I Tested 22 Bath Towels At Home, And These Are the Only Towels I Recommend

Associate Commerce Editorial Director, Real Simple

As a shopping editor, I've tested a lot of products—but last month, I took on my biggest challenge yet: testing 22 bath towels to find the best. Testing bath towels requires a lot of extra care, not just because choosing a towel is so personal, but also because towels change so much after a few washes. Even the fluffiest towels might not hold up to a few spin cycles.

To find the best, I tested 22 bath towels, getting two of each sent to my house—one to use, and one to set aside as a comparison at the end of the test (yes, the UPS driver had questions). My family of five used the towels normally, keeping an eye on feel, absorbency, and durability, but also just how much we liked using each one. And now, after six weeks, dozens of laundry loads, and hundreds of showers, I've settled on the standouts:

1. Italic Serene Ultraplush Australian Cotton Towel: This towel's weighty construction, plush feel, and impressive absorbency stood out the most. I found that most of the plush towels I tested really held onto water, and felt too wet, heavy, and uncomfortable to use. The Italic Serene Towel didn't have these issues—and the used and unused towels looked identical at the end of six weeks.

2. Better Homes & Gardens Signature Soft Bath Towel: By and large, the cheapest towels I tested lost their softness and showed wear and tear much more quickly than more expensive options. The exception was this very affordable Better Homes & Gardens Towel (Better Homes & Gardens is owned by Real Simple's parent company, Dotdash Meredith.) After six weeks, it was still soft, plush, and free from loose threads.

3. Bamboo Bliss Resort Bamboo Collection by RHH Bath Towel: I was surprised to find that the Bamboo Bliss Resort Bamboo Towel, which is made from a cotton and bamboo fiber blend, maintained its softness for much longer than most of the all-cotton towels. It's a great option for people who want to try something different, but it still has the very absorbent and quick-drying factors a good towel needs.

Other Bath Towels I Tested and Loved