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REI Mini MultiTowel

$7.00

(5)

Item # 836298

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The REI Mini MultiTowel brings high absorbency and quick drying to your lightweight backpacking trips.

Ultralight microfiber woven polyester/nylon fabric absorbs 3 times its weight in water and wrings out almost completely dry
At 15.5 x 15.5 in., the towel is sized perfectly for use as a face-, hand- or dishtowel
The REI Mini MultiTowel comes in a small carry pouch with a small plastic carabiner so you can clip the towel to a backpack
Towel weighs only 0.8 oz. with the carry pouch, and 0.6 oz. without

Imported.

Item 836298

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REI Mini MultiTowel Customer Reviews

REVIEW SNAPSHOT®

by PowerReviews

REI Mini MultiTowel

3.2

(based on 5 reviews)

67%

of respondents would recommend this to a friend.

Pros

Absorbent (3)
Dries quickly (3)

Cons

Too thin (3)

Best Uses

Hand/face (4)

- Was this a gift?:
- No (4)

Reviewed by 5 customers

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Displaying reviews 1-5

Apr

2013

4.0

Misunderstood & under rated

By Brimstone

from Tampa, FL

About Me High-end Shopper

See all my reviews

Pros

Absorbent
Dries Quickly
Soft

Cons

Deteriorates Quickly

Best Uses

Hand/Face

Comments about REI Mini MultiTowel:

Back in The Day, there were certain things that a Man had with him where ever he went. A pocket knife. A watch. A pocket comb. Keys. A pocket lighter. A hat. And...a "handkercheif". I remember, when I was a boy, seeing my grandfather unload his pockets. It was fascinating and when I began to acquire these accoutremant of manhhood and carry them about myself it made me feel Grown Up.
I remember my grandfather had a small drawer in his bureau where, neatly folded and rolled and standing next to each other like little soldiers in formation, were a half dozen pristine white Hav-A-Hank cotton handkercheifs. Each day he would take a clean one, fold it neatly, and put it into his left rear trouser pocket.

Somewhere over the years I guess I became too cool to carry a handkercheif. Or wear a hat. Well, when I moved backed to Florida the widsom of my grandfather returned to me and I began to collect hats (not caps). I also began to search for a good, modern version of the old Hav-A-Hank. And there it was, in REI. I picked up the red version of the "Mini Multitowel" and it serves extremely well to wipe the tropical sweat from my face, clean eyeglasses, clean the occaisional spill, offer to a teary-eyed damsel in distress. It soaks up like a sponge and dries in a flash making it handy for cleaning the face of a small child or the paws of a wet dog. In the red color it is handy for flagging down the wife in a parking lot or draping over a seatback to quickly relocate it at the end of an intermezzo. It is extremely light and low bulk; never know it's there until I need it. And it will be there, the next time blood comes gushing from a wound which demands immediate attention. Yes, as no doubt my grandfather knew, a man with a handkerchief has a high hero potential. And in certain situations a man without a handkercheif is likely flumaxed. The "Mini Multitowel" is better than any I have ever carried.
But it is not faultless. It appears to be made by the "N-Rit" company in Korea, N-Rit being a Korenglish squishism for "Natural Spirit". This company apparently makes the majority of travel towels on the market, rebranded. I own a good ten or so of different types and the nylon/poly blend material of this one is quite unique. Very reminicent of the light silk fabric bandanas I own, or even the wife's prized Hermes scarfs. Almost that light.
I own a couple of N-Rit branded ones, both larger, from this same material and love them all. The Mini is for me definietly an about town item. Calling it a "towel" at 15" square is more than a bit of an aggrandizement. It's too small to wear as a bandana: I use the N-Rits for that. They are around my neck on every bike ride and whenever I venture afeild or afloat. At 23" x 25"they are still not the ideal size; that would be about 30" square. Though the Mini might be perfectly sized for a child's neck. The Mini is certainly not large enough to use as a travel towel. The only bath you might dry off from with it is a "Marine" bath. The larger of my N-Rits, well you might get by with as a towel if you're not too particular about being quite dry.
Unlike the N-Rits, which have a sort of doily scalloped edges, the Mini has sraight edges, not overstiched or sealed. And so alas, after a coupe of years in my back pocket they are fraying. There are also threads pulling loose from the center. My only complaint really.
The fabric of all of them is more odor resistant than most travel towels. This may well be because of the thinness which does nto allow as much bacteria to take hold. They will begin to smell eventually, however, until they are properly (hand) washed. Easily done. I am considering giving the Mini a treatment with "Mirazyme" deoderant, or perhaps a silver-solution disinfectant, to see if it improves odor resistance. I am also considering a Permethrin treatment for the N-Rits. Wouldn't do that with the Mini as it is too likely to come into contact with food or drink.

All in all I am very pleased and will be buying another 2 or 3. I'd say, if you're a guy and you don't have a handkercheif in your back pocket you need to fill it with one of these. That's why men's pants have two pockets, you know. And if you are an independant minded lady, you would do well to give up a tiny bit of precious purse space to one of these, too.

Happy travels, all.

Comment on this review

Aug

2012

(1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

Works great for yoga

By Earthygirl

from Austin, TX

About Me Midrange Shopper

See all my reviews

Pros

Absorbent
Dries Quickly
Portable

Cons

Rough
Too Thin

Best Uses

Gym
Hand/Face

Comments about REI Mini MultiTowel:

I recently saw this at my local store and loved the compact size bag with clip the towel comes in. I knew this would be perfect for clipping onto my yoga mat strap.

Because the towel is extremely thin material it is limited to what it is actually useful for. I take mine with me to yoga class and it is perfect for wiping my face, chest, and keeping me relatively dry while drying very quickly. Keep in mind though, I am not doing Bikram yoga (hot yoga) so this does do the job.

Unfortunatey I hastily purchased this thinking it was the same soft material as the Multitowel Lite- but it isn't. Nylon is substituted for the microfiber here. It is more rough in comparison but, hey, we are not talking about scratching the skin rough. Also, on the plus side, I believe that it's the nylon that makes it dry so fast.

So basically this product does have some drawbacks, but I absolutely do not regret the purchase at all. For the price and how handy it is, I love it!

Comment on this review

Apr

2012

1.0

Dud!

By fransus

from Bend, OR

About Me Midrange Shopper

See all my reviews

Pros

Cons

Color Fades/Bleeds
Does not dry quickly
Non-Absorbent
Poor quality
Too Thin

Best Uses

Comments about REI Mini MultiTowel:

On a recent hut to hut ski trip across the Hardangervidda in Norway packing light was essential. But this thin, non-absorbent, piece of polyester was so non-functional I used my clothes or paper towel to dry off after a shower. And, while the huts all had excellent drying rooms, compared to my other equipment, this towel didn't even dry quickly! A fellow skier brought a chamois like towel that, at about the same weight took only slightly more volume, dried quickly, and was very absorbent. That's what I'll do next time!

Comment on this review

Apr

2012

(6 of 7 customers found this review helpful)

3.0

Thinner than expected....

By K J

from Orono, ME

About Me Budget Shopper

See all my reviews

Pros

Soft

Cons

Too Thin

Best Uses

Hand/Face

Comments about REI Mini MultiTowel:

From looking at the picture, I thought the towel would have a little substance to it, almost more like the feel of a chamois. When I got it today in the mail and took it out I noticed it's EXTREMELY thin. As in I can see right through it if I hold it up to the light. It feels cheap. I was expecting something a little more substantial considering it's only 2 dollars off the other style towel (which is thicker, more like an MSR packtowl).

One of the good things about it though is that it is VERY small and compact. For someone doing extreme minimalist camping this towel might be a great buy. The little pouch is about the size of a zippo lighter and I like that it comes with a little pear carabiner.

Overall, probably OK for a face towel, but much thinner than expected, which means it holds less water but probably dries faster than the thicker camp towels.

Comment on this review

Apr

2012

(4 of 4 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

Handy towel

By txtraveler

from Ottawa, Ontario

See all my reviews

Pros

Absorbent
Dries Quickly

Cons

Best Uses

Car
Hand/Face
Purse

Comments about REI Mini MultiTowel:

I added this to my order on a whim, in order to qualify for free shipping, and it turned out to be a great addition.

The towel folds down to almost nothing and has a nice little pouch to keep it in. It's a handy size to be a wash cloth while traveling or to just keep in your purse/car/desk/wherever for occasional spills or what have you.

I have several of what I think is now the MultiTowel Lite type of towels that I have used as bath towels, and this one is not quite as absorbent, but it does pretty well for such a small size. I used it to wash my face and to mop up a couple of small spills while traveling and it performed like a champ. It dried quickly every time I used it.

I suspect that I will add more to my orders in the future or pick up a couple more when I am in an REI store. They're handy to have and to stash around for times when you need a little towel for whatever reason and I'd like to get a couple more to stash in my car, desk, purse, etc.