How to Choose Bath Towels That Don’t Suck: A Canadian’s No-BS Guide

How to Choose Bath Towels That Don’t Suck: A Canadian’s No-BS Guide

You’ve been settling for bad towels. Thin ones that feel like sandpaper after three washes. Scratchy ones that came in a six-pack from a big box store. Towels that were "fine" the day you bought them and have been slowly declining ever since.

Here’s the thing: most people have never actually thought about what makes a good towel. And that’s exactly how you end up with a linen closet full of mediocre ones.

This guide covers everything you need to know to buy bath towels you’ll actually love — from GSM and cotton types to construction methods and sizing. No fluff. Well, actually, a lot of fluff. The good kind.

What Is Towel GSM (and Why Should You Care)?

GSM stands for grams per square metre. It’s the single most useful number when comparing bath towels, because it tells you exactly how dense the fabric is — which directly correlates to how soft, thick, and absorbent the towel feels.

Think of it like thread count for sheets, except GSM is actually reliable. A 300 GSM towel and a 700 GSM towel are wildly different products, even if they’re both labelled "100% cotton" on the tag.

GSM Range	Weight Class	Feel	Best For
300–400	Lightweight	Thin, coarse	Gym bags, beach, travel
400–500	Standard	Medium softness	Most retail bath towels
500–600	Mid-luxury	Plush, absorbent	Nice hotel bathrooms
600–700+	Luxury / Spa	Dense, cushioned	Five-star hotels, Benji

Most towels you’ll find at Canadian retailers like Linen Chest, Simons, or Hudson’s Bay sit in the 400–500 GSM range. That’s fine for everyday use, but it’s not luxury. If you’ve ever used a towel at a five-star hotel and thought "why does this feel so much better?" — you were feeling the difference between 450 GSM and 650+ GSM.

Our Plush Towel Set is 700 GSM — the top of the luxury range. It’s the weight you’d find at a high-end spa, except you’re paying direct-to-consumer prices instead of five-star-hotel markup.

Not All Cotton Is Created Equal

Every towel on the planet claims to be "100% cotton." And technically, most of them are. But cotton quality varies enormously depending on the fibre length, where it’s grown, and how it’s processed. Here’s what to actually look for.

Standard Cotton

This is what you’ll find in most budget and mid-range towels. The fibres are shorter, which means they need to be twisted tightly to hold together. The result is a stiffer, less absorbent towel that tends to feel rougher over time. It works. It’s not special.

Egyptian Cotton

Widely considered the gold standard for luxury textiles. Egyptian cotton has extra-long staple fibres (ELS) that produce a smoother, stronger yarn. Towels made from genuine Egyptian cotton are exceptionally soft and durable, but they’re also heavy and can take a long time to dry — which can lead to a musty smell between uses if you’re not careful.

Turkish Cotton

Similar to Egyptian cotton in fibre length, but thinner and quicker to dry. Turkish cotton towels get softer with every wash and strike a good balance between absorbency and dry time. They’re a popular choice in the luxury market for good reason.

Combed Cotton

Combing is a finishing process that removes shorter, weaker fibres from the cotton yarn, leaving behind only the longer, stronger ones. The result is smoother, softer, and more resistant to pilling. Any reputable towel should use combed cotton as a baseline.

The takeaway: "100% cotton" is a starting point, not a quality guarantee. Look at the fibre type, the processing, and the GSM together. A 700 GSM combed cotton towel will outperform a 400 GSM "Egyptian cotton" towel that’s actually made from short-staple blends.

Zero-Twist vs. Standard Terry: What’s the Difference?

This is where towel construction gets interesting — and where most shoppers have no idea what they’re looking at.

In a standard terry towel, cotton fibres are twisted together into yarn before being woven into loops. Twisting makes the yarn stronger, but it also makes it stiffer. That stiffness is why many towels feel crunchy out of the package and don’t really soften up until they’ve been through a dozen wash cycles.

Zero-twist construction is a completely different approach. Instead of twisting, the cotton fibres are held together by a water-soluble binder that dissolves in the first wash. What you’re left with is the raw cotton fibre — untwisted, lofty, and incredibly soft from the very first use.

Why Zero-Twist Towels Absorb Better

The untwisted fibres create a significantly larger surface area than twisted yarn. More surface area means more contact with water, which means faster moisture absorption. You’ll notice the difference immediately: a zero-twist towel wicks moisture off your skin in one pass, while a standard terry towel needs a couple of rubs to do the same job.

The increased airflow between fibres also means zero-twist towels dry faster on the rack — which helps prevent that damp, musty smell that plagues thicker towels.

The Durability Question

The one knock on zero-twist towels is that they can be less durable than high-twist terry. Without the structural rigidity of twisted yarn, some cheaper zero-twist towels lose their shape after a few dozen washes. The solution? Higher GSM. A 700 GSM zero-twist towel has enough density and fibre mass that it holds up beautifully wash after wash — it just happens to be softer while doing it.

That’s exactly why we built our Plush Towel Set at 700 GSM with zero-twist construction. You get the softness advantage without the durability trade-off.

Bath Towel Sizes: What You’re Actually Getting

Towel sizes aren’t standardised the way you might expect. A "bath towel" from one brand can be significantly smaller than one from another. Here’s what the general ranges look like in Canada:

Wash cloth: 12” × 12” — For face washing, cleansing, or as part of a bath set.

Hand towel: 16” × 28” to 20” × 30” — For drying hands at the sink.

Standard bath towel: 27” × 52” — This is what most retailers sell. It’s adequate, but it won’t wrap around most adults with any room to spare.

Oversized bath towel: 30” × 60” — Noticeably more coverage. Wraps properly, tucks if needed, and looks intentional on the towel bar.

Bath sheet: 35” × 60”+ — The largest option. Full body coverage, spa-level luxury. Harder to fit on standard towel racks.

Our towels measure 30” × 60” — oversized, but not so large that they’re unwieldy. It’s the sweet spot between generous coverage and practical everyday use.

What OEKO-TEX Standard 100 Actually Means

You’ll see various safety certifications on towel packaging, but OEKO-TEX Standard 100 is the one worth paying attention to. It’s an independent, globally recognised testing standard that screens textiles for over 350 harmful substances — including formaldehyde, heavy metals, pesticide residues, phthalates, and allergenic dyes.

If a towel carries the OEKO-TEX Standard 100 label, it means every component of the product — the cotton, the dye, the thread, all of it — has been tested and verified safe for direct skin contact. It’s especially important for anyone with sensitive skin, allergies, or young children in the house.

Every Benji towel is OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certified. We think that should be table stakes, not a luxury feature.

How to Care for Your Bath Towels (So They Actually Last)

Even the best towel in the world will deteriorate if you treat it poorly. Here’s how to keep your towels soft, absorbent, and fresh for years.

Wash before first use. New towels have residual manufacturing lint and sometimes fabric finishes that reduce absorbency. A first wash activates the fibres and improves performance immediately.

Skip the fabric softener. This is the single biggest mistake people make. Fabric softener coats cotton fibres with a waxy residue that makes them feel smooth temporarily but reduces absorbency over time. Use a splash of white vinegar instead — it softens naturally and removes soap buildup.

Wash warm, not hot. Warm water cleans effectively without breaking down cotton fibres. Hot water can cause shrinkage and reduce the life of your towels.

Tumble dry on medium. Over-drying on high heat damages the fibres and makes towels stiff. Pull them out while they’re still slightly warm and fold or hang immediately to maintain that plush loft.

Wash towels separately. Towels shed lint, especially in the first few washes. Keeping them separate from your bedding and clothes protects everything in the load.

Hang, don’t bunch. Between uses, hang your towels on a bar (not a hook) so they can air dry fully. Bunched towels trap moisture and breed bacteria. That’s where the musty smell comes from.

The Towel Buying Cheat Sheet

If you remember nothing else from this guide, here’s the short version:

GSM of 600+ for a genuinely plush, absorbent bath towel. Anything under 400 is a gym towel.

100% cotton, preferably long-staple or combed. Avoid polyester blends for bath use.

Zero-twist or low-twist construction for maximum softness from the first wash.

Oversized (30” × 60” or larger) so it actually wraps around you like a towel should.

OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certified to confirm no harmful chemicals are in the product.

No fabric softener, ever. Vinegar is your friend.

Ready to Upgrade?

Our Plush Towel Set checks every box: 700 GSM, zero-twist 100% cotton, oversized at 30” × 60”, and OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certified. Two towels per set, three colours, free shipping across Canada on orders over $150, and backed by our 100-Night Trial.

200,000+ Canadians already sleep with Benji. It might be time they dried off with us too.

Shop the Plush Towel Set →