Sea to Summit Pocket Towel Review

Overview

The Pocket Towel is Sea to Summit’s lightest and most compact towel, a thin knit of 100% recycled polyester microfiber sold in a zippered EVA case. It suits backpackers who want something to dry hands, face and a wet body after a swim, and who care more about grams than about a plush finish. The trade-off is that the same featherweight knit that makes it so small also makes it clingy on damp skin.

Key Specs

Spec	Details
Weight	55–112 g depending on size
Dimensions	Small 80 × 40 cm; Large 120 × 60 cm
Packed size	Small about 11 × 6 × 3 cm; Large about 6 × 3 × 1.75 in
Material	100% recycled polyester microfiber (knit)
Absorbency	Claimed 3× its weight in water
Storage	Zippered, vented EVA case with two-way zipper
Hanging loop	Yes, corner loop
Warranty	Lifetime guarantee

Performance

Softness and feel. The knit is the selling point. Sea to Summit says the fabric is light enough to feel soft and silky, and testers agree. Pack Hacker described it as softer than expected and more absorbent than its thinness suggests. One independent tester who bought the Large and put it through a 13-part test regimen ranked the material among the nicest of all the backpacking towels in the comparison.

Absorbency. The three-times-its-weight claim holds up. That tester measured exactly 3× in a bucket test, against 3.26× for a fluffy cotton bath towel. After wringing, the Pocket Towel retained about 35% of its water weight, compared with 46% for the cotton towel. That is the quick-dry advantage in practice: less water to carry out of the creek and less to evaporate.

The catch: skin cling. Silky has a downside. The same tester found the fabric sticks to wet skin, which makes wiping impractical. It has to be patted, and the user ends up slightly damp afterward. That is a fair complaint for anyone hoping to replace a bath towel after a shower. For a rinse in an alpine lake or a hostel wash-up, it is a minor annoyance. Comfort was the lowest of the tester’s nine scores, at 4.5 out of 10, while portability scored a 9.

Drying and odor. Drying time is a strong point. The Large dried in about 27 minutes in the same test, and the towel hung from its corner loop without trouble. Odor control was better than most untreated fabrics manage. Bagged damp for four days after a shower, it developed only a faint smell. After a seawater soak and the same four days in a bag, it smelled of the sea but had no mold. The cotton control towel smelled like rotten food after the seawater test. On a multi-day trip where the towel goes back into a pack still damp, that matters.

Durability. Owners describe the case zippers as smooth and the hanging loop as secure. The independent tester recorded roughly 1% material loss after two to three months of light use. That points to a thin fabric, not a bombproof one. It is a towel for gentle duty, not for wiping down muddy boots or scrubbing a cookpot.

The case. The EVA case keeps the towel clean in a pack and clips on easily. It is not the lightest option, though. On the Large it weighed roughly 0.9 oz (about 25 g), and the case is less compressible than the towel itself. Gram-counters can leave it at home and use a small stuff sack.

Choosing a Version

Small (80 × 40 cm, 55 g). This is a face-and-hands towel with a little extra reach. It dries a torso, but it won’t wrap around anything. One owner’s review of the small size said it dried the body well enough but was not big enough to wrap around. Pick it for gym bags, day hikes, or as a dedicated camp-hygiene towel for summer trips where the plan is a quick dunk and an air-dry.

Large (120 × 60 cm, 112 g). This is the size that works for a whole body. Pack Hacker’s verdict was that the towel is excellent, but buyers need to choose the right size. At about 4 oz, it still weighs less than many hikers’ camp shoes’ insoles. It is the right choice for anyone who actually wants to dry off after swimming, for travel, or for hut and hostel stays. It stays a notch below a standard bath towel in coverage, so it won’t suit anyone seeking a wrap.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Very light for its size: 55 g for the Small, 112 g for the Large
• Packs to roughly the size of a fist or smaller
• Silky, soft fabric that is gentle on skin
• Measured 3× its weight in absorbency, with less water retained after wringing than cotton
• Dries quickly and resists odor better than most
• Made from recycled polyester, with a lifetime guarantee
• Case is durable, with a hanging loop and a two-way zipper

Cons

• Clings to damp skin, so it has to be patted rather than rubbed
• Thin knit is not especially tough
• Case adds weight and bulk that ultralighters may not want
• Large is smaller than a regular bath towel

Who Should Buy This

The Pocket Towel is built for three-season backpackers, thru-hikers and travelers who want a clean, compact towel for swims, camp washes and hostel showers. The Small suits hikers who will only dry hands, face and feet. The Large suits anyone who wants to dry an entire body from one packable towel. Hikers who want a towel that feels like terry cloth should look at Sea to Summit’s heavier Tek Towel, and those who need a durable towel for hard, repeated use should look elsewhere than this thin knit.

Verdict

The Pocket Towel does what it promises: it is soft, fast-drying, and about as small as a usable towel gets. The clinginess and modest durability keep it from being an unqualified favorite, but for light packs it remains an easy pick. Buy the Large if the towel will touch your whole body, and the Small if it won’t.