![\"Handy](\"https:\/\/explore.globalcreations.com\/theblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/shammylabel550.jpg\")
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When backpacking it’s really nice to have a towel along to dry off after that refreshing dip in a chilly stream. Anything bigger than a hand towel is too big and heavy to be carrying in a backpack.<\/p>\n
![\"Handy](\"https:\/\/explore.globalcreations.com\/theblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/shammyfull225.jpg\")
Always on the search for something effective, light and inexpensive, I gave the Handy Shammy a try. It’s 20 inches (50.8 cm) long and 13.5 inches (34.29 cm) wide and weighs round 3\/4 ounce (21 grams), dry. It looks like a piece of felt fabric and I suspect it is manufactured the same way. \u00a0The composition\u00a0of the fabric is unspecified.<\/p>\n
According to the back of the label, it is:<\/p>\n
Well, I wondered, would it be perfect for backpacking?<\/p>\n
It claims to hold more than five times it’s weight in liquid. That would be something like 3.75 ounces (106 grams). I had no idea how that compares to the water that needs to be dried off of a wet body. My only solution to this ignorance was an experiment. Instead of drying off with a towel after my shower, I dried off with the handy chammy.<\/p>\n
I discovered that\u00a0the towel worked as well as my large bath towel. \u00a0It weighed 3.3 ounces (94 grams), wet, so apparently my wet body carries around 2.5 ounces (71 grams) of water and the shammy was holding about 3.4 times its weight in water. \u00a0The shammy was not waterlogged, so it looks like the “five times it’s weight” claim is in the ballpark.<\/p>\n
I found that trying to squeeze water out of the shammy was futile – it didn’t have enough water in it for me to be able to squeeze any out. \u00a0I tried shaking it with a quick snap and that dislodged a bit of water. \u00a0 Next, I put the wet shammy outside in the morning sunlight with the temperature at 32\u00b0F (0\u00b0C) and rising, started my stopwatch\u00a0and forgot about it. \u00a0Well, it was dry after 4 hours, but\u00a0took\u00a0less time than that. \u00a0It should dry considerably faster in higher temperatures and midday sunshine.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=themushroomgrowe&l=as2&o=1&a=B00KZNHK96\")
and other stores, so if you want to minimize your\u00a0use of fuel and time spent shopping you can order it there. When I last checked, a five pack at Amazon was $11.48 or $2.30 each.<\/p>\n