It depends on the climate and my physical exertion (challenging hikes, etc). I have a couple of the Vuori Strato Tech t-shirts and they are amazing. Even in SEA they don’t need a wash for a couple of weeks of normal wear. Washing socks and underwear is easy every few days and dry overnight in a room with A/C. Having said that, many of my stays have a washing machine on site.
I love those places that have washing machines on site!
However, one time, my wife's relatives caught wind of those washing machines and brought all their own stuff to wash (like duvets!). The hotel gave us a warning. It was so embarrassing.
On a recent three week road trip I washed clothing nearly every night. Using the burrito towel wrap method to soak up excess water, my drip-dry teeshirts, nylon joggers, socks and modal jockey underpants dried overnight. I wore “clean” clothes every day, and never visited a laundromat. We stayed in motels and hotels, not air bnbs, so access to an on site washer/dryer was limited. Two places we stayed did have on site facilities but we didn’t use these. It’s easier and more time efficient to ask for extra bath towels and sink or shower wash. This recent trip taught me that I can bring even fewer clothing items on my next trip.
I’m normally a socks / underwear in the sink guy, the rest I do at a laundromat. I pack 3 shirts and 2 pairs of pants on nearly every trip, so I hit the laundromat roughly once a week (sink wash once in between laundromat visits).
It really depends on how often it’s needed, though. If I’m sweating through my clothes, it’ll be more frequent. If I’m not, I might stretch it out a bit.
So far I've used the Sea to Summit Ultralight, Lightweight and Matador's one. I had high hopes for Matador because it's RF welded, but the seam ended up blowing out after a few months (probably works better for keeping water out). The S2S Lightweight started leaking at the seams after a few months and is gradually worsening (though that's the one I still use). The Ultralight actually lasted for 15 months of travel, but the seam sealing dried out once I stopped using it frequently (I tried re-applying but it didn't work out).
I've considered the Scrubba since that's really the only one designed to keep water IN rather than out, but it's too heavy for my liking.
Thanks for the detailed response. i have a StS lightweight 13L one, but haven't really used it yet, lol. I'll keep that in mind about that time frame for them when I start using it a lot more.
Yeah, the scrubba is definitely heavier. I'll look into it some more. Thank you so much.
I've never really been out that long... But based on how quickly my clothes stink at home, and a few 2wk trips with one outfit that never stank thanks to nightly handwashing I'm pretty sure I could go indefinitely.
Washing machines were not invented to get clothes cleaner than what one can do by hand. They were invented as a time/labor saving device - so that instead of handwashing the family's clothes all day one could do other things.
I don’t know about the washing part. I know that the spin cycle ,that gets the water out before it ends , does a better job than my weak hands can manage
I never gave the question much thought before. Usually, I travel in cool to warm climates, but being in hot Costa Rica right now has really put the issue front and center in my mind (so, naturally, I go to Reddit 🙂).
This is how I’m thinking about it. I imagine a scale where 100 points is brand-new/perfectly clean, 0 is filthy, and 40 is the 'socially acceptable'.
Every day of wear here decreases the level by 30–50 points, depending on the activity. In other climates, that's probably only be a 15–25 point drop.
A normal laundry cycle gives a boost of about 90 points. For me, my manual sink-washing method/effort only adds about 50. At this rate, if I wear clothes twice before washing them, there’s a net decrease in cleanliness until my clothes become socially unacceptable to wear.
I guess I could wash more frequently or do a better job.
I pack the bare minimum of clothes, keeping in mind that I'll have to find a laundromat/washing machine at least once a week. Sometimes I can stretch that by sink washing undergarments/socks.
It depends on the climate and my physical exertion (challenging hikes, etc). I have a couple of the Vuori Strato Tech t-shirts and they are amazing. Even in SEA they don’t need a wash for a couple of weeks of normal wear. Washing socks and underwear is easy every few days and dry overnight in a room with A/C. Having said that, many of my stays have a washing machine on site.
I love those places that have washing machines on site!
However, one time, my wife's relatives caught wind of those washing machines and brought all their own stuff to wash (like duvets!). The hotel gave us a warning. It was so embarrassing.
On a recent three week road trip I washed clothing nearly every night. Using the burrito towel wrap method to soak up excess water, my drip-dry teeshirts, nylon joggers, socks and modal jockey underpants dried overnight. I wore “clean” clothes every day, and never visited a laundromat. We stayed in motels and hotels, not air bnbs, so access to an on site washer/dryer was limited. Two places we stayed did have on site facilities but we didn’t use these. It’s easier and more time efficient to ask for extra bath towels and sink or shower wash. This recent trip taught me that I can bring even fewer clothing items on my next trip.
A week or so.
I will usually do a machine wash every couple of weeks
I’m normally a socks / underwear in the sink guy, the rest I do at a laundromat. I pack 3 shirts and 2 pairs of pants on nearly every trip, so I hit the laundromat roughly once a week (sink wash once in between laundromat visits).
It really depends on how often it’s needed, though. If I’m sweating through my clothes, it’ll be more frequent. If I’m not, I might stretch it out a bit.
Unless I have the amenities, I'll actually hand wash every day (for tops, underwear, socks - pants are usually every other day or more)
Clothes are perfectly clean, as clean as if they were machine washed - here's my personal hand washing guide
I use a dry bag and have probably used a washing machine/laundromat 5 times in the last 3 years? They don't really come out noticeably cleaner.
I shake with soap for 30sec, soak for 5-10 min and shake again for 1+ min depending on how much I'm washing.
sounds like a good method.
It's worked well for me, I do it while I shower so it's become a habit. The only issue is that all of my drybags start to leak eventually.
Which drybag do you use for this? How long do they usually last you until they start leaking? Thank you.
So far I've used the Sea to Summit Ultralight, Lightweight and Matador's one. I had high hopes for Matador because it's RF welded, but the seam ended up blowing out after a few months (probably works better for keeping water out). The S2S Lightweight started leaking at the seams after a few months and is gradually worsening (though that's the one I still use). The Ultralight actually lasted for 15 months of travel, but the seam sealing dried out once I stopped using it frequently (I tried re-applying but it didn't work out).
I've considered the Scrubba since that's really the only one designed to keep water IN rather than out, but it's too heavy for my liking.
Thanks for the detailed response. i have a StS lightweight 13L one, but haven't really used it yet, lol. I'll keep that in mind about that time frame for them when I start using it a lot more.
Yeah, the scrubba is definitely heavier. I'll look into it some more. Thank you so much.
I've never really been out that long... But based on how quickly my clothes stink at home, and a few 2wk trips with one outfit that never stank thanks to nightly handwashing I'm pretty sure I could go indefinitely.
Washing machines were not invented to get clothes cleaner than what one can do by hand. They were invented as a time/labor saving device - so that instead of handwashing the family's clothes all day one could do other things.
I don’t know about the washing part. I know that the spin cycle ,that gets the water out before it ends , does a better job than my weak hands can manage
I hear you. That's a hard part.
I tried to replicate a spin cycle using a mesh bag and a rope and swinging it over my head. It didn’t work.
I never gave the question much thought before. Usually, I travel in cool to warm climates, but being in hot Costa Rica right now has really put the issue front and center in my mind (so, naturally, I go to Reddit 🙂).
This is how I’m thinking about it. I imagine a scale where 100 points is brand-new/perfectly clean, 0 is filthy, and 40 is the 'socially acceptable'.
Every day of wear here decreases the level by 30–50 points, depending on the activity. In other climates, that's probably only be a 15–25 point drop.
A normal laundry cycle gives a boost of about 90 points. For me, my manual sink-washing method/effort only adds about 50. At this rate, if I wear clothes twice before washing them, there’s a net decrease in cleanliness until my clothes become socially unacceptable to wear.
I guess I could wash more frequently or do a better job.
I don’t go out of my way to visit laundromats, but use a machine whenever one is available where I am staying.
I pack the bare minimum of clothes, keeping in mind that I'll have to find a laundromat/washing machine at least once a week. Sometimes I can stretch that by sink washing undergarments/socks.