Trifter

When it comes to the 80/20 rule (20% of your clothes you wear 80% of the time) cotton is no exception. 80% of the clothes you regularly wear have cotton, versus the 20% that are of other fabrics. Cotton is a nightmare to travelers for the following reasons.

Cotton takes forever to dry. When you’re traveling, having clothing constantly wet is bad enough. Having to cram those wet clothes inside your bag or even worse, wear them, is a nightmare. Cotton is a material that you must leave to air dry for 12-24 hours AT LEAST! This is unacceptable when you may have few pair of clothes and rely on washing your clothes in a sink and  them being dry when you get back. A by product of wet clothes is mildew and mold. Throw some wet socks at the bottom of your bag and forget about them for a month and see what happens.

Cotton smells. No, not when it just been cleaned, but soon after one wear. Cotton is a material that once you wear it for more than 12 hours it begins smelling. Cotton absorbs and holds water, moisture and odors much easier than synthetics, nylon or fleece. Cotton is a material you can’t wear 5 days in a row. Cotton will begin smelling after you break a sweat and until you wash it you’re stuck… smelling. When traveling, access to a wash is a luxury, especially if you have to pay for it.

Cotton is much bulkier than nylon and synthetic materials. Cotton cannot be smashed down into a super small ball and come out wrinkle free like nylon. Cotton is of a higher stitch count and weight than a fabric like polyester. Polyester is a great fabric for shirts seeing as they are lightweight, have “ventilation” and will dry much quicker. Polyester can also be balled up and thrown in a bag.

Cotton wrinkles easily. Cotton isn’t a fabric you take out of the wash and go like polyester. Cotton requires care. Air drying cotton can leave you sore after you realize everything is wrinkled and there’s no iron in sight! When you’re traveling for extended amounts of time you need to focus on clothes that don’t wrinkle easily. Remember you may be washing them in a sink or they may get soaked in rain.

Cotton isn’t a strong fabric. It rips, tears, frays and shrinks. Granted this can happen when you’re not traveling, but it’s one more thing to deal with when traveling. Polyester and nylon can rip too, but they’re much more resistant to the elements than cotton.

So what should I do? Wear clothes that don’t need to be washed as often. Wear clothes you can wash in a sink and will dry in minutes not hours. Polyester is great, it feels like cotton, is breathable and easy to find tee shirts made of polyester. Nylon is great for pants instead of jeans, as they dry in no time, won’t wrinkle and aren’t bulky.

Remember traveling light isn’t just about weight, its about space saved, convenience and freeing yourself from frustration.