Quick dry has become one of those phrases that appears on everything. It is on gym towels, travel towels, beach towels and even regular bath towels. But not all of them actually live up to it.
If you have ever bought a so-called quick dry towel only to find it still damp the next morning, you know what we mean. So what actually makes the fastest drying beach towel fast? And how do you tell the real thing from the marketing?
Here is the breakdown.
It Starts with the Fabric
Cotton is the main villain here. It is soft, it is familiar and it absorbs a huge amount of water. That last part sounds good until you realise how long it takes to release all that water again. A cotton beach towel left hanging in mild Australian sun can take six to eight hours to fully dry. Stuff one damp into a bag and you are dealing with a musty towel by the next morning.
The fastest drying beach towel options are almost always microfibre. The ultra-fine fibres absorb water quickly but release it much faster, which is why a good microfibre towel can be dry in one to two hours in normal conditions. That is the difference between a towel that is ready for your next session and one that is still draped over the shower rail.
Our beach towels are made from high-grade rPET microfibre which is recycled from plastic bottles. The fastest drying beach towel is not just about the material though. The grade of the microfibre and the weave density both affect how quickly a towel dries.
Does Thickness Change the Dry Time?
This is where it gets a bit counterintuitive. Thicker is not faster when it comes to drying time. A thick microfibre towel holds more water in its fibres and takes longer to release it than a well-made lighter weight version.
Will and Wind towels are designed to be lightweight and packable without sacrificing absorbency. You get a towel that soaks up what it needs to and then dries quickly, which is exactly what you want at the beach or when travelling.
What Else Affects the Speed of the Fastest Drying Beach Towel?
Even the fastest drying beach towel dries faster in some conditions than others.
Sun and airflow make the biggest difference. Hang your towel in a spot where air can move around it and it will be dry well before a towel left in a pile on a chair.
Humidity slows things down. In tropical Queensland or after a summer storm, everything takes a bit longer. A microfibre towel still dries significantly faster than cotton though, even in high humidity.
How you store it. Rolling a damp towel up tight and stuffing it in a bag slows the drying process considerably. If you can hang it out or at least open it up on the back seat, it will be ready again much sooner.
Why Dry Time Actually Matters
Beyond the obvious inconvenience of a wet towel in your bag, there is a hygiene reason to care about this. A towel that stays damp for hours becomes a good environment for bacteria and mildew. The fastest drying beach towel is also the freshest between uses, which matters more on a multi-day trip or when you are camping and cannot do a daily wash.
Pair a quick drying beach towel with a car seat towel for the drive home and neither your towel nor your seats will be sitting in moisture longer than they need to.
How Will and Wind Beach Towels Dry
Our customers consistently mention how quickly our towels dry as one of the main reasons they keep coming back. We have had people tell us they took one away camping for a week and it was always dry by the next morning, even without direct sun.
Every Will and Wind beach towel is made to dry fast, pack small and look great doing it. All made from recycled plastic bottles, so good for you and for the ocean.