I have a set of 4 bath towels from Pottery Barn that are 20 years old and still look perfect.

I'll keep that in mind, thanks!

Believe it or not, Target sells pretty good quality towels. I wouldn’t consider them extra fancy or high-end, but I have some that have held up suprisingly well.

Have used Calvin Klein towels for years they last forever and are good, quality towels

Never thought they'd make towels, thanks

I have to agree, my best-condition towel is a Target buy

The Turkish ones from Costco

I picked up some Super Pile towels from Abyss & Habidecor probably 7 years ago, and they’re still kicking butt. Very expensive towels, but they’re by far the softest, most absorbing, and nicest towels that I’ve ever owned. If they’re in your budget, or you can find them on sale they’re really phenomenal towels.

Money is no object. I bet if you divided the cost per use compared to the cheap ones I have, yours would still be cheaper.

I was going to suggest JC Penney because those towels last forever, but apparently they were discontinued! J.C. Penney home towel

In that case, Abyss & Habidecor Super Pile are about the best you can buy. They will spoil you.

I’ve got these quick drying towels from LLBean that are indestructible. They have not faded or yellowed or discolored after 10 years. They’re a thin nubby texture as opposed to fluffy and soft, but I love the feel. They also do really dry quickly so no stank.

I would like to know this as well. I'm so tired of buying a nice looking towel set only for it to freaking repel water.

Redland cotton /thread.

They’re not the “ultra mega super plush” kind of towels (which that overly-plushness actually contributes to fiber degradation over time) but it’s a cross between a waffle and a “regular” towel imo. Super absorbent and very, very high quality.

One question, what parameters to keep in mind while purchasing a towel online? Thread count etc? Any thing else in particular?

Ikea honestly had decent towels.

Usually the higher the GSM (grams per square meter) rating the more fluffy and absorbent the towels will be. I usually go with 700+ GSM towels on a minimum for myself. Usually if you can find a higher GSM towel by a reputable manufacturer you should be good to go. High quality materials definitely make a big difference in absorbency and softness as well, so that’s always something to keep in mind. Also the way the towels are stitched, dyed, and put together can be a good indicator of how durable they will be long term.

I’m enjoying the towels recommended by wire cutter- Frontgate. One year in and they’re still great.

I wouldn't be too focused on brands. Any towel sets that are 100% cotton and thick wil be good.

I have mulitiple towel sets that I bought at least 20 years ago that I'm still using. They're thick and sturdy and have always been washed in hot water. I couldn't tell you the brand of any of them. I'd stay away from any that aren't 100% cotton.

One thing I did find out is that those "sculpted" or brocade-type patterned towels aren't nearly as nice in the long run for drying oneself as the the regular smooth pattern.

Bed Bath & Beyond!

I went down the towel rabbit hole and ended up getting Turkish towels based on Reddit recommendations. I like them, but don’t love them. My partner hates them.

They dry very quickly when hung up. When people say “they’re so absorbent!” They mean they are more absorbent than they look and feel. However, I have to go over myself a few times before I’m dry. They feel like drying yourself with a throw blanket.

Compare that to my Ralph Lauren plush towels that are about 3 years old and still look very good (not like new, but close) and dry myself very quickly but are still damp the next morning.

I bought some 100% Egyptian cotton bath towels 15 years ago and they didn't absorb well at all. I paid a premium price for them too. So I held on to them and just thought they would break themselves in over time. Nope. They never did. So, just because something is made with certain cotton doesn't mean it is good. A trusted review matters, so thanks for asking this here. I'm gonna research some of the recommendations here!

Restoration hardware

We got brooklinen towels as a wedding gift and we like them a lot! Only about four years old, but they’ve held up well. They’re just terry cloth type towel, so not the Turkish ones or anything like that

Agree with the ‘ it’s not the brand it’s how it’s made’ sentiment. 100% cotton, densely woven but not velour. That’s all you really need to look for.

I still have towels I bought at Sears when I went off to college, 1990, other than faded a bit, still good. Had and wore out the Target towels from our wedding registry. I guess they were not Targets top tier towels. Still have both children’s nap time towel from kindergarten -Walmart towels!- oldest is now a junior in college and younger is a freshman. The applique on both has worn out but pleasantly surprised at how sturdy snd long lived they have been.

My mom would win the ‘bought the best towel ever’ game though. Moved to England to marry my dad in 1968. Only brought a suitcase of clothes, had to buy household goods when she arrived. Bought a plaid woven towel at some high end department store in London. Still using it, not even faded. 54 years and counting.

My bath sheet from Frontgate is the the best I’ve ever had! Bath sheets generally are great because they are so much bigger.

Check out the Turkish towels on Frontgate

Lands End Supima cotton Bath SHEET

That’s the important part. Get yourself the BIG towel, you’ll thank me. They’re so soft and amazing. We own 6 in our house, 2 per person.

I like the thin like a kitchen towel turkish towels with no pile at all. They are not plush and likely won't last forever but they dry quickly when hung. I like that unlike plush terry bath sheets they do not hog up the whole load and they dry much quicker in the dryer. I do keep some plush terry for sometimes but for every day I use the thin no plush kind.

Me too, those things are amazing

+1 for Turkish but also lands end has some nice ones

In case it's helpful to you or others with similar concern: do not use fabric softener a on your towels (liquid, dryer sheets, tears of your vanquished enemies, etc.) They add a waxy layer to your towels that make them less absorbent

Frontgate resort collection

Agreed. Never use fabric softener on anything you want to be absorbent.

Fieldcrest. I’ve had mine for at least 10 years. Purchased at Target.

Wife and I got some from Restoration Hardware as a wedding gift. We used them about seven years. We replaced them with an identical set. We still have the originals, now they just dry the cars.

If you’ve already used fabric softener with your towels, wash them a couple times with white vinegar to get rid of the waxy coating

My JC penny towels I bought in college are holding up much better than the more expensive Wamsutta ones I got a few years ago from Bed Bath Beyond. The Wamsutta ones have a bunch of pulled threads.

Red Land Cotton is the best ever

Don’t be fooled by Turkish or Egyptian Cotton. Most is fake anyways

At some point there should be a subreddit for RLC, they way they are popping up and growing. Lol

We have Brook linen towels. Have for 2y and they are like new. Great investment

Costco has some nice bath towels, but not sure of the brands they carry. I received JC Penney towels as a housewarming gift over 40+ years ago and they are used as rags now but still in pretty decent shape!

Which ones? Even the low lint ones I recently got are non stop lint makers

Charisma cotton towels from Costco are awesome

Almost 20 years in on my IKEA towels and they're just now being pushed to the "backup" instead of "primary" towel set.

Cagologlu Hamami towels from J.Peterman

Aquis makes great, super absorbent waffle-weave towels. I’ve had mine for over 20 years and they still feel and look like new.

Also, some manufacturers will put softeners on the towels before they ship them, so that should be considered when comparing towels at the store by feel, and if they perform poorly at first you might be able to improve them by washing to remove those softeners.

I had a friend go off registry for those as a wedding gift eight years ago and the ones I registered for are now dog towels while these are still rich and fluffy.

Thank you! OMG, I've been looking for these for ages to replace my favorite towel (that's now long on the tooth and without labels as clues).

The rough exfoliating texture is so much more satisfying than fluffy terry that absorb badly and never dry.

You have my gratitude, internet friend!

https://www.looria.com/bot/BuyItForLife?q=BiFL+Towels%3F+Need+new+towels+soon%2C+looking+for+suggestions!

>Based on the comments, here are the top recommended BIFL towels:
>
>Turkish towels (recommended by multiple users for their quick-drying and absorbent properties)
>
>Onsen waffle towels (recommended for their durability and absorbency)
>
>Frontgate Resort Cotton Bath Towels (recommended for their softness and lack of odor retention)
>
>American Soft Linen towels (recommended for their fluffiness and size)
>
>LL Bean Organic Textured Cotton Towel (recommended for their quick-drying and good quality)

Redland cotton 100% and USA made

Onsen Waffle Towels, especially when on sale. I bought a set a few years ago and was dubious of a waffle towel being absorbent. Boy was I wrong. Bought 3 more sets and they are going strong. The plus is the towels themselves dry really fast and never get a musty smell after a few uses. I give sets as gifts and everyone I give them to loves them. I'm impressed with how they've lasted as well.

Sounds like something I'd buy, is Onsen the brand or are they just what's used at Onsen bathhouses?

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A consideration: I gave my mom very very nice thick towels one year, as she was still using some of the same towels we had when I was a kid. They were pretty thin. Later on, I noticed that she was not using the new towels, and had put them away in the highest shelf of the linen closet. I asked her why, and she said that they were pretty, but took forever to dry when she washed them, which was costing money on the electric bill. She also said the thin ones got her just as dry. So I no longer keep the super-luxe towels, either. Medium to light weight ones are more economical and less expensive. So BIFL is not necessarily an unmitigated good.

Thank you! That is something I did not know. So the wax comes from the softener, I never would of thought

Hey thanks! 44 years old and I'm just learning how to was towels lol

I bought Matouk towels a couple years ago and they are fantastic.

The problem is always that quality goes down once a product gets a good reputation. It takes years or over a decade before it finally loses that reputation.

I'm currently looking for new towels. As an impulse buy, I bought some highly rated ones on Amazon, big mistake. Washed them 6-7 times (just water) before we used them and they still lint all over.

We previously had the Charisma from Costco but it looks like their quality may not be he same as it was so I started looking. I've referred to the Wirecutter rundown quite a bit but just can't decide which way to go. It only mentions lint once, so should I assume that lint is not an issue or that they don't care?

We have "lint bunnies" all over our bathroom and that's almost the number one thing I care about. Most people don't talk about lint, they mention how absorbent and plush they are, which is also important. I have no problem washing them a few times before first use and they can lint then but not after! Every morning I get lint in my eyelashes, mouth, hair.

I need 6 bath and 6 hand towels so getting all Frontgate towels seems like a lot of money. But if they don't lint, they'll be worth it. Also was considering the Garnett Hill or Lands End. Two of the bath towels could be different from the rest, I'm almost tempted to buy from two different companies and run my own test!

Any guidance is appreciated!