Love that quote in the title. It's from Martha Van Inwegen, creator of Action Wipes, a person I recently "met" via Twitter. We had entered into a discussion about the ubiquity of the baby wipe (as a mom, I keep those suckers handy) and she mentioned that Action Wipes are a terrific alternative to baby wipes for quick wipedowns or even quick showers between workouts. My interest was piqued and she graciously sent me some of these Action Wipes to try out.

The wipes were burning a hole into my workout bag and into my brain... could they really be that different than baby wipes or just a workout towel? My workout schedule has been a bit erratic so it was about a week before I even had plans to get sweaty.

via actionwipes.com

The good news is... I finally had the opportunity to try them today during the season opener of my "old-lady" soccer league. The bad news is, this opportunity was preceded by me actually face-planting into the dry, hard earth, on a patch of ground that so charmingly had both a previously-chewed blob of spearmint gum and remanents of dog feces in one square-foot area... the area where my FACE was. Lovely.

Anyhow, I diverge. I was helped off the field (ankle injury) and immediately thought to freshen myself up using the Action Wipes. I ripped open the packet and was pleasantly greeted with a fresh, natural scent. Not an artifical I'm-a-lemony-hand-wipe-who's-never-met-a-real-lemon smell, but an honest to goodness "fresh" smell that reminded me of high-end, clean shampoo. The texture of the wipe was quite perfect - the woven-like material helped me release the caked-on grime of a full game of soccer from my skin yet it was soft enough for my face. The size of the towel itself was generous... I didn't really need a second towel though I used one because I was so dirty from laying in the dirt for several minutes. It was satisfying to see how much dirt I removed from my body - and I was pleased that my smell had much improved.

At the end of the game, I handed out several of the wipes to my fellow players and heard them echo my excitement -- "it smells so good!" and "where can I buy these?" A couple of the women on the team do the 3-Day Walk every year and are thinking Action Wipes would be a great addition to their packs. (Sorry, Martha, I wanted to get some Flip video of the reactions but I was laid up with a bum ankle).

So, bottom line... loved 'em. They really are a perfect complement to any sweaty workout - I can think of so many instances where I would use these, noteably when I finish a run with my running ladies and head out to Starbucks or out to eat before having a chance to grab a shower.

Disclosure: As stated above, Martha sent me these to try out as part of a nice discussion on Twitter. There were probably 12-15 of the wipes (value $15). She never asked me to post of tweet about the product but I wanted to share my opinion. The last time I reviewed something "soccer-related" was about Cleatskins... and for the record, I think that product matches the awesomeness of this product! The opinions expressed in this post and on this blog are my own and my disclosure policy is here.