Polar Pad Cooling Towel in Blue

I ordered my Polar Pad on June 29, 2015 and it arrived on July 10, 2015. In spite of researching different chilling towels on the market during this time, I live in Hawaii and it frequently gets humid-hot during days when our natural A/C maker a.k.a "Trade Winds" goes away, so I decided to try out the Polar Pad. It arrived just perfect for the upcoming extreme humidity due to a tropical storm passing by north of the islands. This review is for those living in tropical weather climates similar to Hawaii, as I don't have a chance to visit elsewhere to test this product. Here are my pros and cons...Pro:* It works as advertised. The trick to this towel is the fact that it "soaks cold water" and keeps you "cool" with the cold water temperature.* It's even cooler if you have a fan or some sort of wind blowing at the towel or blowing at you with the towel wrapped around your neck. I've also taken this towel on a bus ride and the theaters where there is A/C. It made my towel super cool.* If you use icy cold water, or placed your towel in the fridge for about 30 minutes, it turns the towel more cold. Beware!* It's big enough to wrap around my shoulders given the measurements, it worked as a small shawl enough to cover my shoulders, upper arms, neck, and slightly my back. Note: this depends on your body size. If you're more on the bigger size, then it may not work as a mini shawl for you.* It works in Humid-hot weather conditions, and those of you living in Hawaii, yes, it keeps you cool for long periods of time. I even used it to help me sleep.* Easy to clean. I handwash my polar pad with mild laundry detergent, and sometimes I use mild soap. Wring dry and store it in a cool - dry area.* The paw prints become visible (as you see in the product image) when the towel is dry, so it's a good indication to go and re-wet the towel when you see them appear.Cons:* The towel may soak your clothes wet if you don't wring out some water. Although instructions say to soak it with cold water, then wrap around your neck, it wasn't specific enough for me to fully understand the way it works given this is my first chilly towel.* Not really ideal for cardio exercises or anything extreme. I used this towel on a elliptical machine, and given I have no a/c, it kind of felt warm/hot around my neck, but the shoulder part kept cool because I had a fan blowing while I was exercising. It might work for those doing light exercises such as walking, or yoga.* Beware on your first couple washes! I bought my polar pad in blue, and the water in my basin turned blue on my first wash. You may need to hand wash it several times before considering putting it through your washer.* Wets your arms / neck on skin contact if water was not wrung out a bit prior to use, and when you use it on skin contact (i.e. tank tops, or sleeveless tops), it will feel sort of slimy / sticky on your skin.* Becareful when using perfumes / scented lotions / fragrance oils. It will permeate to the towel unless you don't mind.* When my towel arrived, it felt kind of wet when I opened the package. I'm not sure if this was intended or because of the humidity weather in Hawaii causing it.* Maybe it's a good idea to wash your towel before first use. It was sort of smelly when I opened the sealed package.All in all, I have no complaints about this Towel other than worrying my clothes getting wet from the towel. If a fan isn't enough to keep you cool during those hot humid days in Hawaii, and you have no a/c, this towel may just add the extra coolness. For the price of about $10, It's worth every penny, at least so to say. I hope this review will help you with your research on this towel. Thank you for reading.[UPDATE EDIT 8/6/2015]After nearly a month of using this towel, I would like to add more comments to this product. Keep in mind, this review is for those situated in similar climate conditions like Hawaii.After my third handwash using mild laundry detergent, I started seeing white/creamy looking spots/patches on my towel. I couldn't wash or rub it off, and there was no weird smell on the towel, nor do I know what it was, but it was on the towel for nearly a week. I constantly use this towel during my commute to and from work, and I sweat easily, so there is a presence of smelly odor; thus I need to handwash my towel after every use. Tip: The towel will get musty smells, and will frustrate some of you, but I've done some research that washing the towel with distilled vinegar with hot water first, soak for about 5-10 minutes, then wash second time with some baking soda and hot water, soak for a good 15-20 minutes and the musty smell completely went away.As I've stated in my pros, that you would wring the towel dry and store in a cool - dry place. Given this is a humid climate, mold may be a problem if the towel isn't completely dry prior to storage. However, when the towel is completely dried out, it will become a piece of hard-dry fabric. When that happens, the towel is really difficult to fold as it does feel like one of those leather chamois used to wash your car. However, when you wet the towel again, it will be soft and ready to use.The towel only works long period of time if you have some sort of wind blowing towards you, otherwise, your body heat will make it warm and you'll feel uncomfortable with a piece of slimy fabric that is sticking to your skin. I've taken this towel on a test run on a shopping trip to Fisher's Hawaii. Knowing they have no A/C in their warehouse at Cooke St., The towel worked for a good 30-45 minutes while I'm shopping in the store before it felt slimy/warm on my neck.The paw prints on the towel aren't as visible in some areas of my towel anymore as it was when I first received the product. I am not sure if this is due to washing the towel everyday, or because of wear/tear. This does not make the towel "broken" or not work anymore, but after so much times of usage, you kind of get the gist of when you would like to go re-wet your towel.The towel still works as it is advertised. I use this towel nearly everyday in the summer / kona wind days in Hawaii. In spite of all the cons I've put up, the important thing is that it works in Hawaii. I was overly worried about buying something that will not work for me, but the Polar Pad worked exceptionally well with a fan or some sort of wind blowing on the towel when in use.I know some people have complained about the seller placing a barcode sticker over the instructions of the product, making it difficult to read or remove the sticker, but it just basically says what you see in the product description on the Amazon page. Additionally, it says you may put the towel through your washer and don't put the towel in your dryer because of what I stated above; the towel becomes a hardened piece of fabric when it's completely dried out. It might break if you constantly put it through the dryer.*** This will probably be the last update in terms of usage, pros and cons. I will update again when the product breaks, or stopped working entirely. Thank you for reading this long review, but I hope I brought up some points to help you with your chilly towel shopping / research.

I really wanted to give this 5 stars because it works great, but it stains. I live in Florida where you have to wear sunscreen. The sunscreen stained the polar pad oddly enough. Other than that it definitely keeps you cool. We were out Kayaking with no shade for about 5 hours with no problems.

We use these everywhere it's hot outside. They keep the cool as good as most other cooling towels (about 3 hours after a decent soak and squeeze) and are less expensive. There are better cooling towels but plan on paying almost double.These clean easily, and we haven't had any problems with mildew. When they dry, they get pretty stiff, so make sure you leave them to dry in a confirmation you want (i.e., folded square to pack in your bag).

I got this for my husband as he works outside (letter carrier) where the heat gets over 100 degrees, especially when he is in his un-air conditioned vehicle. My husband has tried other cooling towels but was very impressed with polar pad. Other people he works with asked him to get them some polar pads and now agree that these towels stay cool longer and are cooler than other similar products.

This is a great product, as i am sure many have heard or already experienced. I had purchased a few elsewhere a while back and ended up misplacing them while moving so ended up purchasing replacements here on amazon and I ended up receiving them a good bit quicker than I expected. I would recommend these to anyone who spends the majority of their time working or playing in the sun hot days.

These work surprisingly well. We use them on long walks in the summer and they really cut the edge. We have at least 4 now and I feel like I need more... just in case.

I've owned a couple different cooling towels and I'm very impressed with the quality of this product. Easliy matches and even beats similar more expensive products.Worked great so far and It'll definitely come in handy this summer. Make sure you follow the directions on the packaging. You will not be disappointed!One last thing the polar claws on the back are a nice touch

I ordered 3 of these polar pads because my father and me work in a very hot work space and these really keep us cool. Especially when there's a nice breeze blowingwith this product the colder the water the better!