Let’s give this baby a try.
Upon first feel, the towel is super thin and maybe a little clinical without that warm, comfy, cottony feel. And that’s where I will hit with my one and only true negative. If you’re looking for a ensconcing and toasty respite from the freezing ocean after a long winter surf, this is not your towel. So let’s just get that out of the way.
However, I don’t think this is the point of the Ultra fast Dry towel. This thing is for trekkers and discoverers who are looking for a towel that can be slid into a travel bag without notice and without fanfare. They’re looking for a towel that will get them dry on the fly and then quickly itself reach full aridness as rapidly as possible without mold or bacteria having any chance to form and get funky. This towel is for folks who aren’t looking for four star accommodations but instead are searching for ten foot waves.
If you’ve done any real surf travel, you know that one problem is that you often have to find ways to either dry out your surf gear quickly or a way to store wet gear without it mucking up your bags or your other clothes.
Moreover, re-using wet, funky towels can result in some nasty skin irritations and even worse. It’s pretty gross, really. The Utra Fast-dry towel combats all these problems.
So here’s how this towel that looks like something from the future performed for me and how it would be a great addition to your surf gear. I used it over the course of a few weeks amid some pretty frigid winter surf sessions. Again, it did not warm me, but it did dry me. It was very functional in that it dried quickly between sessions. I actually stuffed it into my Trunq container and honestly, it even came out pretty dry from there after a night in my car. It was still cold but did not smell or seem to be getting funky. I don’t know if this is from its advertised additive of silver as an antimicrobial agent or the fact that it is incredibly thin which is its super power and its one weakness. Its thin construction makes it dry fast and store away almost invisibly but it also saturates quickly which makes it become very cold, very fast.
Here are some added functions that I found in both the material and quality of the Ultra Fast-dry towel. For one, it’s a pretty good size of 34” by 58”, so it works really well as a light weight sun shield. Draping it over my head, I found the towel covered my shoulders and back while I was watching the surf in between sessions (plus, according to Discovery Trekking, the towel blocks 93% of UV rays). More importantly, the towel stretches to an impressive level, and that I found to be a bonus when changing in and out of my wetsuit. We’re talking full coverage with full confidence. The stretching capacity not only covers but also stays secure. That’s was probably my favorite aspect of this product.
The Real Deal
The Ultra Fast-dry towel dries ultra fast. It is perfect for surf travel in that it dries quickly, stores easily, acts as both a changing cover and a sun shelter, and resists funky smells and mold. For me, the only bummer was that it didn’t feel like a “real” towel, meaning that it lacked that cottony warmth that you look for when it’s frigid. However, that would not be a problem if you were surfing in a tropical locale. In fact this towel is best suited for tropical surf travel for its UV protection and antibacterial qualities. The towel runs around 30 bucks.