, dishes, laundry, and technical fabrics from one small bottle.
Sea to Summit Airlite Towel (Large) Review
The Sea to Summit Airlite Towel (Large) weighs just 67g and packs to the size of a lemon — but does it actually dry you off? An honest look at the trade-offs.