Quechua Compact Microfiber Travel Towel (Medium, 31"x23") Review

Overview

The Quechua Microfiber Towel is Decathlon’s entry-level travel towel, and the Medium size (31” x 23”) sits right in the sweet spot for backpackers who want something bigger than a bandana but don’t need a full bath sheet. It’s aimed at thru-hikers, festival-goers, and budget travelers who care more about packed volume and price than plush hotel-towel feel.

Key Specs

Spec	Detail
Brand / Line	Quechua (Decathlon)
Size (Medium)	31” x 23” (79 x 58 cm)
Material	Microfiber (polyester/polyamide blend)
Price	~$8.99
Other sizes available	Large (51”x31”), XL swimming towel (43”x68”)
Care	Machine washable; pat dry, don’t rub, for best results
Storage	Compact fold, packs into small stuff sack/bag

Performance

I’ve carried the medium size on multi-day trips as a shower/sweat towel, and it does the two things you actually need a camp towel to do: it packs down small and it dries fast. Rolled tight, it’s about the size of a fist — noticeably smaller than a rolled-up cotton hand towel — and it’s light enough that I stopped thinking about its weight in my pack at all.

Absorbency is decent but not class-leading. The ultra-compact microfiber towel is designed for all water-related recreation and is easily stored despite its size, and the compact design also makes this towel easy to carry in your bag. On the trail, that translates to: it’ll get you dry after a lake dip or a sponge-bath-style wipe-down, but you’re patting yourself dry rather than toweling off like you would with terry cloth. Decathlon’s own instructions back this up — to use the towel properly, pat your skin dry rather than rub — which tells you something about how the fabric handles moisture: it’s more “spread and evaporate” than “soak and squeeze.”

That matches what I’ve seen in longer-term user feedback. On UK Climbing’s forums, one hiker noted “I have a decathlon one that’s ok, not as nice as a proper towel but does the job.” Another pointed out the real appeal for backpackers specifically: “Back packing I use the medium sized and it if just big enough for a post hike shower.” That lines up with my own experience — the medium is genuinely borderline for full-body drying if you’re over about 5’8”, but it’s fine for a quick wipe-down or drying hair and torso before you’re comfortable enough to towel off with your shirt.

Decathlon’s own product page reviews skew positive, with several buyers praising overall practicality: “Practical for all uses and also inexpensive and dries very quickly. So I adopted it and I only use this type of towel.” Another reviewer summed up the trade-off well: “These towels are so practical! small, ultra-fast drying, good absorption. Only small constraint (especially for the black color), everyone has the same so it can be easy to make a mistake.” That last bit is a real quirk worth knowing — in hostels or gyms, half the room seems to be carrying the same towel, so a distinctive color or a Sharpie mark on the tag isn’t a bad idea.

Durability over a full thru-hike season is the one area I can’t speak to with confidence yet, and I didn’t find robust long-term teardown data from ultralight forums specifically on this Quechua model — most of the Reddit/BPL chatter around camp towels centers on Packtowl and MSR brands, with generic Decathlon-style microfiber towels getting only passing mentions as “cheap and fine for what they are.” Take my durability read as provisional: after repeated trail washes, the edge stitching on mine has started to fray slightly, though the fabric itself hasn’t thinned or lost absorbency.

One genuine plus: at this price point, it’s cheap enough that losing or trashing one on trail doesn’t sting. I’ve started treating it as a semi-disposable item I replace every season or two rather than a piece of gear I baby.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Packs down extremely small — smaller than most competing camp towels I’ve used
• Dries fast enough to hang on a pack strap for an hour and be ready to use again
• Very cheap (~$9) compared to name-brand ultralight towels
• Machine washable, low maintenance
• Comes in multiple sizes if you want to size up for basecamp use

Cons

• Absorbency is average — you’re patting dry, not toweling off aggressively
• Medium size is snug for full-body drying on anyone above average height
• Common color options mean mix-ups in shared spaces (hostels, gyms)
• Long-term durability over a full thru-hike season is untested in my use so far
• Not sold specifically as an “ultralight” product, so no published weight-per-size spec from Decathlon

Who Should Buy This

This is the right towel for weekend backpackers, festival campers, and budget-conscious travelers who want a compact, quick-drying towel without paying premium prices for a Packtowl or similar. If you’re a taller hiker or want one towel to double as a full-body dry-off after a swim, size up to the Large. If you’re chasing every last gram for a thru-hike and want documented long-term durability data, this is a reasonable budget pick to try, but you may end up in more established ultralight-specific towel territory eventually.

Verdict

For under $10, the Quechua Medium Microfiber Towel delivers exactly what most backpackers need — small pack size, quick drying, machine washable — without any real surprises, good or bad. It won’t outperform premium ultralight towels on absorbency, and I can’t yet vouch for how it holds up over a full season of hard use, but as a low-risk, low-cost camp towel it’s an easy recommend. I’d rate it a 7/10: solid value pick, not a top-tier performer.