Wirecutter supports readers. When you make a purchase through a link on our website, we may receive an affiliate commission. learn more
We have reviewed the choices in this guide and continue to support them.
Simple bath towels are easy to overlook. A good one will kill you and will not be forgotten until tomorrow. A great person is luxurious and a comfortable highlight in ordinary daily life. We have studied hundreds of towels and tested dozens of towels. Since 2017, we have been recommending Frontgate Resort Cotton Bath Towels because it is the softest, warmest and most durable towel we have found. If plush terry cloth is not suitable for you, we have other options.
Towels are by no means standard, which is why we actually measure every towel we test.
We wash and dry all towels for the first time, check for shrinkage or wear, and then wash 4 more times during the entire test.
We use each towel after the shower to evaluate how dry it is, how soft or rough it feels, and how it covers bodies of different sizes.
We calculate the time it takes for the wet towels to dry completely in the bathroom.
This is the softest towel we have tested. It feels like a plush towel from a luxury hotel, with more colors than any other towel we found.
Frontgate resort cotton bath towels are the softest, warmest and most comfortable plush towels we have ever tried. Thicker than our other choices, it feels luxurious and strong, just like a high-quality hotel towel. It feels fuller and softer with every wash, and after four years of use, it is more durable than any other towel we tested. It has a wide variety of colors to choose from-more than any choice. Frontgate also offers bath towel sizes that can be matched with a range of accessory accessories, including bath towels and towels. If you want a plush, luxurious towel, this is a great choice.
This terry towel is dense and soft, available in about six colors, and is often sold at a cheap price. This is a good value.
*At the time of publication, the price was $11.
JCPenney's Fieldcrest Casual Solid Bath Towel is the softest and most affordable towel we have tried in 2021. It is dense and plush, similar to Frontgate, and the price is only a small part of it. (It is often sold for less than $10 for a towel.) It is not as soft as Frontgate, and we think it is made of short-staple cotton, which means it may not last as long as our other choices ( The manufacturer provides minimal details). Fieldcrest towels are available in seven colors and have passed Oeko-Tex certification, which means that it does not contain harmful substances. It performed well in our tests and, like Frontgate, it can be used as a bath towel (as well as complementary hand towels and towels).
If you feel that hotel-style towels are too bulky and prefer to use a more modern feel in the bathroom, then this towel looks very chic and feels great on the skin.
Riley Spa Bath Towel is about one-third more expensive than Frontgate, but if you like thinner and thinner towels, this one is our favorite. Riley's loops are well-defined and loosely woven, so you can feel each individual loop moving on your skin. (However, it does not itch; it is more like a gentle massage.) It dries faster than Frontgate, and its modern design-rounded edges, loops on the entire surface, and one that can be hung The ring on the bathroom hook-it feels simple, but chic. Riley is available in eight colors. Like our other choices, it has passed Oeko-Tex certification and offers bath towel sizes.
This textured towel is lighter, has better drape and dries faster than any terry towel we have tried. It looks luxurious but not fussy, and the price is one-third of the price of a similar plaid woven towel.
Use code BF2021 and add 4 to the shopping cart
For a simpler, more upscale look, or if you want a real quick-drying towel, we recommend The Onsen Bath Towel. This towel is made of lattice weave (sometimes called waffle or honeycomb weave), which feels more draped and thinner than terry cloth. Made of Supima cotton produced in the United States, the price is relatively expensive, but its price is only a small part of the price of similar checked towels imported from Japan. It is also softer and smoother. Compared to the more than a dozen hours we spent drying towels in our 2018 test, the hot springs dried out in about five hours. But remember, if you prefer plush terry cloth, you may not like the more textured feel of the hot spring.
This is the softest towel we have tested. It feels like a plush towel from a luxury hotel, with more colors than any other towel we found.
This terry towel is dense and soft, available in about six colors, and is often sold at a cheap price. This is a good value.
*At the time of publication, the price was $11.
If you feel that hotel-style towels are too bulky and prefer to use a more modern feel in the bathroom, then this towel looks very chic and feels great on the skin.
This textured towel is lighter, has better drape and dries faster than any terry towel we have tried. It looks luxurious but not fussy, and the price is one-third of the price of a similar plaid woven towel.
Use code BF2021 and add 4 to the shopping cart
As a senior staff writer at Wirecutter, I have compiled most of our home textile guides, from cotton sheets to blankets to duvets. The first time I took over our bath towel guide was in 2017, based on the research of Melissa Tan and Stephen Treffinger, who interviewed Dr. Martin Bide, Professor of Textile, Fashion Marketing and Design at Rhode University; Sean Cormier, Textile Institute of Fashion Technology Assistant Director of the Department of Development and Marketing; and Angela Massengill, Cotton Incorporated's fabric evaluation technology expert. Stephen also talked with Ben Mead, a customer relations and technical expert at the Hohenstein Institute, which is a testing laboratory for Oeko-Tex standards in the United States. You will see environmental safety certifications on some towels. To learn more about towels, I interviewed Rick Basinger, director of manufacturing and innovation at 1888 Mills; I also discussed plaid and waffle woven towels with Shane Monson, founder of Onsen. (Monson's interview is by no means the basis for our decision to recommend hot spring towels.)
A good bath mat can prevent you from slipping and add some vitality to your bathroom. These three durable and comfortable options are suitable for all styles.
A good towel should last from 5 to 10 years, or even longer, depending on how you wash and dry it. But even the best towels will eventually wear out after daily use: the seams may fall apart, the base fabric may begin to tear, and the loops may degrade, resulting in a less fluffy feel. Towels will also lose water absorption. If this is the case with your bath towels, then it's time to buy some new bath towels. We also provide some tips on how to choose the right towel according to your preferences.
After talking with multiple experts and conducting research, we determined that a high-quality towel should meet the following criteria:
Absorbent: When you pick up the towel, it should first dry your body effectively. It should suck water away from your body and into itself, not just push water around.
Good texture: No matter what it means to you, the towel should make your skin feel comfortable. Some people prefer super plush soft towels, while others prefer thinner, pleasant itchy towels. Determining the type of texture you like is one of the easiest ways to find the towel you like.
It feels like the darker version of the towel you are considering should be more representative of its long-term softness. Deeply saturated colors use so many dyes that they will not absorb the temporary softeners added by the manufacturer.
Quick-drying: A good towel should dry quickly, so that it can be prepared for your next shower and is not prone to moldy smell.
Durable: In the long run, it should not fall apart, shred or fall apart. Pilling, shrinkage, and fading—although repeated use is normal—should not happen to annoying levels.
Adequate coverage: Towels that are too small or too large are unpleasant, leaving you either feeling cold and naked, or drowning in heavy materials. The coverage varies from person to person, but we ask Wirecutter staff of various heights and sizes to summarize and tell us their thoughts in our selection.
Made of 100% cotton (extra-long staple is best): Although you will find some fans of alternative fibers (such as modal and bamboo rayon), our consensus with the experts who have spoken with this guide and others is that 100% Cotton provides the combination of absorbency, softness and durability that most people want.
In order to find the towels we want to test, we sifted hundreds of choices online from brands such as Amazon, JCPenney, Macy's, Bed Bath & Beyond, Target and Walmart, The Company Store, Lands, etc.-the choices are dazzling and constantly changing 'End, LLBean, Brooklinen, Riley Home and Onsen. We pay attention to owner ratings and comments, as well as reader comments.
I also visited Kohl's, Macy's, JCPenney, Bed Bath & Beyond and Target, and personally evaluated the color and quality of dozens of towels. Rick Basinger, director of manufacturing and innovation at 1888 Mills, suggested that I use my non-dominant hand to touch the towel-it's not as rough and can better feel the softness and feel. He warned that manufacturers usually add softeners to make new towels feel smoother, but they will wash off after a few cycles (we confirmed this in our own tests). He also pointed out that dark and bold colors better represent the long-term softness of towels because their dyes prevent them from absorbing these softeners. Once the softener is washed away, no matter the color, the towel feels the same.
Since 2017, I considered 158 towels and tested 41.
After 20 hours of researching dozens of finishing solutions, we recommended these 14 items to maximize storage space and keep small bathrooms tidy.
For each round of testing, I first measure each towel and directly evaluate how it feels after packaging. I wash and dry everything once, and measure each towel again to check for shrinkage, and look for obvious wear, pilling, stringing, fading, or roughness. After removing a few towels at this stage, I use each of the remaining towels after the shower to assess its water absorption and comfort and how well it covers my body (I wear a size 16). Then I calculated how long it would take for the wet test towel to dry. After firing a few times, I washed the remaining competitors four more times, for a total of five washing cycles. (According to my experience, washing five times is enough to ensure that all the softener disappears and the real feeling of the towel is reflected.) Finally, I checked each towel again for wear, pilling, stringing, fading and roughness. To determine our choice.
In previous tests, I used multiple evaluators throughout the above process, but due to the pandemic, I was the only tester this time. Since 2017, we have conducted about 85 of these tests in total, excluding our current selection of daily long-term tests.
This is the softest towel we have tested. It feels like a plush towel from a luxury hotel, with more colors than any other towel we found.
If you want a sweet towel that is very soft and warm even after multiple washings, we recommend you to use Frontgate Resort cotton bath towels. Since 2017, it has been our top choice. (We have retested the new Frontgate towel in each subsequent update to this guide-nothing better than this.) I spent too much time testing just squeezing Frontgate with my fingers, because this is what I tried The densest and softest towel ever. Its water absorption is the same as many other terry towels we have tested, and it is one of the widest colors we have seen. It has formed a slight fanatical following among our employees and has been highly rated by users over the years. Of all the options I have chosen, and in all the guides I have written for Wirecutter, the Frontgate towel is the towel I hear people love the most.
Frontgate feels luxurious and luxurious to use. It has passed Oeko-Tex certification (so it does not contain harmful substances). It is made of Turkish long-staple cotton, so it is smooth and durable. Only the hot springs are made of higher-quality cotton (super long-staple Subima cotton), but the price is about 40% higher. Frontgate's tight fleece is the thickest of the towels we have tested, so it is very fluffy. Walking around in my bedroom wrapped in Frontgate, I feel like I am enjoying a spa day. After our test washing, it looks almost new, but it actually feels better than taking it out of the packaging. Through three rounds of tests in the past four years and many years of long-term testing, including daily use and multiple washings, it has been outstanding.
Frontgate was very absorbent in our shower test and can absorb water instead of pushing it away. When you dry the towel, the towel usually feels uncomfortable, but Frontgate's fluff feels smooth and can easily move on wet skin. Compared to many other towels we have tried (including Brooklinen and Snowe towels), it feels less sticky to the body. Its drape is also better than many other products, but not as good as our upgrade choice Riley Spa Bath Towel. Unlike other thick terry towels that feel stiff, Frontgate's large pieces have more mobility and feel smooth to use. In our initial test, Frontgate’s drying time was the same as most other terry towels we tested — about 15 hours on a summer day in New Jersey — but it didn’t come close to our 5-hour drying time . Hot springs are also a good choice, plaid towels.
Frontgate offers 22 rich, saturated colors to choose from, more than any of our other choices, which means it should be suitable for any bathroom decoration. Only Garnet Hill Signature Towel is close to this color choice, with 18 options to choose from. After testing Frontgate, we did not find any serious fading. When we first discovered Frontgate four years ago, it had approximately 3,000 positive user reviews-now close to 9,000 reviews, of which more than 7,500 are five stars. I often hear from readers and staff (even from a father in my daughter's gymnastics class) how much they like this towel. Frontgate also produces bath towels and matching accessories, including hand towels, towels, and bath mats (also an option in our guide to the best bathroom carpets and bath mats), if you want to equip the entire bathroom.
Starting in 2017, 2018 and 2020, I have been testing all of our Frontgate test towels. There are some slightly bleached areas on the oldest towel-probably due to the skin care products I use, not the problem with the towel itself (the danger of using non-white towels). Over time, the loops will become more fuzzy and it will inevitably lose some of its initial softness, but Frontgate is still softer than the new test towels of other companies. It is still the best towel in my linen closet.
Frontgate is a thick and bulky towel, some people don't like it. If you know that you prefer thinner towels, it can be overwhelming and tiresome to use. For people who like rough and uplifting towels, it may feel too soft. Its weight also means that Frontgate is heavier to store and wash-you won't be able to put as many towels in a pile of clothes as you can with our other options (especially thinner spa towels).
Because Frontgate is very large, the air-drying time varies depending on the climate where you live. When I first calculated how long it would take, it was a hot summer day in New Jersey, and it took about 12 hours for towels to dry in the bathroom. When I retested the new products for the 2020 update, they took more than 24 hours to dry, this time in the winter in the Pacific Northwest. To prevent bacteria from entering and growing in your home, if you live in a humid or humid climate, you may need to clean Frontgate more frequently.
This terry towel is dense and soft, available in about six colors, and is often sold at a cheap price. This is a good value.
*At the time of publication, the price was $11.
If you want a plush towel but don't want to go bankrupt, we recommend Fieldcrest Casual Solid Bath Towel by JCPenney. The Fieldcrest series was originally carried by Target and moved to JCPenney in the spring of 2021. We have recommended several towels of the brand as budget choices in the past. In this update, we tested four new Fieldcrest towels from JCPenney. All of them are excellent, but Casual Solid is because of its softness, color choices, and simplicity. The design and price stand out. We don’t know if the Fieldcrest towels are produced by the same manufacturer, or if the Fieldcrest brand is just a licensing agreement (we are investigating), but as far as we know, the trend towards JCPenney has not reduced quality.
Among the dozen budget-friendly towels I tested in 2021, Fieldcrest Casual Solid is the softest, even after five washes. Unlike Target Threshold Signature Spa Bath Towel, it has no pills, obstacles or tangled seams, which is the second best affordable towel in terms of softness and color. Fieldcrest’s price is also slightly cheaper, thanks to JCPenney’s ongoing discounts: in a few months of testing, I’ve been discounting this bath towel every time I look at it, and the price is often less than $10—which makes it The best value bath towels we have picked so far, and out of all the budget towels I tested.
Fieldcrest is thick and warm, so it is a good choice for those who like comfortable towels. It is almost as big as our other choices, but like our other choices, it can also be used as a larger bath towel. After showering, Fieldcrest is absorbent but does not feel soggy, which is different from the Target Threshold Spa towels, the Royal Turkish towels I tested, and the much more expensive Riley Plush bath towels I tried. Drying was slow in our 2021 test (it takes more than 24 hours on a wet winter day in the Pacific Northwest), but so is Frontgate. As long as you replace it every few days and clean it to avoid the accumulation of bacteria, it should be fine. All towels we recommend, including Fieldcrest, are Oeko-Tex certified and do not contain harmful chemicals; however, unlike our other selections, no information is provided about the materials used in Casual Solid (for example, long Lint cotton is also a source of cotton). It is almost certainly made with a lower quality fiber than Frontgate and Riley towels, which means it may not last that long.
We will continue to test Fieldcrest to see how it wears out over time. Also, it’s worth noting that our budget selection towels are usually discontinued after a year or two (no matter which store sells them), which makes adding to your collection or replacing any worn-out towels challenging. We will pay close attention to inventory issues, but if you really like Fieldcrest, it may be worth stocking.
If you feel that hotel-style towels are too bulky and prefer to use a more modern feel in the bathroom, then this towel looks very chic and feels great on the skin.
If you like terry cloth but don't like thick, super soft towels-or if you want a more stylish terry cloth and don't mind splurge-we recommend Riley Spa bath towels. It is thinner than Frontgate, and it feels more textured when you rub it across your skin. But this does not mean that it is a "rough" towel. The weight of Riley and Frontgate is the same-700 grams per square meter (GSM)-but when you look at the surface of the plush Frontgate, you will see dense, fluffy loops. When you look at the surface of Riley, you can see individual loops of terry, each with its own space to move. The rings are less dense, which means you can feel every ring when you slide your fingers over the towel or on your back. It absorbs water quickly and it feels almost itchy, but not very itchy. If you like a towel with a bit more bite but don't want something with slight scratches (such as a hot spring), then it feels very good to the touch. Riley is made of long-staple Egyptian cotton, which means the fiber is long and strong and should last for several years (we will continue to test to see how durable it is). After five washes, it lost its initial, out-of-the-box softness, but it still feels comfortable after showering.
Most terry towels have a dobby or a strip of plain weave at each end. The entire surface of Riley is looped, and compared to most looped towels I have tested, it has a much less traditional look. It also has round edges and a ring on one side that can be hung on a bathroom hook. Compared with our other choices, it has excellent drape and adds to its modern, minimalist feel. Riley folds smaller than Frontgate, so it takes up less space on the shelf, but it is still good and large enough to wrap the body. Like all our selections, it uses a bath towel size to provide more coverage.
Riley towels are about 30% more expensive than Frontgate, so this is an investment. Riley Home does have frequent holiday promotions, usually I suggest you wait until the discounts before buying these expensive towels. But in the past few years, we have tracked several complaints from employees and readers about Riley’s long shipping time and uneven customer service, which usually peaks when the company gets a large number of orders from a big sale. (However, the problem is mainly related to the quilt, and we see a significant drop in complaints in 2021.) The quality of this towel is high enough and we still recommend it, so if you shop, please be prepared for potential shipping delays-and As always, if you have any questions, please let us know.
This textured towel is lighter, has better drape and dries faster than any terry towel we have tried. It looks luxurious but not fussy, and the price is one-third of the price of a similar plaid woven towel.
Use code BF2021 and add 4 to the shopping cart
If the plush towel feels too heavy, or you want a quick-drying towel, you may like the thinner waffle weave (sometimes called waffle or honeycomb weave), and the spa bath towels we have tried The best towel. Onsen has been Wirecutter's choice since 2018. It absorbs moisture quickly, moves smoothly on the body, and has a slightly rough feel, which feels pleasant, and is perfect for scratching back itching that you can’t reach. It is one of the few waffle towels that we have seen that can be used as a bath towel, but since the waffle towel stretches more than the terry, I find the size of the bath towel feels very spacious. Onsen is made of 100% Supima cotton, which is nearly 50% more expensive than Frontgate, but it is similar to other waffles we have seen. It is much cheaper than some of the high-end Japanese plaid towels we have tried-such as the iconic Kontex (Rikmo) towel, a linen-cotton blend. It is also less irritating to the skin.
Like all our choices, the hot springs are Oeko-Tex certified. The representative of Onsen told us that the towels will not undergo a chemical softening process. Instead, the towels will be washed at a specific temperature and repeated multiple cycles to soften the towels. It has eight colors.
Onsen is a real quick-drying towel, unlike the towels I have tried, which are advertised as "quick-drying" (spoiler: those towels almost require drying time as the thickest and densest towels). In the test, depending on the time of the year and the climate, the terry needed 15 to 24 hours to dry; in our 2018 test, after showering in the morning, about five hours later, by lunch time, the hot spring felt completely dry. That's because it is very thin and its weave allows a lot of airflow. It’s not as warm as our terry cloth-if you like to feel comfortable wrapped in a towel, this is important-but Onsen folds smaller and takes up less space in your linen wardrobe if you If it is inconvenient to store, it would be better.
When I tested Onsen for the first time in 2018, I noticed that I was not sure if it would last as long as our terry cloth selection or look as good over time. Because waffle is more elastic than terry, it will look deformed after a period of time, and checkered towels like hot springs will eventually get stuck. One of our long-term testers told me, “I hate plush sponge towels, so using hot springs is a revelation. Its texture feels rough on my skin, but it’s not too harsh. When it’s in the laundry room, I It feels uneasy and I have to resort to any other type of towel. Occasionally, I will catch a loosely woven bracelet or ring-which is annoying-but I really like the feel of it, so spend some time on drying The extra attention is worth it for me."
My 9-year-old daughter is a child with sensory processing problems. She likes light-weight towels and has been using our sample hot springs since she was 6 years old. Used as a dressing table for her pet rabbit, it has survived several gastrointestinal flu due to hot, sterile washing and drying cycles-its shape is very good, there are few obstacles, no signs of fading, and no signs of fading. Feeling of change. It is still her favorite towel.
Based on reader feedback and our own research, we plan to expand this guide in future updates, adding more options in some other towel categories, including organic cotton, hand towels and towels, and peshtemal (sometimes called hammam, fouta, Or Turkish towel). We will also update our research on sustainability to address the reasons why we have not tested alternative fibers in the past and see if it is worth revisiting this position.
Towel labels and instructions are usually full of industry terms that may not be familiar, but they can help you understand how the towel is made and how it feels when you use it. Each brand’s label may not contain the same type of information, so comparing shopping can become tricky, but here are some terms related to towels.
Long-staple/ultra-long-staple cotton: Like other home textiles such as bed sheets, the best towels are made of long-staple or extra-long-staple (ELS) cotton, which produces smoother, stronger yarns. (A short fiber is a piece of cotton fiber or thread.) "The longer the short fiber, the smoother the yarn," Basinger of Mills in 1888 told us. Generally, long-staple fibers range from 1⅛ to 1¼ inches, while ELS fibers are 1⅜ inches or longer in length. Basinger said that long-staple cotton is also the most elastic and can extend life.
Turkey/Egypt/Pima/Supima Cotton: Labels marked with Turkish cotton, Egyptian cotton, Pima cotton, or Supima cotton (brand name for Pima cotton in the United States) usually indicate long-staple cotton or ELS cotton. Note, however, that some manufacturers use terms such as "Egyptian cotton" and "Turkish cotton" to sell low-quality short-staple cotton. You can read more about cotton quality in this blog post.
Combed and ring-spun cotton: high-quality towels are usually made of cotton that has been combed to remove impurities and fluff fibers, or ring-spun, a specific spinning process that requires long-staple cotton, which can produce finer and more Smooth yarn strands.
Some manufacturers use terms such as "Egyptian cotton" and "Turkish cotton" to sell low-quality short-staple cotton.
GSM: The weight of the towel is in grams per square meter (GSM); thick towels usually have a higher GSM than breathable waffle towels. In the past few years, it has become a less common metric: thinner, lower-quality towels rarely include it in the label or product description, and we don’t often see it used in waffles at all. Towels. Plush towels are often advertised as hotel-style towels, but still tend to regard GSM as a sign of luxury. This is usually a big number-these towels have more loops than cheaper towels, making them thicker, heavier, and more expensive. Our top, budget and upgrade options all have 600 or 700 GSM.
Oeko-Tex: Oeko-Tex certification ensures that the fabric does not contain certain substances and processes that may be harmful to humans and the environment. Read more about this certification and eco-friendly cotton in our guide to the best cotton sheets.
Manufacturers usually treat towels with various finishes, such as fabric softeners, to make them feel fluffy and soft in the store. These coatings will leave waxy deposits and reduce the water absorption of the towel, so please wash it before using a new towel. We found that all traces of these softeners usually disappear in the fifth wash. It is good to use fabric softener at home occasionally (if your towel feels itchy), but try to avoid frequent use of softener. Similarly, using too much detergent can make your towel feel stiff and cause residue to accumulate. Wirecutter's electrical team recommends that modern washing machines load no more than 2 tablespoons of detergent each time. Although hot water can prevent white towels from getting dirty, it will fade faster, so wash bright towels in warm or cold water.
Garnet Hill Signature Towel: This is a very good towel (we have tested it twice), it has some great colors, but it is not as absorbent or soft as the ones we picked from Frontgate and Fieldcrest. If neither of these are available, or you just prefer Garnet Hill's color selection, then it is a good choice.
Riley's plush bath towel is another strong choice in the category of "super soft plush" towels, but it loses more softness than Frontgate when washed, and in our shower test than our other choices It does not absorb water. We prefer the company's spa towels, which performed more stable in our 2021 test.
After Fieldcrest Casual Solid, the Target Threshold Signature Spa towel is the second best affordable towel in our 2021 test. If Fieldcrest is not available, this is worth a look. I slightly prefer the color of Threshold (both test towels are navy blue, but Fieldcrest prefers purple); however, after a few cleanings, the seams on Threshold’s dobby looked messy and loose, and When it dried in my bathroom, it collected a lot of lint and debris—except for boys and money, as Dolly Parton said in Steel Mulan.
Target Casaluna organic bath towels are also a strong contender for the budget. It is more absorbent than Target's Threshold Signature Spa towels in the shower test, but after five washes, there are too many loose threads and obstacles, and it loses too much softness and is not recommended. However, when we look at more organic cotton options, we may reconsider it in the next update.
JCPenney's Fieldcrest luxury Egyptian cotton ring border striped bath towel felt almost as good as Fieldcrest Casual Solid in the test, but not exactly the same. In addition, it is more expensive and has fewer color options (all white, with stripes of different colors on the border).
I don't know how to make JCPenney's Fieldcrest jacquard texture bath towel. I tested one in navy blue and it looks and feels more like a blanket than a bath towel. It was also very soft and was not damaged in our washing test, but in our shower test, it was the only towel that covered me with lint and a small amount of blue fiber.
JCPenney's well-made Fieldcrest luxury Egyptian cotton loop engraved bath towel stays beautiful when washed, but it doesn't feel as good on the skin as our choice-more like a bath mat rather than a bath towel. It is also very heavy.
Authenticity 50's Essential Cotton Towels are not bad. They scratch happily when taken out of the packaging, and in fact their shrinkage during washing is lower than the Frontgate and Fieldcrest paddles we tested in 2021. (Authenticity 50 is also one of the few companies we have considered that produce towels in the United States.) However, towels have lost some softness during washing and are currently only white. A50 has already had a lot of inventory problems due to the pandemic. If you like more textured towels, these are worth a look. We may retest them when the stock is stable.
Target's solid bath towel designed and manufactured: In the test, we liked this towel almost as much as the discontinued Bed Bath & Beyond Dri-Soft. It is a cotton-polyester blend, rather than our preferred 100% cotton.
We tested Target's Room Essentials mesh texture bath towel as a possible quick-drying option in 2021, but it is as long as the thickest terry cloth — it takes about 24 hours on a humid winter day in Washington. In addition, the look and feel of the towels are very cheap, and there is no improvement after washing a few times.
Snowe Classic Bath Towel: We have tested this towel twice. Although it is soft, it can stick to wet skin and is not as absorbent as our towels.
Brooklinen Super Plush Bath Towel: Similar to Snowe and Parachute towels, Brooklinen towels are good, but they are tighter than our selected towels, have less water absorption, and are expensive. Brooklinen is not sold on towels. You must buy a pair or towel set.
Parachute Classic Turkish Cotton Towel: This is a good ordinary towel, but we think it is expensive.
Caro Home Microcotton Luxury Bath Towel: This was the previous upgrade option, but it did not perform well in 2017. It feels very thin and does not absorb water like we want.
Lands' End Supima Cotton Bath Towel: It used to be runner-up, but in subsequent tests, its absorbency is not as good as other towels. We think it will stick to the body too much during the shower.
LLBean Premium Cotton Towel: This is the fastest drying towel in our first timed test-it dries in about 10 hours. But it is very rough and uncomfortable to use.
Target Threshold Performance Bath Towel: It has some interesting colors and is cheaper than our preferred price, but after the first wash it loses a lot of softness and bulkiness, so that we didn't use it for bathing.
Amazon's Utopia 700 GSM towel is promising outside of the package and is absorbent in our 2021 shower test. But it was too small to cover my No. 16 body adequately. After washing five times, there were broken and loose threads everywhere. Our test towel looks like it is going to fall apart.
Hammam linen bath towels are too small and rough. In our 2021 test, they made my skin wetter than other affordable towels after the shower.
We tried the Amadeus Turkish bath towel series in 2021 to understand how towels from real hotel suppliers performed in our tests. It turns out that this is not good. These are considered "premium" hotel room towels, the highest quality name defined by the supplier, but they are obviously crude and cheap. A towel was stuck when it arrived, and when I pulled it away, several strands of terry cloth were immediately hooked. It failed the initial sensory test outside the package.
We tested Bed Bath & Beyond’s quick-drying salt bath towels in 2021 and are planning to choose it as a very thin, slightly textured option. But as we confirmed with the company, it was discontinued during our testing period; the items on the website are being sold out.
Our former runner-up Target’s Fieldcrest Reserve towel has been discontinued in 2020.
Our previous budget choice Bed Bath & Beyond's Dri-Soft towel will also be discontinued in 2020.
In the past few years, we have also tested and excluded the following products: Chakir Turkish bed linen luxury hotel and spa bath towels, Nordstrom at Home Hydrocotton bath towels, Pottery Barn Hydrocotton quick-drying towels, Restoration Hardware 802g Turkish bath towels, LLBean Egyptian cotton towels, The Company Store Green Earth Quick-Dry Towel (may have been redesigned since our first test), made of 1888 Mills bath towels, Amazon's Pinzon heavyweight luxury 820g bath towels, and now discontinued IKEA Fräjen bath towels, Royal Velvet Signature Soft Bath Towel and Target Fieldcrest Spa Solid Bath Towel.
We chose not to test terry towels from Crate and Barrel, Overstock.com, and Walmart because they are expensive (respectively), are sold only in sets, and there is almost no information on the cotton used online.
Parachute waffle towel: The parachute towel is very soft, cheaper than hot springs, and there are several additional colors. However, our adult testers didn't like this feeling very much-it fits the moist skin better when it's dry. It is also more elastic and less dense (although the hot spring is opaque, but the parachute allows light to pass through), so we are not sure if it will last over time. But our 6-year-old tester prefers this towel because it is softer, larger in size, and lighter in weight. So this may be a good choice for children.
We recommend the robe version of the Brooklinen waffle towel, but in the test, the towel seems to shrink significantly when washed, and it does not have a quick-drying and pleasant texture like Onsen. Although it is softer, it feels almost squeaky when rubbed between fingers after the washing test-which is a shame because its packaging is cute, its drape is good, and its robe counterpart is excellent. We may retest the Brooklinen towel in the future to see if its poor performance is a fluke, because I know this fabric performs well in robe form (I tested it).
Rikumo Vintage Waffle Towel: This classic checkered towel has been produced in Imabari, Japan since the 1930s. It was imported into the United States through a company called Morihata and a company that sold it to multiple stores through its retail site Rikumo. (If you see any of these names, it is attributed to imported Japanese checkered towels-Kontex, Morihata, Rikumo-they are all the same towels.) This is a linen-cotton blend that irritates the skin more than hot springs. And it’s more clingy when wiping towels. We also noticed that this towel is often out of stock, which is a common problem with imported products. Its price is four times that of Frontgate towels and almost three times that of hot springs.
Gilden Tree Waffle Woven Bath Towel: This Oeko-Tex certified towel is as absorbent as other checked towels we tested, but it is uncomfortable to use. It feels like wiping dry with a thick, rough dish towel instead of a luxurious bath towel (but it has a luxury price). The weave is also very flat and does not look like other waffle weaves we tested, so we are not sure if it was made with a different process.
Rejuvenation Japanese Linen Linen Waffle Towel: Cotton and linen blend, this towel is very similar to Rikumo towels, and the price is similar. Rejuvenation is cute, but very thin. It is flatter than the other checkered woven towels we tested, and the depth of each waffle is not so deep, although it still has enough water absorption. Softer than Rikumo (but not as soft as our choice of Onsen), Rejuvenation has been discontinued.
Bath towel buying guide, Wayfair
Rick Basinger, Director of Manufacturing and Innovation, 1888 Mills, interview, July 12, 2017
Bath towel, how the product is made
How to wash towels to extend their service life and improve homes and gardens
Martin Bide, Ph.D., Professor of Textile, Fashion Marketing and Design, University of Rhode Island, interview
Sean Cormier, Assistant Professor, Department of Textile Development and Marketing, School of Fashion Technology, interview
Interview with Ben Mead, Customer Relations and Technology Specialist at Hohenstein Institute
Angela Massengill, fabric evaluation expert, cotton company, interview
Since 2015, Jackie Reeve has been a senior staff writer at Wirecutter, covering bedding, tissue, and household items. Before that, she was a school librarian and worked in quilting for about 15 years. Her quilt patterns and her other written works have appeared in various publications. She manages Wirecutter's employee book club and makes the bed every morning.
A good bath mat can prevent you from slipping and add some vitality to your bathroom. These three durable and comfortable options are suitable for all styles.
Frontgate Resort Cotton Towel adds a bit of luxury to ordinary shower procedures.
After 20 hours of researching dozens of finishing solutions, we recommended these 14 items to maximize storage space and keep small bathrooms tidy.
This is the last day of free shipping and 25% discount on Frontgate bath towels and cushions.
You can also send us a note.
© 2021 The New York Times Company Wirecutter, Inc.