We gave our Beach Lovers one job:
Find the best and most popular beach towels and review them.
Our review team always considers durability, price, quality, and value in their reviews.
The Nomadix Original Towel is a versatile, durable piece of gear for your next trip to the beach, the yoga studio, or to have handy in your trunk. These large towels are incredibly lightweight and packable despite their luxurious XL size of 72.5″L x 30″W. They are remarkably absorbent yet quick drying, while staying bulk-free and manageable for the breeziest outdoor experience.
We loved to find that Nomadix is also a really cool company that cares about the environment, and truly walks the walk when it comes to loving the outdoors. The Original Towels are made from 90% certified post-consumer recycled polyester, diverting 30 plastic bottles from landfills with every towel made. They are also Climate Neutral Certified, meaning they offset their emissions from production and shipping. They are committed to leaving the world better than they found it.
Rating
- Outoria Score: 4.4/5
- Quality: 5/5
- Comfort: 4/5
- Performance: 4/5
- Price/Quality: 4.5/5
Things we like:
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Over 100 design and pattern options -
XL size is big enough to sprawl out on or even use as a light blanket
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Soft, but not too fluffy
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Super absorbent – holds 4x its weight in water
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Strategically placed hanging loop
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Dries quickly
-
Odor resistant
Things we don't like:
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A bit thin if you’re looking for a fluffy, plush towel -
High absorbency, while helpful when drying off, isn’t the best for damp grass or sand – towel gets wet very easily
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Pattern only on one side of the towel, backside is charcoal gray for all designs
- Best for: Swim, yoga, backpacking, camping
- Material: 90% Certified Post-Consumer Recycled Polyester / 10% Nylon
- Size: 72.5"L x 30"W
- Weight: 16oz
- Design: Design printed on front, charcoal gray on back
- Care: Machine washable, hang dry
For Nomads – And Dwellers, Too
The Nomadix Original Towel was the first one we reviewed this year, and it really set the standard. The Nomadix Towel is a wonderfully versatile piece of equipment that you can certainly use for its intended purpose, but you can also use this towel day to day. You can stash it in your car for emergencies, keep it in your mudroom to dry off your pets, use it as a lightweight travel blanket for long flights… The list goes on and on.
Material
These towels are made with “microterry technology,” which are extra-small terry cloth loops. These tiny loops make the Nomadix towels ultra absorbent, holding 4x their weight in moisture, and aid in quick-drying, drying noticeably faster than traditional beach towels. The material is sand resistant, odor resistant, and even pet hair resistant while remaining extremely soft. The Nomadix towels have a truly tangible quality you can feel.
Size & Weight
The Nomadix Original Towels are pretty large, at 72.5″L x 30″W, but still fairly lightweight at just 16 oz. These towels are super roomy for the average beach goer – they’re even large enough to fully and comfortably fit tall folks, or provide seating for two or three bottoms.
Nomadix did their best to combat the typical issues that come along with an oversized towel. The thin material of this XL towel helps in folding down remarkably well, and the lightweight design actually makes it far more packable than the average beach or bath towel, both in terms of size and weight. The handy hanging loop also makes this XL towel a bit more manageable, with a thoughtful placement in the middle of the longest edge as opposed to the usual corner, ensuring that your towel is never dragging or touching the ground.
Performance
These towels are extremely high performing, suitable for even the most active lifestyles. We think this is a great option for campers, backpackers, and hot- yoga-goers alike. These towels are also great for music festivals, pool days, beach hangs or travel – wherever, whenever.
The Nomadix Original towel holds 4x its weight in moisture, making this towel exceptional for drying off or for keeping your mat safe during hot yoga. While the towel dries 4x faster than a traditional towel, this absorbency, while a nice perk in most scenarios, is also an unfortunate drawback.
These towels are almost too good at absorbing moisture, making them a little inconvenient for laying out on moist sand at the beach, or picnicking on damp grass. The towel is designed to soak up any and all moisture it comes into contact with, which could leave you with a damp picnic blanket or a soggy beach towel.
As a nice little bonus, these towels are also pet-hair resistant, making them an awesome choice for drying off your pup after bath time or a water adventure.
Odor Resistance
Nomadix doesn’t treat their fabrics with any odor resistant chemicals, but they do claim to be odor resistant because they are so fast drying. Basically, so long as the towels are hung with enough room to dry, they dry before mildew or funky smells can really make a home. Even for longer stretches between washes, like for camping or backpacking trips, the handy loop allows you to hang these towels directly on your pack to air-dry on the go. This keeps your towels odor free, and keeps your damp towel away from the rest of your dry gear.
These towels are also machine washable, so it’s super easy to get them smelling fresh after pushing them to their limit in your gym bag. Just be sure to hang dry for the longest-lasting towels.
Value
These towels are mid range in terms of price, but we’d say they are worth the extra spending because they are super high value. They are versatile, lightweight, and super absorbent. The quick drying and odor resistant properties also mean less washing, which ultimately means a longer life for your towels, but even just feeling the material in our hands, we can tell it’s going to last for years of active use.
Worth (4X) It’s Weight In Salt (Water)
We were nothing short of impressed by the Nomadix Original Towels, and we can’t recommend them more. From their sustainability to their versatility, Nomadix set the bar for the modern day beach towel.
Related Reviews
Things we like:
-
Over 100 design and pattern options
-
XL size is big enough to sprawl out on or even use as a light blanket
-
Soft, but not too fluffy
-
Super absorbent – holds 4x its weight in water
-
Strategically placed hanging loop
-
Dries quickly
-
Odor resistant
Things we don't like:
-
A bit thin if you’re looking for a fluffy, plush towel
-
High absorbency, while helpful when drying off, isn’t the best for damp grass or sand – towel gets wet very easily
-
Pattern only on one side of the towel, backside is charcoal gray for all designs
Frequently asked questions
Nomadix Original Towels are machine washable, but the company doesn’t recommend machine drying. These towels don’t need to be washed as regularly as typical bath towels because of their quick-drying properties – they’re designed to dry before harmful or odor causing bacteria has time to form. They recommend washing after substantial soiling, but otherwise, semiregular washing is more than enough for this trusty little towel.
Nomadix Original Towels are the perfect companion for hot yoga classes for a couple reasons. For one, unlike most bath or beach towels, these towels are large enough to cover your entire yoga mat, giving you full use of your space. Additionally, the thin fabric is less likely to impact your balance like a fluffier towel might. Lastly, the whole idea for using a yoga towel is to keep your surface dry for better grip when you inevitably start to sweat, and these towels are pros at absorption, holding 4x their weight in moisture. A yoga towel will significantly improve your hot yoga experience, so we definitely recommend stashing one in your gym bag.
A yoga towel is designed to enhance your hot yoga practice by minimizing moisture on your mat, but still providing a solid, slip-free foundation for your flow. Yoga towels are usually quite a bit longer and a little bit more narrow than most beach or bath towels, with the most ideal size being slightly larger than your yoga mat so you can utilize all of the surface area. Yoga towels are usually made out of some sort of microfiber, so the towels are thinner and more absorbent than other towels you may have around the home.
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