I was intrigued. They were tiny. And when they arrived, they were indeed about the size of a Life Saver. In my backpack I usually carried a pack of baby wipes, but even the smallest packages can take up a bit of space. Especially when I didn't use them all that often. And then they start to looking kinda cruddy after a while, and you're embarrassed to be seen carrying or using them.
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| I got mine from Survival General, but I couldn't copy their image here. But this is pretty much what mine (and all the others sold online) look like. |
A month or so later on Amazon, I happened upon something very similar, marketed and sold by Hi-Qual as compressed toilet paper. Of course, I had to have some. After all, it might be better than using a compressed washcloth.
Nope. Exactly the same materials (which I could have read online before purchase). Same size. However, and this could be critical, it took only two to three seconds to re-hydrate. Same minute or less to unfold.

There are a lot of companies on Amazon selling these washcloths/toilet paper/camping towels, whatever you want to call them, ranging from about eight dollars per hundred up to ridiculous prices. I prefer getting the ones that are individually packaged so that I can put just one or two in a backpack and they'll remain clean until needed.
The next item is an actual real washcloth like you use in your bathroom every day. These are 12"x12" 100% cotton washcloths that can be machine washed and dried and used again and again. And they also come in a larger compressed brick that is a 12"x27" hand towel if that suits your needs better.
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| Jonny & Lora compressed towels. Somehow I think that towel laid out above is not the washcloth advertised. |
Of course, these are real towels, so they cost more, about a dollar each. I'm not sure that they are that much more desirable to have in an emergency than the smaller, cheaper washcloths at the expense of space for other necessary items. But I throw them in the bags for now.
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12 january 2023

