Reviews > Personal Hygiene > Towels > Britanne Aquis Adventure Towel > Rick Allnutt III > Long Term Report

Britanne Aquis Adventure Towel
Medium Size
Long Term Report by Rick Allnutt

"You got a towel with you?" said Ford suddenly to Arthur. 
Arthur, struggling through his third pint, looked round at him.
"Why? What, no...should I have?" 

He had given up being surprised, there didn't seem to be any point any longer.
Ford clicked his tongue in irritation.
"Drink up," he urged.
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams, chapter 2.

PERSONAL BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Rick Allnutt
50 Year old male
6' 0'' (183 cm) in height
198 lb (90 kg) in weight
Email address: ra1 (at) imrisk (dot) com
I live in Dayton, Ohio

BACKPACKING BACKGROUND
Over the last 18 months, I have gone from being a heavyweight (2 Duluth Pack) canoe camper to a three-season base pack weight of about 9 lb (4 kg) and skin out weight of 20 lb (9 kg). I have completed 7 ultralight section hikes on the Appalachian Trail (AT) with a total mileage of over 200 miles (322 km). I am an ultralight hiker, a gearhead, a hammock camper, and make much of my own equipment. 

PRODUCT INFORMATION
Manufacturer: Britanne Corporation
Year Manufactured: 2003
Manufacturer's Link: Aquis Britanne
Listed Weight: under 4 oz (113 gm)
Measured Weight: 3.84 oz (109 gm)
Listed size: 15 x 29 in (38 x 74 cm)
Measured size: 15 x 29 in (38 x 74 cm)
Review Date: 23 March 2004

REVIEW
The towel is made of a brand of ultrafine microfiber named Aquitex®. 
The fibers are woven into a cloth called Aquis® Lisse. The towels are 
available in five colors. The color reviewed is blueberry.

My initial report on the towel can be reviewed here. 

With its futuristic fiber content, the Britanne towel may be what Adams had in mind when Ford's towel was described as "the most massively useful thing a [hiker] can have". The towel has certainly exceeded my expectations over the long haul. 

Did I mention that the towel holds a lot of water? From the earlier report:

How much water will the towel hold?
Weight soaking wet: 16.8 oz (475 gm)
Dry weight as above: 3.8 oz (109 gm)
Difference (weight of water held in towel): 13 oz (366 gm)
Weight after wringing out: 9.17 oz (260 gm)
Effective weight of water removed before needing to wring it out:
i.e. difference between wrung out towel and soaking wet towel: 3.83 oz 
(106 gm)

What this means is that I never need to wring the towel out after a shower or bath. It is plenty big enough to absorb the water from a good drying and still have lots of capacity left.

I have extensively used the towel over the last six months. In addition to taking it on almost all my hiking and backpacking trips, I have used it daily after a shower for more than 150 days. Washed by hand with a dab of liquid hand soap, once a week, it has continued to work well, smell nice, keep its color, and  remain new looking.

I previously reported that it takes about 3 hours for the towel to dry indoors. In the sun, on a warm rock on a dry, warm day, it takes about an hour. In my field report, I had reported that it could take as much as eight hours of drying time inside the mesh compartment of my pack. Since that time, I have discovered a great way to dry the towel, hanging it across the pack when I am hiking. During a cold walk on the approach trail to Springer Mountain on New Year's Eve 2003, the towel dried in about 3 hours. The trick is to attach the towel by its snap to one part of the pack and then suspend it from another point. I used a rubber band on the handle of my umbrella, though any small stick would do nicely for this purpose. 

Towel Drying Arrangement

Towels are built for drying.  What does this towel dry well:
- my body after a shower
- cookware after rinsing
- eyeglasses
- clothing after hand washing
- tarp before putting it away in stuff sack

It is also useful for a number of other purposes in hiking:
- insulating layer in hammock for head or heels or knees
- drying the condensation from inside of hammock cover
- pad in pack for a group of sharp objects such as cookware
- pillow in hammock for reading
- insulation for sitting on edge of shelter in the cold

For those who are following these results for completeness, here are some additional results of some of the "Hitchhiker's Guide" suggested uses of a towel:

Works well to wipe up fluids, like blood.
Works well as a blindfold, but only if I do not cheat.
Probably does not work as a parachute, not recommended, not tested
Does not work as a superhero cape, for me
Works well as a slingshot, but only with practice
Works well as a shower mat, but this reduces usefulness in drying off after shower
Works well as a water filter for sand grains and insect parts
Works well in frightening raccoons away from my food, toward friend's food
Does not work well as ear plugs when 4 people are snoring in a shelter
Does not work well, tied in a bundle to a stick, in lieu of a backpack

My thanks to Britanne and to BGT for arranging my test of this towel. 

Reviews > Personal Hygiene > Towels > Britanne Aquis Adventure Towel > Rick Allnutt III > Long Term Report