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review
Muc-Off Ice Fresh Sports Towel£10.00
VERDICT:
Not quite ice cold, but certainly cooling: an inexpensive and useful addition to the gym bag or turbo session
Weight:
85g
Contact:
At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.
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The Muc-Off Ice Fresh Sports Towel is a small towel that once wet and 'snapped', will provide a cooling effect to chill you down during warm whether or exercise bouts. Part of Muc-Off's expansion into body care it's a novel idea which definitely does something despite the unusual way you're supposed to use it.
First things first, I was sceptical about this, it just sounded slightly odd to me. In use however there certainly seems to be an effect, and it was certainly cooler to the touch than a standard wet towel used for comparison.
Directions are simple (and taken directly from the mud-off website):
Step 1 - Wet towel with water.
Step 2 - Squeeze out excess moisture.
Step 3 - Hold the towel at both ends and pull apart, snapping the towel at both ends to activate 'Ice Fresh' Technology.
Step 4 - To reactivate a moist towel, simply snap again. To reactivate a dry towel, repeat steps 1 to 3.
There's really nothing else to it. Whilst I wouldn't say it was 'ice-fresh' it was noticeably cooler than a similar weight sports towel also doused in water.
Handily enough it features an SPF45 rating so can be used as a chilling barrier for the neck when out and about (it's also handy as a cravat when descending Alpine roads), but I found the most use for it after turbo sessions to cool me back down again, when it was really rather pleasant.
If the towel isn't 'snapped' it won't activate so can also be used as a normal towel - which is handy!
At £10 it's not exactly a bank-breaker, and while it won't chill you like an ice-bath, it's certainly not unpleasant. With Christmas coming up (yeah, i said it!), it would make for a nice present.
Verdict
Not quite ice cold, but certainly cooling: an inexpensive and useful addition to the gym bag or turbo session
road.cc test report
Make and model: Muc-Off Ice Fresh Sports Towel
Size tested: Black
Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?
Anyone who exercises and feels the heat may well benefit from this towel's cooling effect. Ideally suited to the neck it can be used anywhere to cool the body, and whilst it's not going to give you child, it it certainly noticeable and welcome.
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
Muc-off don't say on their site what's going on inside the 'revolutionary, high-performance materials' however they do state it's "Free from dangerous chemicals" , so I guess I'm not the only person wondering what's happening on my skin. Happy to take their word for it.
Rate the product for quality of construction:
7/10
Its a towel, with a little label.
Rate the product for performance:
7/10
There's certainly something happening, not 'ice-fresh', more 'autumnal morning' in temperature.
Rate the product for value:
8/10
It works sufficiently well to be stay in the kit bag, and it's not expensive, so the value seems decent.
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
Not as good as the hype, but good enough.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
The longer-lasting cooling than just a damp towel on the neck.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
Nothing.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes.
Would you consider buying the product? Yes.
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes; probably buy them one for Christmas or a birthday.
Anything further to say about the product in conclusion?
An inexpensive addition to the kit-bag, that performs a simple task well enough to justify its purchase.
About the tester
Age: 37 Height: 176cm Weight:
I usually ride: Rapide RC4, Raleigh SP Race, Hoffman BMX My best bike is: Rapide RC4
I've been riding for: 5-10 years I ride: Every day I would class myself as: Experienced
I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, touring, sportives, general fitness riding, Adventure-packing, crossing-countries
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5 comments
Hoopy.
Don't forget it can also be wrapped round your head to evade the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal.
More towel reviews please.
It was prefect when I cycled the TransConti this year, would just soak it in cold water and then used it as a neck wrap, was also handy at the end of the day to wipe yourself down and it was nice and light for packing, worth a tenner I think!!
Same experience here. Noticed no real chill effect on the towel. Decent enough as a sports towel but no different to any other I've used really.
I find that most towels, once wet, have a cooling effect when applied to the skin, especially if you use cold water.
Nice packaging though.
I had one and couldn't really tell the difference, not sure i got a dud or not.
Shame there is no way of telling if it has "snapped" and activated.