Quick Dry Fabrics

[jrose1982]

I went on my first cruise last month. It was 7-days in the Western Caribbean.

I made a few mistakes, but I think there's one thing I did very, very right. I thought I should share here for anybody that finds it helpful.

 

I went to REI and bought clothes made out of quick drying, moisture wicking fabric.

I bought 2 shirts: 1 long sleeve, 1 short sleeve, both button-front so I can layer them with a swim suit to get a different look.

I also bought 2 pairs of convertible pants: 1 that converts between pants and shorts, 1 that converts between pants, capris, and shorts.

I added to those 4 items: 1 sundress, 1 cocktail dress, 2 swim suits, and the normal underwear that I wear at home.

 

The idea was that with the quick drying fabric, I can wash my clothes in the sink in my room and they would dry over night. This worked great for my new clothes, not so great with my old clothes. Even my underwear took too long dry.

 

(Note: I was prepared for the dresses to take a while to dry. And since I only wore those for a couple hours in the evening, I just sprayed them with Febreeze and hung them up. I did not expect my underwear to take so long, but I brought more than I thought I would need, so that was ok.)

 

Another benefit to the quick drying clothes: I'm from a cold climate and I tend to sweat if there's any humidity. These clothes kept me dry, cool, and comfortable even in the humidity of Miami. I loved them so much that I ordered some quick-drying underwear as soon as I got home (as the sweat around my crotch was really annoying).

 

And one more benefit I should mention: These clothes were designed for travel. They all have zippered pockets in the front so it's difficult for somebody to get into your pockets without you catching them.

 

If you're trying to pack light, I highly recommend getting some quick drying clothes.

If you think this idea will suit you, just search for "quick drying" or "moisture wicking" at REI or other sporting goods store websites. I found several companies that sell them, but I'm a big girl and only REI had the items I wanted in my size.

 

This was the best expense of my whole trip, one that I have no regret at all (not even wishing for a lower price).

[Shak]

Almost all of my daywear is made of the quick drying materials but I do take a mixture of items that need dry cleaning or pressing. I try to wear those items earlier in the cruise and have the ship clean them so when I go home I have very little to clean.

 

As far as underwear there are many choices that are made of similar materials. I use Exoffico and like that brand very much for underwear and other travel clothing as well. I have recently added quick drying socks to travel clothing.

 

Shak

[RedHeadTexan]

Great advice and I also pack quick drying clothes. For underwear, I have Bali's microfiber line and that tends to dry overnight. After washing my underwear and wringing them out, I then lay them all on a bath towel and roll the towel. When the towel is completely rolled, I kneel on it. This gets most of the extra moistness out of them and they dry faster. Any of the microfiber undies will dry quicker than cotton or polyester, and the added benefit is they wick moisture away from your skin.

 

Lisa

[Hoyaheel]

I have tons of quick drying clothing. I'm especially happy when I can find pieces that do NOT look like athletic or "travel" wear:D Uniqlo has a great line called Heat Tech - t-shirts, tights, underwear. My husband and I love it! I bought a couple of their summer line to try this year too - Airism.

[slidergirl]

I'm an ExOfficio girl. Love the shirts I have from them (some do NOT look like safari/travel clothes but still dry quickly) and I do use their underwear.

For warm weather travel, I also look at some of the thin, "burnout" material shirts from The North Face, Athleta, Prana, Royal Robbins, Sundance Catalog. Very cute, very lightweight, take up verrry little space and weight. They wash well and do dry overnight. I had 3 short sleeve and 1 long sleeve shirts like this that were the mainstay of my Italy trip wardrobe last Spring and to Hawaii last Fall. I'd wash out what I wore in the evening as part of my "getting ready to go out for the evening" ritual. The next morning, all would be dry. They will be the "go to" items for my Puerto Rico/So. Carib trip/cruise this Fall, too...