I get it. You’re probably looking for the best travel towel, which is why you ended up here.
Here’s the deal: I’ve come up with a list of the best and most popular travel towels, then tested, rated and compared them all. Below is a list of the best travel towels ranked from the best to the least best.
(I didn’t write best to worst because all of the travel towels I’ve reviewed are pretty good and all of the towels serve different purposes and may meet your needs but not someone else’s, etc.)
Each towel blurb contains only a condensed version of my review, so feel free to hit the ‘Read the Full Review’ button to get an in depth feel of each towel.
Control Product: Cotton Bath Towel
Price: $11
In order to give you an idea of the ratings of the towels, I rated a generic cotton bath towel as my ‘control product’.
Ratings:
- Design: 6/10
- Portability: 1/10
- Features: 5/10
- Absorbency and Drying Speed: 5/10
- Value: 8/10
Total: 25/50
#1: Eagle Creek Travel Towel
Price: $22
Pros: Plushest travel towel and lightweight with lots of useful add ons
Cons: Towel in size large isn’t large enough to cover my entire body
Verdict: Best designed travel towel overall, but not the lightest
Ratings:
- Design: 10/10
- Portability: 8/10
- Features: 8/10
- Absorbency and Drying Speed: 9/10
- Value: 8/10
Total: 43/50
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#2: Sea To Summit Travel Towel
Price: $26
Pros: Lightweight and compact, while having many added features
Cons: Very thin and may be too narrow to cover your entire body
Verdict: As a super compact and lightweight travel towel, the Sea to Summit large DryLite towel is not luxurious, but a great option for lightweight travelers, hikers, backpackers and more.
Ratings:
- Design: 8/10
- Portability: 10/10
- Features: 9/10
- Absorbency and Drying Speed: 8/10
- Value: 7/10
Total: 42/50
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#3: Grand Trunk Travel Towel
Price: $29
Pros: Lightweight, can be worn using the button closure, useful add ons
Cons: More expensive than most travel towels, not plush
Verdict: The Grand Trunk towel is extremely similar to the Sea To Summit towel, except that it has simple wearable feature.
Ratings:
- Design: 8/10
- Portability: 8/10
- Features: 10/10
- Absorbency and Drying Speed: 8/10
- Value: 6/10
Total: 40/50
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#4: Travelon Travel Towel
Price: $11
Pros: Inexpensive, large enough to wrap around body, lightweight
Cons: No hanging hook or carrying pouch
Verdict: This is a travel towel that will please the minimalists with its no-frills style and unmatched value.
Ratings:
- Design: 7/10
- Portability: 7/10
- Features: 6/10
- Absorbency and Drying Speed: 8/10
- Value: 10/10
Total: 38/50
Read the Full Review Buy This Towel
About my ratings and rankings:
The towels are ranked in 5 different categories:
- Design – the design aspect refers to the overall feel, style and quality of the product
- Portability – this indicates how compact, light and easy it is to travel with the towel
- Features – the features category covers the frills and added
- Absorbency and Drying Speed – this is one of the most important aspects of a travel towel and is determined by how much water each towel can absorb and how fast the towel can dry
- Value – the value rating is determined by the price of the product in relation to what the product brings to the table
Jonathan’s Personal Recommendations:
Each travel towel which I’ve reviewed has benefits in their respective aspects.
- The Eagle Creek travel is the most plush while still being portable.
- The Sea to Summit Pack travel towel is the most portable and also has many add-ons like a pouch, drying hook and anti-microbial treatment.
- The Grand Trunk towel has tons of features and is similar to the Sea to Summit towel, but a bit pricier.
- The Travelon Towel is by far the best value and absorbent and quick drying but doesn’t have many add-ons.
Best Overall: Eagle Creek Travel Towel
One of the reasons I’ve decided to rate the Eagle Creek travel towel so highly in the ‘Design’ category was because I felt that they did an impressive job at combining the portability of a travel towel with the plushness of a cotton bath towel. Unlike other travel towels, the Eagle Creek towel actually feels somewhat like a bath towel you’d use at home. I feel that overall the Eagle Creek travel towel is the best travel towel by a narrow margin.
Read the full review of the Eagle Creek travel towel.
Best Value: Travelon Travel Towel
If you aren’t big on frills like drying hooks and carrying pouches, then I’d highly recommend the Travelon Microfiber Travel Towel, which costs only $11 on Amazon.com. At $11, the Travelon towel is by far the best buy and you could almost buy 3 Travelon towels for the price of one Grand Trunk towel. Honestly, I’m not sure how often I’d need a button clasp to wear my towel around my waist, and if I have a hanger in my hotel room or hostel that would completely remove the need for a drying hook. Sometimes features aren’t all that important.
Read the full review of the Travelon travel towel.
Overall Travel Towel Thoughts and Design Suggestions:
All of the travel towels that I’ve tested, except the Travelon towel, have been too long and too narrow. This makes it difficult to wear the towel around your body, especially if you are a woman.
One aspect that I like about the Eagle Creek travel towel’s carrying pouch that the other carrying pouches didn’t have was that it was airy and didn’t overly compress the travel towel. This allowed for the towel dry a bit and air out while in the mesh stuff sack.
Also, I’d like to see a travel towel company make two hooks, one on two different corners of the towel. It might be a bit ‘overkill’, but it would be nice to see a travel gear company create a viable and practical towel with two hooks. Most travel towels, including the Eagle Creek travel towel and the Sea to Summit travel towel have a button clasped hook at one corner of the towel. This feature is helpful for allowing towels to be hung to dry, however when the towel is hanging from one corner, the towel ends up being scrunched up together, which prevents the towel from drying fast as possible.
If a travel towel had two hooks, each hook being on a different corner, the travel towel would be able to hang straight without scrunching up, allowing for a larger surface area of the towel to be exposed, which would make the towel dry faster.
Additional Thoughts:
Do you know of any top travel towels for TheTravelGearReviews.com to review? Let me know either in the comments section or on the contact page.
Do you have a travel towel or travel product that you would like for TheTravelGearReviews.com to potentially review? Feel free to contact me through the contact page.
Some of the travel towels were provided for reviewing purposes. As always, these reviews contain only my honest views and opinions. Also, some links found on this page are affiliate links, meaning that I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase, at no additional cost to you. This helps to fund the site. I would never endorse a product or service I didn’t actually use and believe in.