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Reviewed / Séamus Bellamy
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Credit:
Reviewed / Séamus Bellamy
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As an easy-to-pack towel that will dry you off and leave the sand behind, the PackTowl excels. Read More
They Aysesa towel absorbs water well, dries quickly and gives you an easy to access pocket for all your smaller items at the beach. Read More
Bright colors, thirsty cotton and sand-free, the Bay Laurel checks all the boxes for an easy-to-use Turkish towel. Read More
The Tesalate's colors and print really pops but the performance is only so-so. Read More
A lighter colored cotton towel, the Company Store towel was easily stained. Read More
If your summer plans involve rays of sun and a sandy beach, you’re going to need a water bottle and towel. Not just any towel - a towel that will protect you from rough sand while gently absorbing water off you. I speak of a magnificent beach towel.
Larger than your average bath towel, the best beach towel offers a dry and sand-free lounge area as well as a quick way to soak up water after a dip. Ideally, it should be resistant to any sloppy, staining drinks like cola – and colorful to add some pizzazz to your photos.
After weeks of research and our second round of testing top-rated beach towels, we can tell you that the REI PackTowl Personal Beach Towel (available at Amazon) is the best beach towel for most people. Available in a range of sizes, it is quickly absorbent, shakes off sand easily and dries quickly in a breeze.
The PackTowl Personal Towel absorbed water quickly and efficiently in our testing.
Eye catching prints and colors
Releases sand
Not as absorbent as other towels
Beach towels are admittedly a low-tech piece of outdoor gear, but there are still some aspects that to consider when finding the most soft, absorbent, and durable towel you can find.
Turkish towels: Turkish towels have extra long fibers, and with use and washing, they become incredibly soft. Before testing beach towels, I considered luxury in towels by plushness alone. After testing these thinner towels, I changed my mind—they absorb just as quickly as fluffy clouds of terry cloth, without holding onto the scads of sand that terry cloth likes to pick up.
Travel towels: Travel towels are lightweight and dry quickly, but using them to dry off has traditionally ranged from frustrating to unpleasant (with a texture of a paper towel at best). Newer travel towels have offered a softer, flocked surface and better absorption. If travel towels have been unpleasant for you in the past, it’s worth revisiting them.
Terrycloth: Formed with little loops that greatly increase surface area, terrycloth is common in bathroom textiles. The extra surface area can help absorb liquids, like when you’re drying off after a shower. Terry cloth is rated in grams per square meter, or GSM, which indicates weight and density and is roughly similar to thread count in sheets.
Generally, a beach towel is expected to be long enough to lie on, so at least 60 inches by 30 inches. Of course, anything bigger, like 72 inches by 40 inches, will give you some extra wiggle room. The towel should be easy to wrap around you to help warm you up if needed and, in a pinch, should provide some privacy for switching out of a bathing suit. Anything smaller is really just a bath towel.
Rebecca Boniface
Contributor
Rebecca Boniface is a certified PADI dive instructor, full-time nomad, and DIY enthusiast.
Our team is here for one purpose: to help you buy the best stuff and love what you own. Our writers, editors, and lab technicians obsess over the products we cover to make sure you're confident and satisfied. Have a different opinion about something we recommend? Email us and we'll compare notes.
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