Updated December 18, 2023
Have you ever been in a situation when you’ve craved a washcloth? If so, travel with tablet towels, a multipurpose essential for every travel bag. Mopping up spills, removing a combination of trail dust and perspiration, wiping away mango juice after a messy but satisfying treat — these and a host of other scenarios require a handy solution for people on the move. Tablet towels are a perfect fit, especially for the packing light traveller.
What are tablet towels?
Roughly the size of a couple of Life Saver candies, and almost as light as air, these little babies explode into soft, durable washcloths when introduced to a little water. Carry them dry, or pack a moistened towel in a reusable zip-top bag for easier access when circumstances warrant.
They don’t require much water to transform into a cloth. If you’re away from a water source, pop a tablet towel into your cupped hand and add a teaspoon or two of water from your refillable water bottle. Presto! It’s ready for action.
They’re so durable, one towel could be used many times over. Use, rinse, allow to dry, use again. Depending on use, a single tablet towel could be used up to twenty times.
Travel with tablet towels
This versatile travel item has many possible uses.
- If you regularly use a washcloth, don’t be surprised to discover that they’re not a standard item in accommodation in many countries. Travel with your own, or a small collection of tablet towels.
- Keep a few in your first-aid kit for cleaning abrasions and minor wounds.
- Use one as a dishtowel when camping, or when one isn’t supplied at your accommodation.
- When hiking, cycling, or planning active days, keep one handy for wiping away perspiration, city grime, or trail and road dust.
- For long flights, bus trips, or train rides, use one to freshen up. Between connections when a sponge bath is the closest you’ll come to a shower, carry a pack of soap leaves or your favourite facial wash for combining with a tablet towel.
For more information, see No soap? No problem travelling with soap leaves.
- In a dry environment, cover your nose and mouth and breathe through a moistened towel. On a long flight, work this into your in-flight regimen several times to keep nasal passages moist.
- Does something need to be strained? Eliminate coffee grounds from your cup of campfire coffee or the herbs from herbal tea, with a tablet towel used as a strainer.
- For those who’ve never seen or heard of tablet towels, demonstrating how they work is worth it for the entertainment value. As such, they make great gifts for the uninitiated.
- Need to stay alert and not nod off? Reach for a moistened tablet towel.
- Do you wear nail polish? Unlike cotton balls that tend to disintegrate when removing nail polish, a tablet towel dabbed with a small amount of nail polish remover stays intact.
- Travelling with children? Need I say more? They’re soft and safe for delicate and sensitive skin.
- Find yourself without toilet paper? I carry a pack of four-ply bamboo pocket tissues for this purpose but tablet towels could be used as a substitute, or in an emergency.
Lots of choices on the market
There are plenty of compressed tablet towels on the market. Until recently when I discovered that bamboo tablet towels were available, I’d used TowTabs, Wysi Wipes, and my local dollar store brand, Magic Towels.
Compressed, they all seemed to be much the same size and weight. Each one expanded to 8 in / 20 cm wide, and between 10 in / 25 cm and 12 in / 30 cm long, with Wysi Wipes being the largest. They all performed well, with no discernible difference that I could tell.
Some products come with their own containers or you could find your own. Choose something waterproof and resealable, especially if travelling in humid environments. Small zip-top craft bags take up very little space but if you need a more robust container, an empty prescription bottle, waterproof match container, or something similar works well.
This way, a person could place the desired quantities in a purse, first-aid kit, comfort pack, toiletries kit, bug out bag, tackle box, diaper bag, or glove compartment — for wherever and whenever one will be needed.
My favourite: P4X bamboo tablet towels
Now that several brands of tablet towels are available in bamboo, Prepared4X (P4X) is my choice. Bamboo is a more sustainable option when compared to its wood-pulp counterparts. Made from 100% bamboo fibre and free of dyes, fragrances, and chemicals, they’re compostable and break down faster than wood fibre. P4X tablets aren’t individually wrapped and each box of 100 tablet towels comes with two waterproof aluminum cylinders that can each accommodate ten tablet towels.
Empty, each cylinder weighs 37 g / 1.3 oz. I could fit 11 compressed towels for a total weight of 62 g / 2.2 oz. The storage case has a handy keyring hoop for attaching to keys or bags.
Measuring 24 x 18 cm / 9 x 7 in, the P4X towels are slightly smaller than the wood-fibre tablet towels I’d previously used but the solid weave makes them more durable.
Might you be interested in these related posts?
- No soap? No problem travelling with soap leaves
- Create a travel comfort pack for easy access to self-care essentials
- Save money for where it counts: Cruise dollar store aisles for travel products
- How to assemble a perfect travel first-aid kit
If you found this post helpful, please share it by choosing one or more social media buttons. Do you travel with tablet towels? What was your experience? Please join the conversation by adding your thoughts and suggestions in the comments. Thank you.
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I would like to know more about the environmental impact of tablet towels. We have had so much in the news lately about wet wipes. Are these made of the same material?
Thanks for dropping by San, and raising the question of environmental impact. From what I’ve read, most towel tablets are extracted from wood pulp and unlike wet wipes, contain no plastic fibres. One company advertises that they’re biodegradable in as little as four to six weeks. They’re stronger than a paper towel, and unlike their paper cousins can be used several times – even for tough jobs such as washing dishes. Another way they differ from wet wipes is that they don’t come pre-moistened with harmful chemicals and dyes, or anti-bacterial agents that interfere with decomposition. If you come across information to the contrary, or suggestions on better alternatives as it relates to environmental impact, I’d love to hear from you. Thanks again.
Anne Betts recently posted…Packing list for Madagascar
These are so cool. I’ve never seen them before, but I’ll have to keep an eye out for them now that I know they exist. They seem like a nice alternative to wet wipes, too. You really do need to have something like this with you when you’re out exploring the world, but I always worry about leaving behind waste. When it comes to serving as a washcloth, how many uses do you get out of them, typically?
I love these! I have used them as a backup gauze bandage under tape when I ran out. So I minimally wet it with 1tsp of water, just enough to be able to unfold it. Let it dry a little (its pretty quick in dry climates) placed it over my wound & covered it with duct tape that I had wrapped around an old credit card for emergencies. Voila instant bandage!
WOW. I must update this post to include your suggestion. I love it! Thank you for dropping by and sharing it. Much appreciated.