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By The Editors of GQ
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Finding the best bath towels is a totally uncomplicated task, which is exactly what makes it so complicated. Basically anything that can move water from your body to itself is, by definition, a towel. Even the oldest, most torn-up rag you nick from your parents' closet is going to be capable of wiping you dry, provided you use enough elbow grease.
That, of course, does not mean that all towels are made equal. Just like bed sheets, the universe of bath towels includes options in tons of fabrics, weaves, and textures, which each offer vastly different properties. As we see it, these properties break down into three main categories. There are thin, textured towels that don’t absorb water that well, but dry quickly; plush towels that absorb lots of moisture, but take a while to feel completely dry; and towels that sit somewhere in the middle—they aren’t too plush and probably have a little texture, but you won’t have to wait overnight for them to dry.
Between the three categories, the one that works best for you will come down to personal preference. And considering how low the stakes are, it might be worth trying out several to see what you like. You certainly do not need to own 50, but nobody ever complained about having a few extra towels around the house.
Once you’ve thought about the kind of towel you want, you'll have to wade through a lot of marketing speak that makes every towel sound as superlative as the next. Towel listings often lull you into confusion with unhelpful information about a towel’s pile (the pile is the height of the cotton loops) or the type of cotton (it’s always Egyptian cotton, isn’t it?). But at the end of the day, the best qualities of a towel are easy to define.
Dripping from your shower and in desperate need of a bath towel ASAP? Well, we can't help you there, but we can cut straight to our top picks so you can get dry sooner rather than later.
When conducting our survey of some of the best towels out there, we searched high and low for towels that avoided the thin, flimsy quality of a cheap guest towel and instead embodied a soft, pliable hand feel (no matter whether it's a thin waffle towel or a lush bath sheet). A lot of times, that comes down to the quality of the materials each towel was spun from. We’ve found that the best ones are made from long-staple cotton, rather than synthetic materials loaded with fabric softener that feel nice at first but fall apart quickly. There are some notable exceptions, of course, like the plushiest terry towels.
Because towels are usually things you'll want to load up on in multiples, we also tested for how well they hold up over time, whether they're actually worth the dinero, and whether they live up to their marketing superlatives. After all, a price-y towel may look nice on the rack, but it should also be able to withstand a spin cycle or two without emerging frayed, dusted with lint, or sprouting loose threads.
And most importantly, how well does it absorb water without getting so waterlogged it turns to a moldy rag in your poorly ventilated bathroom? Absorbency and a speedy drying time in between showers were high priority on our list. To find out absorbency, check out the towel's GSM, or grams per square meter. GSM—usually varying between 300 and 900—will let you find out the weight and density of your towel. The lower the number, the lighter and less absorbent; the higher the number, the heavier and more absorbent. Other perks, especially if your towels are displayed in a highly trafficked bathroom or being distributed among guests, are how respectable they look. You're not in college anymore, buddy! You can skip the stained towels for something a tad nicer.
But there’s really no way to know whether a towel can actually live up to its jargon until you’ve used and washed it. A lot. So that’s what we did. Over the last few years we’ve tested dozens of towels from a bunch of different manufacturers. We noted how they felt out of the box and then tracked how much that changed over the course of weeks, then months. We also measured absorbency and how well it dried us off, along with how it dried itself without developing a funk shortly after.
No matter the level of softness or absorbency or drying time you prefer, below you’ll find the right fit for you in our list of the best bath towels in 2023. Just please remember to wash and dry these top picks more often than your last set. We can still smell the mildew from here.
Brooklinen plush towel (set of 2)
Material: Cotton Size: 30 x 58 inches GSM: 820
The Brooklinen super-plush bath towel is ridiculously cozy and drapes on you heavily like a dental x-ray vest. It’s made from long-staple Turkish cotton, and feels wonderfully soft after dozens of washes. (It shed a little lint the first few washes, but it’s not a factor after that). The downside to this ultra-absorbent heavyweight towel is that it takes a long time to dry—water tends to get trapped in the thick fabric. But as long as you’re not showering twice a day, or own more than one towel, that’s not a huge deal.
Material: Cotton Size: 31 x 57 inches GSM: 470
The Onsen towel is made with Supima long-staple cotton, which gives it its softness. It’s on the thinner side, but its unique waffle weave texture helps it overcome the main shortcoming of similar towels. The weave gives it a bit of bonus surface area that can grab water from your body, while remaining exposed to air. This makes the towel both more absorbent than some thicker towels and ensures it dries as quickly as other thin towels. Plus, waffle towels just have a real visual appeal to them—drape the Onsen over the back of a reclining chair by the side of a swimming pool sometime and get ready to field a lot of questions and compliments. It’s also the kind of towel that will serve you well in any size, from hand towel to full-blown bath sheet. One note about these towels is that they can snag easily, so you may need to be a little delicate when slinging them over the shower door or towel rack.
Boll & Branch bath towel
Material: Cotton Size: 30 x 58 inches GSM: 700
Picture any towel in your head, and you’re probably envisioning this one from Boll & Branch. It’s medium thickness, but with a tall pile. It feels plush, but not the kind of plush where it feels like you’re not getting dry very quickly. It’s soft, and feels just as good after 10 washes. Added plus: Boll & Branch ensures their product is sustainably made with organic cotton, so you can brag to your hippie in-laws when they comment on your lovely bath towel set.
Coyuchi air weight bath sheet
Material: Cotton Size: 35 x 65 inches GSM: 550
All of the towels we recommend come in a bunch of different sizes, but if you’re looking to embrace the humongous bath sheet life, consider the Coyuchi air weight bath sheet. This towel is a bit thicker than the Onsen, which helps give it a slightly softer hand feel, especially after the first wash. Each spot picks up water quickly, but because of its massive size, you’ll never want for a dry spot to wipe off a new part of your body. The problem with a thicker large bath sheet is that it can take an absurd amount of time to dry, and take up a lot of space while doing it. The Coyuchi bath sheet doesn't have this issue. Even if your roommate squishes it on the side of your towel rack after your morning shower, these large bath towels will still be invitingly dry when you pull it off the next day.
Material: Cotton Size: 30 x 56 inches GSM: 700
For a certain kind of design-conscious millennial, buying a set of printed Dusen Dusen towels is a rite of passage—a 30" x 56"-sized step towards adulthood. The brand’s sunny housewares are impossible to miss on the timeline, but chalking up their appeal to sheer aesthetics ignores how luxe they feel. Those endlessly-'grammable designs mask a dense layer of brushed terry cotton, as soft as it is absorbent. They look great strewn oh-so-casually in the corner of your selfies as bathroom decor, but also make drying off at home after another day of Zoom-hopping feel a little like setting your body to OOO.
Cozy Earth premium plush bath towels (2-pack)
Material: Viscose and cotton Size: 30 x 58 inches GSM: 800
Cozy Earth's are the thickest towels around here, clocking in with a GSM of 800—so not only are they thick and plush, but they'll dry you up real fast. These towels might be some of the most luscious that'll ever grace your body, but the only problem with thicker towels is that they tend to take a little longer to dry, so make sure your bathroom is well-ventilated to avoid the dreaded wet dog smell. However, they have such a sumptuous texture that it's worth having to run them through the wash more frequently just so that they're fresh out the dryer more days than not. And no, you're not drying off at the spa—it's your own home.
The Company Store Company Cotton Turkish Cotton Bath Towel
Material: Tencel Size: 30 x 54 inches GSM: 620
The Company Store will make sure you, and everyone else in your home, know which towel is yours. For $12 more, you can add monogramming to your bath towel just incase everyone seems to have the same towel and you're really picky about which one is “yours” even after it's been washed. These towels are thick and fluffy, and they're available in 30 colorways from neutral to bright and vibrant.
Sonoma Goods for Life ultimate bath towel
Material: Cotton Size: 30 x 54 inches GSM: N/A
The cheapest towel on this list is the Sonoma Goods bath towel, which is made by Kohls (so it's already a win according to your mom) and features a lightweight “hollow cotton” fabrication that's supposedly extra absorbent. Other towels are thicker and more plush, sure, but if you're on a budget, this option is remarkably soft and dries quickly. Texture-wise, one side feels smoother and fluffier, with the other slightly coarser like an oversized face cloth. Mercifully, it also stands the test of time. Our tester has owned one for nearly a decade and despite numerous spin cycles over the years, this one has accumulated only a few loose threads over time and virtually no discoloration.
Tekla organic cotton bath towel
Material: Cotton Size: 28 x 55 inches GSM: 600
Tekla has slowly become the cool-kid brand when it comes to pajamas, having collaborated with hot-shot labels like Stüssy and JJJJound, but the brand also makes some excellent towels. It sits on the thinner end of the spectrum, with a weight closer to Onsen's bath towel minus the waffle texture, but its terry fabric feels closer to something like a beach towel (not a bad thing). The towels come in more fun prints that you'd typically find from a Brooklinen or Boll & Branch, and when folks see the Tekla tag, it's a true “if you know, you know” moment.
West Elm organic luxe fibrosoft bath sheet
Material: Cotton Size: 28 x 54 inches GSM: 550
This wildly soft bath sheet from West Elm isn't quite as luxurious as the Coyuchi above, but it's still solidly plushy and absorbent. The size of a couch throw, West Elm's organic cotton “fibrosoft” towel dries quickly and has a fluffiness and heft to it that genuinely feels like you're wrapping up in a blanket post-shower. Despite its generously thick weave, it's also mighty absorbent so you won't detect any traces of mildew after getting it soaked.
Frontgate Resort cotton bath towel
Material: Cotton Size: 30 x 58 inches GSM: 700
This Turkish long-staple cotton bath towel is extremely soft, smooth, and durable. Its thick surface feels lovely against your skin because of a plush, tight pile. And even after several washes, it'll feel and look just as nice as it did new. For a premium experience, we'd still recommend the Boll & Branch towels, but these are a very solid runner-up.
Material: Cotton Size: 30 x 58 inches GSM: N/A
The first thing you'll notice about the Havly towel is the extra large corner loop designed for easy hanging on a hook. This loop, in addition to the towels' relatively thin weave, makes it dry a little bit faster than ones of a similar size. And if your bathroom is heavily trafficked but light on towel bars, those two features alone might make the Havly the best choice for you. The actual towel is a little bit bigger than a standard bath towel, but not quite as big as a bath sheet. It's a bit rougher in texture than the Coyuchi Air Weight towel, but still softer than a lot of other similarly thin towels we've tested.
Shinto yukine terry bath towel
Material: Cotton Size: 24 x 47 inches GSM: N/A
Shinto's Yukine towels are incredibly plush, just like the ones from Brooklinen and Riley, but they have a unique, almost squeaky feel. The manufacturer says that's because of how its towels are refined, a process that takes place after the full towel construction as opposed to before the fibers are woven together. Some may prefer the more natural, fuzzy feeling of Brooklinen or Riley, but if you're game to try a towel that's somehow both plush and slick, you'll dig the Yukine.
Saatva luxury plush towels (4-pack)
Material: Cotton Size: 30 x 58 inches GSM: N/A
Saatva originally started with mattresses and bedding, but now it's entered the bathroom. Given its attention to detail in the bedroom, Saatva's entry-way into bathroom linens feels apt. The brand offers two types of towels, a waffle weave and a plush option, and while we're fans of both, the plush versions feel especially in line with the brand's whole “luxury" aspect. They're super soft out of the packaging, only made softer during that initial wash. They absorb water really well, though we wish you could buy towels individually instead of having to commit to a four pack or a bathroom set of towels of varying sizes.
Material: Cotton Size: 40 x 60 inches GSM: 550
Painting? Nope, but you will feel like you're toweling off with art. Quiet Town, the winner of a GQ Home Award this year for its playful bath towel, specializes in basically all things bathroom except the toilet. It has a loop to hang and it's slightly oversized for a bath towel without entering gigantic bath sheet territory. Plus, the print helps elevate any drab bathroom it's hung up in.
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By Yang-Yi Goh , Avidan Grossman , Jake Woolf , and Michella Ore
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