The Onsen Bath Sheet - 100% Supima Cotton, Lightweight, Denim Blue

... That's the tag line in one of the reviews I found for this towel, and they're right. First, if your only criteria for a bath towel are thick, heavy and plush, you probably won't like these. On the other hand if you want a towel that looks terrific, performs as intended and is a pleasure to use, read on. 1. Looks terrific: These towels have a relaxed, upscale, minimalist look without being fussy. The colors are slightly muted, organic, nature inspired. Nothing garish here. All the colors would look good together. The soft waffle weave texture contrasts the hard, shiny materials in bathrooms. 2. Performs as intended: I believe a bath towel is intended to dry you after a shower or bath. I was surprised by how well these towels do that. I wasn't even what I was looking for that. The waffle weave probably doubles the surface area of the towel. I am puzzled by all the reviews claiming that they're not absorbent, because that is not my experience. One reviewer claims they're not absorbent, and in the next breath talks about the fabric softener she used. As I understand it, dryer sheets and softeners coat the fibers with something that gives the illusion of softness. At the same time, it interferes with the absorbency of the fabric. My neighbor put me onto wool dryer balls (Amazon has them) instead of dryer sheets. They fluff up the clothes, prevent static and don't interfere with absorbency. Wash them in cold water, e-dry them on low and don't use softeners or dryer sheets. See if that makes a difference. 3. Pleasure to use: The first time I used them, their lightness and thinness was off-putting. But I got over it quickly because they worked so well. Their lightness actually makes them easier to handle. Schlepping a thick, heavy towel is not required. When I soap up the wash cloth, the soap doesn't get lost deep in terry cloth nap. And I really knew I was getting scrubbed. That was another unexpected pleasure. They wash up nice as described above, and I'm getting very little dryer lint out of them. Because of the stretchiness of waffle weave, folding them was a challenge. I ended up rolling them instead. I fold the bath towel into quarters, and roll it separately. I fold the hand towel lengthwise and roll the folded washcloth inside it. When I stack them on top of the bath towel, I can fit four complete sets on one 22 inch shelf. That's half the space needed for terry cloth towels. I have no intentions to go back to terry cloth.

Most amazing towel ever! Very light, soft and extremely absorbent. Seems to magically wick the water away after a shower or bath it and dries fast. Will never go back to a regular towel again, not even the luxury towels can compete. Would be nice if they had some brighter colors.

This is a very absorbent towel, that drys you quickly. I also seems to dry quickly after use. Not very soft, but not uncomfortably so. As we replace towels the Onsen will be the go to as they are a great value IMHO.

I've used other waffle weave towels and haven't liked them at all. Although others are absorbent they're also scratchy and stiff, These towels are ultra absorbent, as soft as anything I would want, and they dry very quickly. Heavy terry-cloth towels take forever to dry and smell musty by the second day, Even if you think they're expensive, just think of how much money yoiu'll save in cutting your dryer time by more than half. Two minor quibbles: first, is the limited selection of colors. I like a pop of color in my all white bathroom and I don't get that with these towels. It's not that the colors are unattractive, they're just somewhat dull. Second , I wish they came with a loop for hanging them,

Right off the bat, this is not a soft towel. If you're used to super fluffy terry towels, there will be an adjustment period. It works, though. It's extremely absorbent, although you'll need to walk the towel around when drying your hair, since you do get soggy spots on the towel (since it's super thin and very absorbent). It dries extremely quickly and I've purposely avoided washing it to see how long it takes for it to get musty. Not to be gross, but we're over a month at this point and it smells fine. The threads are very strong, although the towel itself is not. The threads want to pull out of place when they snag on anything (which happens), although I've been able to pull them back into place by grabbing the sides of the towel and pulling (kinda like a drawstring in a hoodie/jogging pants). All in all, the absorbency and overall quality of the towel outweigh the minor complaints I have about it and would recommend it.