disposable underwear?

btw we'll be gone for 17 days and i plan on bringing about 5-6 days worth of clothes

I know someone who tried papers ones and they turned out to be alot more disposable that she had planned - and she had to buy real undies on the road.

I don;t get this need to pack everything in a large handbag for a european vacation - but even if you want to skimp on everything else I would definitely take enough underwear for the trip. (Oh and having hotels wash it is NOT the answer. I did that on one business trip that was extended unexpectedly - and found out washing them cost as much as it had to buy them (basic panties - not the fou fou kind - I think it was $9 each to wash and iron.)

You know..you can wash laundry while there...like in bathroom sink. Be creative.

yes, i looked into that option as well Michel_Paris. just looking for an alternative to carrying potentially smelly laundry in my luggage

"...you can wash laundry while there...like in bathroom sink." Michel_Paris

I replaced all my synthetic travel underwear with silk, wash in the sink and never fail to dry overnight. Natural fiber, better than cotton (or disposables), feel great, clothes behave wonderfully over them. This is where I get mine:
http://www.kimallansilk.com/products.php#catid1

I've used them. I teach packing classes and used to keep a package as a prop --always brought a laugh. "Here's an option, disposable undies . . . I didn't say edible."

There are more than one brand and one (I can't now remember the names of either) is better than the other. The paper ones actually were best. They don't feel like paper at all -more like really REALLY cheap/thin cotton.

I wouldn't use them exclusively, but to stick a package (they come 5 in a small packet) in your carry on to use for the odd time when you don't have time to do laundry or if the washing didn't dry.

They are actually more sturdy than you might think. Can even be rinsed out and reused one time.

I don't wear underwear on vacation. It's so much easier that way.

I set aside all of my undies that have worn thin and ready to be pitched, and I take them on my European adventures. I wash them out along the way until the time I start pitching them day by day. By the time we return, the undies are no longer!

LOL,ashcan, we had several threads on those who wore
ugly worn out undies that they tossed after every wearing.
Haven't you ever heard if you get hit by a bus, your underwear will be an embarressment when you die

Oh no, don't you see ~ every clothing item is worn for the last time at some time.
Just plan ahead to make that last time on vacation.

No one said anything about "ugly."
Place the item in your travel drawer the minute you notice it's eligible for replacement.

or the other extreme -

http://www.fodors.com/community/travel-tips-trip-ideas/travel-underwear-space-spin-off.cfm

Oh, I totally get the deal about getting hit by a bus and having my underwear being an embarrassment, but I have lots of underwear I'm about ready to get rid of, so I take it traveling with me and toss it. None of it would be really embarrassing, just old and slightly tattered, just slightly. Washed in the washer a thousand times and just kind of tired.

I think your objective is not having to pack dirty undies in you luggage? Then there are more ways to do this than using disposable underwear as noted by MmePerdu. There are quick dry line of clothes at outdoor stores like REI for hikers who have even more luggage space constraints. On casual clothes only trips, I carry mostly these type of clothes and since everything dries by morning, I carry hardly any dirty laundry in my luggage during the trip.

If dirty underwear in your suitcase bothers you, just toss in a mesh bag or zip lock, or launder it in the sink.

If you're seriously considering disposable...try it out at home and see how that works out for you.

Tailsock
I dont know where you are going or how long you will be gone but it seems to me the answer to the undie issue is a laundry kit. I recently returned from a 6 month solo trip around the world with only an 18 pound back pack. I bought new socks and undies before I left, made primarily of polyester - not because I like them but they dry easily overnight. For 6 months I took 5 pairs of underwear and 6 pairs of sweat socks and a couple dress socks.
I made a small laundry kit for washing clothes in a hotel bathroom sink - almost every night. The kit was about 4X4X1 and contained detergent sheets, a clothes line and clothes pins. Very light and very handy. Will give you the details if you are interested.
shrink

Colduphere, did you choose your username just for this post. Very amusing!

I have used them for years.
I buy mine in Boots and they are made of the sort of cotton they use for disposable kitchen cloths.
You can certainly wash and re-use at least once. I've never tried more than once.

I have to admit that I do following

During the year I often decide to throw out underwear. Rather than put it in the bin I wash it and keep it in a plastic bag. I then take it on holiday and, after use, I throw it away.

Result no holiday washing and no dirty washing brought home

Dreamon - and the question about underwear is coming from someone named tailsock.

Once on a business trip which started in Galway and ended in Nice my luggage was lost during a 5-hour layover in Heathrow. Air France's emergency pack included a cotton tee-shirt and paper underwear, which might have fit a Barbie doll!

We're leaving soon for four weeks, packing for a week and taking old socks, nightgown and undies to jettison along the way, to be replaced by UK or US "stuff" which fits this old bod better than the sweet little French nothings available here, apart from the undies in the markets, some of which look like they were made for Queen Victoria.

Nope--I have never used disposible underwear. We have done the "pack old stuff and toss", but since our goal is never to check luggage, we have to consider all weight and volume on the outbound trip.

Therefore, we take a collection of quick dry undies and use our laundry kit: stretchy twist clothesline, blow-up hangers. No clothespins needed.

Husband bought his stuff years ago from Travel Smith and only uses them on trips. My regular undies dry quickly, and I found bras that I use just for trips.

Sort of along the lines of the "toss" thing, though: I often take CLEAN "mate-less" white athletic socks to use as washclothes for European hotels that do not provide washclothes. You know which socks I mean--those ones that languish in the laundry basket waiting for the mate to show up.

Once I'm convinced their mates will never be found, I wash them again and store with my travel stuff. If you use the terry cloth side out, they are PERFECT as washcloths. No problem tossing those things!

It appears to me we have 2 schools of thought here which can be divided roughly into "short trip", maybe under a month, and "long trip". I never go for less than 6 weeks and up to 6 months as our backpacking friend above. I've read the suggestion on forums before but I cannot imagine hauling over-the-hill underwear or anything and throwing them away as I go. I like to wear nice things on a trip, even underwear, no offense intended. Nor can I imagine using the throw-aways. Well fitting underwear seems important to one's basic well-being. But if it's a short trip and they fit you well I can see how the disposables might be fine. But in general, I think the short trippers could take a page from the long trippers, travel lighter altogether and do a bit of sink washing every so often. And on a trip as short as a week or 2 it would only be the underwear so, I wonder, what's the big deal?

And why wouldn't one take a washcloth rather than a sock?

Short answer: nope. If I can't fit a few pair of undies in my case, I'm already waaay overpacked.

Long answer: I did try the "take the old underwear and just throw away" trick, only, they actually took up such little room I didn't have to throw them away AND I ended up needing something soft to wrap around fragile souvenirs I'd bought. (drum roll) Ta-Da! Instance recycling.

MmePerdu:

Good question.

I never have a clue if we'll be in a hotel with washcloths or not, especially on cycling trips. If I stay in 5 hotels for the trip, I might have to pack/toss five washcloths. More specifically, if we take a shower or merely wash faces in the morning and then check out, the washcloths can be full of mildew rather fast, especially if we don't get to our next hotel before nightfall. There are usually four of us traveling; 4 x 5: 20 washcloths. Lot of waste.

My solution is to take baby washcloths (less packing room) AND/OR take the super clean mate-less short athletic socks(which work really well as bath mitts). I feel less guilty tossing something I was going to have to toss anyway.

I failed to add that my husband does the same thing not only with his whitie-tighties but also with his undershirts. The thinner the better for intial packing and drying after a quick wash in the sink. Undershirts can take up a great deal of precious carry-on luggage space, so thin is in. Also, as you dispose of said-undies, much appreciated room is created in the suitcase for bringing home newly bought treasures!

The corner of your hotel towel makes a very satisfactory washcloth. No carrying socks OR piles of mildewed whatevers.

Haven't you ever heard if you get hit by a bus, your underwear will be an embarressment when you die

A Frenchman told me about 20 years ago that emergency room statistics showed that the French were a very dirty people.

MmePerdu--The corner of the towel does NOT work well within a shower stall

We could keep this going for a bit more, I suppose.

Or not.

I say go COmmando!

Have you seen Hanky panky's? They roll up to itty bitty rolls and take up no room at all.

Unless they are large granny panties how can they take up much room? Really?

I went out running early one morning, wearing the tackiest underwear I owned. It was really past its useful life, in very bad shape. Of course, as I was running in an undeveloped area, I fell, breaking my leg and tearing the ligaments from my leg. Plus, I was covered with filthy mud. I had to crawl to a nearby house and ask for an ambulance.

Some lucky nurse ended up cutting off my filthy, mud-caked sweats and underwear. At the time I sure didn't care, but now I always throw away my underwear before it gets too ragged.

When I travel, I just wash out my underwear and socks (using those little travel packets of Tide from Safeway) and hang them in the bathroom--or wherever. I wait until I'm staying put for a couple of days so they'll have enough time to dry thoroughly. I can't imagine throwing my soiled underwear in a wastebasket for someone else to dispose of.

I also bring along pantiliners so that if I want to wear underwear for an extra day, I still feel clean.

I always bring a couple of plastic bags large enough to hold soiled clothing, one of them being a sealable freezer bag for underwear and socks.

I bring a colored washcloth and rinse it out thoroughly after each use, then hang it to dry if I'm staying longer or store it in a sealable plastic bag. It's colored s0 it won't accidentally end up in the hotels wash. I've never had a problem with mildew.

A-Zoe's generous invitation to desist aside, Cathay Pacific used to have tiny little cloth towels in their business class restrooms and I could never resist the urge to pinch a couple. These made great washcloths, one to use & one to wash. They were thin so dried fast. I still have a couple somewhere, if I could only remember where.

some of you guys are really funny. go commando LOL... i'm taking some advice on here and grabbing a week's worth of old boxers that will meet their demise in a trash can. Also ordered a small pack of disposable boxers that i can trash when i'm done as well. They weren't that expensive

How big is your underwear that you can't carry a few pieces of it and wash it out in a sink?

I just have to say that this has been one of the most enlightening threads I've ever read on Fodor's.

I've travelled a fair bit in my life, long and short trips, from camping to luxury and it has never once occurred to me (or even entered my sphere of consideration) to buy disposable underwear or plan to throw away any items I've brought with me.

I can vaguely understand it if you're on some sort of huge cycling tour or similar, but other than that, for me it just makes no sense whatsoever. Of course it's entirely up to each individual how they want to do things, but I can't imagine going on holiday anywhere and wanting to wear knackered underwear and using a sock as a washcloth.

In some countries it can be a nice gesture to give your pre-used clothes to locals rather than throw them away. I haven't tried this in France.

Unless you have very voluminous knickers they aren't going to take up much space your luggage. Neither will most clothes unless you intend packing a ballgown, tuxedo or drysuit. It's the other things - books, electronics, pills & potions that take up the space and dealing with them will save more than enough space to have two pairs of knickers a day.

If you are worried about smelly clothes then use roll up vacuum bags which by definition don't smell if closed.

Of course you could always go to the extremes of someone I know who on a 7 day trek took 3 socks - that's 3 socks, not three pairs of socks - and wore two of them one day, then the next day washed one of them and wore the spare, then did the same the next day and so on

Why would anyone bring two pairs of knickers for each day? For warmth?

We bring old worn out washcloths and just throw them out after each use. Wonder what Europeans use in place of washcloths??hmmmm...

I think forums are to be congratulated for the proliferation of handy hints like wearing worn out underwear and packing old stuff of all kinds. It suppose it's important to be in the know. But here I am, traveling the globe, completely ignorant of such things and wearing my good underwear. Really, I must get with it.

I believe in recycling as much as the next person (maybe even more) but there is no way that I would wear old clothes and dispose of them along the way. That includes underwear.
When my undies wear out, I get rid of them.

What if one is delayed for a few days? They would be stuck with one pair of undies.

I may wear the same clothes for several days but I like fresh underwear.

I've been pondering the issue since my last post an hour ago, trying to apply this new world of travel tips to my own life. I generally travel for 2 months, this spring it will be just 7 weeks. So I'll round up to 50 days, one never knows when one might need an extra. Now, where, oh where will I find 50 ratty pairs of drawers. Is there a website for such things or must one accumulate them. But then is it possible to wear out 50 pairs in a year? And that's just the spring so what will I do for the fall? This is now beyond my powers of imagining. Please, people, help me out here.

BTW, shampoo works just fine as detergent. I start my trips with a small bottle of Woolite for laundry, but it's very hard to find on the road. I figure 3-4 pairs of undies and 3-4 pairs of socks no matter how long the trip. And rather than taking old ones they're likely to be new, from REI.

You don't need a wash cloth in the shower if you use your hands. And this idea of throwing them out after one use is just crazy, I put mine in a plastic bag (I use it when I'm not showering) and dry it at the next stop. Never seen any mildew.

On one of my first visits to Fodors I learned of the ziplock washer. A squirt of shampoo in a ziplock, fill with water, shake it up. Empty rinse.

All of my underwear dries over night. I hate Ex Officio, it's doesn't dry well, it doesn't wear well.

OTOH, my husband loves his Ex Officio and only wears them for travel.

I don't bring cloth washcloth, I like the japanese wash cloths. They dry overnight.

I believe the difference between the synthetic ones that don't dry overnight, like Ex Officio which I tried, and those that do is nylon takes longer to dry than acrylic. And my silk ones dry fast as well.

my wife ALREADY thinks i'm crazy....1st for trying to beat EasyJet by "wearing" half my carryon in a large coat and now this. heh heh

i understand the concept of sink washing, i just don't want to be bothered with it this trip. We'll be doing at least one load of laundry while we're in Paris so...

I say dumb idea. I'm not wearing paper underwear on my vacation! Or old underwear that should have been thrown away. Pack them into sandwich sided ziplocks and squeeze out the air. Take 5-6 pair and wash them in the hotel sink using the hotel provided shampoo. If you don't want to do that, take out one pair of slacks and you'll have enough room to pack fresh ones for every day of your trip. I don't know about yours, but mine is not "potentially" or otherwise "smelly". Just use a plastic shopping bag or packing cubs to separate dirty from clean clothes.

suze, the ones i bought aren't made of paper, they're cotton. just very thin/cheap quality. i noticed that on the user reviews, men liked them much more than women

Oh no, thin cheap underwear is bound to ride up. I wouldn't spend my vacation pulling out wedgies.

" I wouldn't spend my vacation pulling out wedgies."

Thats what I was thinking. Plus, can you imagine the inevitable panty lines from cheap undies that won't stay put?

Yes, I have used them before on a few of my travels. They're really comfortable but I like to use them in colder and drier countries (so I won't sweat much, and also won't be wearing tight-fitting clothes which will reveal a Visible Panty Line, haha).

"Oh no, thin cheap underwear is bound to ride up. I wouldn't spend my vacation pulling out wedgies." -- From my experience, disposable underwear has never rode up / given me wedgies! Haha they really stay put like how normal undies do.

Sometimes I wear the disposable as a sort of "lining", i.e. I wear it PLUS my normal non-disposable undies on the outside. Which means I only throw away the disposable ones at the end of each day and I don't wash my regular undies (again, I only do this in colder countries so it's not as gross to not wash the regular undies). This means I only actually bring one pair of regular undies.

"i noticed that on the user reviews, men liked them much more than women" -- wrt this, I'm a girl. And my sisters all like it too. It's really convenient and pretty hygienic; you don't need to bring detergent to wash your undies and then having to find a way to dry them afterward. And, of course, you save on some luggage space.

FFF, how does it "save...luggage space" to bring things you'll throw away every day as opposed to maybe 2 or 3 pair you can wash? And "having to find a way to dry them afterward" is puzzling to me too, seems pretty straightforward.

I must be simple minded, when a thing that seems as easy as rinsing out drawers has spawned an industry and mutiple alternative solutions.

"when a thing that seems as easy as rinsing out drawers has spawned an industry and mutiple alternative solutions"

I think that is the key to so many things that are a waste of good money. They make it seem like a difficult task to suck people in.

We just don't want to imagine what ppl are doing to this underwear that it needs to be disposed of every day.

I don't see what the big deal is about washing out undies either. I usually wash out a few pair at a time, hang them on the towel rack, and by morning they are dry.

OK so not paper. But why in the world I'd want to go on vacation wearing very thin/cheap quality underwear... I just don't get it.

Pack one less shirt and take along your normal underthings, enough to be able to wash and dry between wearings. Or buy some microfiber or silk if you normally wear cotton and think that might be too heavy or take up too much room in your suitcase.

I agree this is just someone's (dumb) brain child to make money.

the preconceived notion i always get from these forums is that your way is the correct way and i'm not just talkin about throw away boxers. (ex: Don't go to Oslo, Skip Brussels, your trip is too busy, don't take tram 28, wear a moneybelt like Rick Steves, are you crazy go to Amsterdam instead etc.) i personally come here for feedback more often than advice

got the boxers in the mail yesterday and they're actually quite comfy. almost feels like a mix between cotton and silk

Well then, with feedback in my heart and not wanting to ever be perceived as rigid in my world underwear view, I'll now give full consideration to the purchase of throw away boxers for my next trip.

And I just realized the solution for having to buy and carry 50 pairs of disposables. I can order just 1 pair (or 1 package) and wear my silks underneath and just wash the silk ones every night thereby not needing more than 1 disposable. Now tell me we don't get good ideas on these forums.

nice!

If you normally wear the silk underwear why do you need an extra pair?

Ahhh, this is thrilling stuff.

One thing nobody has canvassed on the tossing of undies topic is that, all over India, Nepal and large parts of Asia, your dirty nickers will be plucked from the rubbish by an enthusiastic housekeeper - or a rubbish recycler [do a slum tour of Mumbai and you'll know what I mean] - examined for skidmarks and proudly reworn.

Don't imagine it disappears invisibly. Your every undie indiscretion will be noted, commented upon and laughed about - sometimes before you've even checked out.

Just a heads up to those who'd rather their underpant history was private.

Right now, on my list of topics, 'disposable underwear' is followed by 'Smells in India'. Maybe that explains it.

An after life for undies, it's quite a tale.

Just buy cheap ones and throw em away after one wear.

for anyone even remotely interested: they're by a company called El Boxer. it's thin enough to see your unmentionables but still fairly comfortable. Feels more like a thick but soft tissue paper than cotton.

I am guessing you are a guy; these worked great for DH on 25 day trip last year. 3 pairs. Washed in bathroom sink, dry by morning.

http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___72114

[They come in different styles.]