How to choose your swim towels

Can you imagine being at the swimming pool without your swim towel? Of course not! It’s one of the most essential items for your practice.

Most swimmers have their own choices when it comes to the size and quality of towels. After years of swimming, we have listed the following types of swim towels that we have found very useful. These are a guidelines that we believe can be considered.

The number of towels you need depends on the number of training sessions you have in a day and how frequently you need to get in and out of water. It also depends on how cold your pool is, what kind of event you are swimming, your hair type, and the changing rooms you have.

The typical types of towels that are available in the market are the

• Full sized towels
• Bathrobes or poncho towels
• Hair towels
• Medium or hand towels
• Small or face towels

The microfiber towel

This is one of the most common towels that swimmers use. Available in 3 sizes, the most common ones are 60 by 80 cm and 80 by 130 cm

Heavy long microfiber towels are most common among swimmers. They absorb water fast, which keeps them quite dry. It is also very warm, perfect for throwing over your shoulders after a long day of swimming in a cold pool.

For kids above 14 years, using a medium-sized towel is recommended.

The full-sized towels may take up space in your swimming bag.

Pros

• Dries fast & high absorbent
• Swimmers prefer light weight towels

Cons

• Does not feel as good as cotton towels do

The cotton towel

Though microfiber towels are super absorbent, they are not as comfortable and soft as cotton towels. Cotton towels are really useful when you need to wrap the towel around you almost for the entire day, such as during the days of the competitions.

Pros

• Soft and comfortable
• easily available

Cons

• Heavy compared to microfiber
• Takes time to dry

Normal turkish towels are also used by swimmers. The towel keeps you warm and is very comfortable. However, it doesn’t dry fast, as it is very absorbent. It can also be very thick, heavy, and cumbersome to carry in a bag.

While the towel might not be great for competitions (as it is not travel worthy), it is perfect for after swimming and a shower when you need to feel warm and relaxed. It is perfect to wrap around you. I personally recommend using long, turkish towels.

Some towels are also lightweight and do not occupy much space inside the bag.

The head wrap towels

The head towel or the hair towel is usually used by swimmers with long hair. Long hair takes time to dry and can make your clothes wet after swimming. This can make you catch a cold, and it is also very inconvenient to deal with strings of wet hair.

However, this head towel is a great way to dry your hair without causing frizz or heat damage with a blow dryer. Having hair wrapped up in a towel allows the towel to gradually absorb the moisture without roughly rubbing it dry. Less friction on hair (the hair is weaker when it is wet) results in less breakage and split ends.

We have found head towels from Decathlon incredibly useful. Just wrap your hair with the towel and button it. The super absorbent head towels retain the water stopping it from dripping. and keeps the hair off your back and face.

After Nabaiji head towels, you buy the one below

Pros

• Super Absorbent since 100% cotton
• Reduces hair damage

Cons

• Not meant for very long hair
• Be careful of the button

The swim robe and poncho

Almost all swimmers have the swim robe or bathrobe as it is sometimes called. These seem useful when we participate in swimming competitions. The swimming competitions are held all day and the events are spread out during the entire day

However, make sure your bathrobe is not cotton, as it will not dry. If you wear the wet bathrobe, it will not have much use.

Another incredibly useful towel is the swimming poncho towel. It is similar to the bath robe but it is almost like an oversized hoodie in towel form. This is very useful for changing under and shielding yourself from the sun. The poncho towel can also be less cumbersome as it is thinner and easy to pack.

Many swimmers change under poncho towels when changing rooms are unavailable in large competitions, or facilities are not clean.

How to take care of swim towels

• Wash the towel with soap once a week
• Change your towels once in 2 years
• Dry it every day immediately after swimming in the sun.

How to dry the swim towel

We carry our swim towel in a small plastic bag inside the main bag so that it does not make the other dry clothes wet. After coming home, we put it out in bright sunlight to dry completely.

The towels need to be washed with warm water and soap every 10-12 days. This will stop it from smelling and discoloring, especially in chlorine water. You should buy new towels after two years.

Always keep 2-3 towels extra especially when you are training for competitive swimming. You might end up training 2 sessions in a day, and need multiple towels for time practice and LT sets. Towels can be also used afterward to wrap your wet swim suit and protect it from other dry items in your bag.

When to change your swim towels

If you are taking proper care of your towel, it will last almost a year or two. In case your towels do not dry properly, be sure to change it. Otherwise, you will see discoloration, and stains, and it also might smell. In this instance, change the towel