The Clothesline

Sea to Summit The Clothesline is a peg-free washing line that lives in a pouch the size of a matchbox: 3.5 m of twin reflective cord threaded with sliding rubber beads. String it between two trees, two tent poles or two bunk posts, feed your wet gear between the cords, and the beads hold it there.

What it is

A portable clothesline with no pegs to lose. Two polyester cords run side by side with rubber beads strung along them. Push a corner of a towel or the toe of a sock between the cords, slide the beads up against it, and it stays put, even when the breeze picks up.

Who it's for

Anyone who washes things away from home. Hikers drying socks and a quick-dry towel at a hut on the Overland Track, paddlers airing wet thermals on a riverbank, travellers rinsing shirts in a hostel sink and hanging them across the room. It is just as handy at a campground for swimmers and towels after a day at the beach. We stock it because damp socks are the fastest way to ruin a multi-day walk and this weighs next to nothing.

If you are only out for a single night, you probably will not wash anything; this earns its place on trips of three days or more, and on every overseas trip.

Key details

• 3.5 m long: room for a towel, a shirt and a row of socks.
• Twin cords with sliding beads: grip gear without pegs and hold it in the wind.
• Wrap-and-hook ends: loop each end around a tree, post or rail and hook it back on itself. No knots.
• Reflective cord: shows up in a head torch beam so nobody walks into it after dark.
• Packs to 50 x 70 x 20 mm in a stretchy neoprene pouch.
• Materials: 100% polyester cord, 100% neoprene pouch.

Looking after it

Let the cord dry before it goes back in the pouch, and coil it loosely so the beads do not knot together. Check the bark before you wrap: on soft-barked trees a folded towel under the cord protects the tree.