Cacala Turkish Beach Towel

Want to purchase a bunch of these as gifts for a party we are hosting. There are many different "Turkish Towel" options on Amazon so I purchased multiple brands. Here is what you need to know about this brand and why we call this brand the "WINNER"! -towel is soft right out of the package -towel is nice and large -100% Turkish Cotton (not 100% cotton from Turkey -- there is a difference!) -dries in a snap -very absorbent -they offer many colors which makes this a fun gift as each person will get their own and throughout the weekend, everyone will know which towel is theirs! Will be a great multi-use product for drying off, sitting on, wearing as a skirt for the ladies, serving as a blanket when the wind blows. Will be great on the beach to keep sand away (nice tight weave). This brand was thinner, 8 oz (vs others at 14 oz) so obviously this one dried more quickly and that is one of our primary objectives. FOLLOWED best practices for all towels in our comparison: It was recommended before use to "treat" a Turkish towel and soak it in cold water to let the cotton "bloom" We soaked the towel in cold water for 24 hours with some white vinegar (also recommended). If you purchase a Turkish towel, I recommend taking these steps. HIGHLY RECOMMEND the Cacala Pure Series Lightweight 100% Turkish Cotton Super Soft Peshtemal Luxury Bath Towel !!!!! P.S. This is NOT a paid endorsement.

I first heard about the fouta (pronounced “fow-ta”) in the June 2013 edition of Better Homes and Gardens magazine and instantly had to have one. They are described as "All cotton, lightweight and big, big, big (41 x 76 inches), foutas are just as absorbent as terry towels, dry quicker and are a cinch to tote and store. Perfect as a towel and sarong, they also work as a table runner, picnic blanket, and even a shawl. Bonus: The more you throw them in the wash, the softer and more absorbent they get." The particular brand they were advertising was $40 plus $14 in shipping AND they were sold out. I started scouring Amazon for cheaper renditions in the same bright beautiful colors and just a big and this one fits the bill, though not quite as absorbent as one with a honey comb texture this is every bit as useful as a standard beach towel, yet it looks sophisticated and it is big enough to wrap nearly any body. This Aqua color is vibrant yet chic. I'm anxiously watching the listing to see when it is back in stock. I immediately got on and ordered the lilac and apricot colors as gifts and they are just as pleasing. Fantastic beach accessory or hostess gift and works wonders as a guest or everyday bath towel as well. It looks even better when it is ironed but is as functional even when it is not. I highly recommend this fouta.

I recently purchased a half-dozen bamboo/cotton terry bath towels that had stellar reviews -- specifically, saying "takes way less time to dry!" and "lint much less than others!" LIES. ALL LIES. These reviewers were either abject morons, or they just inexplicably upgraded from dollar-store towels to $30-each towels. Over a dozen wash/dry cycles in, I hate these things so much I seriously considered dumping them in the yard and setting them on fire. Why must my bathroom constantly be covered in teal fuzz? Why must my PERSON be covered with teal fuzz? Why must I pick teal fuzz out of my makeup every day? So I ordered one of these guys. PESHTEMALS FOREVER AND EVER AND EVER. They weigh nothing. They're easy to handle. They're VERY absorbent (more so than terry, IMO). They dry in a flash. The texture is nice -- they're about the weight of flour-sack type dish towels, but in a much much softer and more supple weave. They look nice. And they don't make a mountain of lint, or leave a skim-coat of fuzz all over wet skin. I just ordered six more. I'm going to make friends spend the night with me and take a shower, just so I can get them to use one of these towels. Oh my god, THESE TOWELS. UPDATE : The set of six of these I ordered? We (bf and I) have been using them as our only bath towels for SIX YEARS now, and they're still pretty much like new. Occasionally one of the little fringe things will come unbraided, and I just twist it back up and re-knot it. No fading that I can see. No wear. No detectable change in thickness, softness, or weave. The whole set makes up less than half a load in the washer and dryer instead of a full load and then some, like regular terry towels, despite the fact that they're much longer and wider ... and I've never once had to put them back in for extra dryer time. A++++.

When you are used to thick, plush terry cloth towels, this thing is kind of a head-scratcher. It's soft but THIN. You wonder if it's going to do anything. But it is surprisingly absorbent (though not as much as a terry cloth towel). But it sure beats terry cloth on drying time (crazy fast) and space (folds flat and small). The color is lovely and holds fast. It doubles nicely as a cover-up. I've seen others drape it over their shoulders to keep the sun off (and the thinness doesn't make it feel too hot). I was on the fence at first but the more I use it, the more I like it. One thing: if you are the type to leave the beach or pool still wet, you should have a "real" towel to put down on your car seat if you don't want it to get wet. This thing won't help you there. Conclusion: If you love the feel of wrapping up in a thick, plush terry bath or beach towel, you will probably be greatly disappointed in this product. But if you are one of those people that gets out of the pool or ocean and grabs a towel just to get the dripping under control and doesn't want to wrap up in it, or likes to pack light, or wants a cover-up, give this a try - you might fall in love with it!

What I love most is that they can fold up to a very small size. I can fold, then roll 5 of them up and still have a ton of room left in my bag for other things. They are perfect for summer when you need something for when you need either to dry the kids after they get wet in the pool, after a rain, or playing in a fountain, and are thin enough they don't burn up from wrapping it around them while they dry. The girls wrap them around their bathing suits like a wrap-around skirt until they are dry. They dry so quickly because they are so thin that you can then fold and roll them back up and put them away for next time. For the baby, they have multiple uses, it is a perfect wrap or swaddle in the summer or anytime, leaving extra material for nursing. Easily used as nursing cover-ups when breastfeeding.they are perfect to lie her on to change her so she doesn't stick to a changing pad, and sometimes don't trust the sanitation of changing areas, it's easily washed when we return home. As manufacturer states, it becomes more absorbent as you wash it. When you first open the package and use it the first time it is not as absorbent as the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th time. We have to prep cotton cloth diapers, and I suggest if you want these at maximum absorbency, to do the same, just wash them with your next few loads of towels, washing and drying them, and they will reach maximum absorbency soon enough. We use them from the start, but others may want to prep them. I bought several colors, in each of the kids birthstones, so they know whose towel is whose, I then know who left their towel in the (car, floor, etc.) and it cuts down on fighting over them. I did have to be careful and watch to be sure the seller is cacala, the maker, I bought one from another maker and it wasn't as good of quality and the colors weren't as vibrant, nor as soft. Not all Turkish towels are the same in quality. Cacala is the best I have found. I think I will start giving them as baby shower and other gifts as they are so versatile in their use..

I have been eyeing this for awhile now, since I read about it in a travel blog. I decided to purchase it for a month long trip I'm making and I'm really, really happy with my decision. I was hoping for something lightweight, wouldn't take up much room, and quick drying. I got all three! I have been trying it out as a towel and it is actually quite amazing how quickly & easily it just sucks up water and then is dry again really fast! And it's so thin! You would think that should be bad for a towel but in this case it's not - it's the best bonus because it packs up small for travelling. Just loving it! Update June/15: Just finished using this towel almost every day for over a month while in Australia. It has stood up well and performed exactly as I had hoped. Beach towel, shower towel, shawl wrap in a pinch....washed in all sorts of commercial machines & still looks great. I expect to be using this for years of travel.

I got the pink towel. The color is perfect. It's a nice size. It would be okay as a beach wrap, or light shawl. It washed nicely on cold wash delicates, and dried without shrinking on air dry. It did wrinkle some, but that didn't matter to me. I had hoped to use it as a bath towel. It's too thin even just for summer and it quickly got a pulled thread. The thread smoothed back into the fabric, but it made me think that it will continue to get pulls. It's pretty and soft, but I can't think of anything else to recommend it.

I've only had this for a few days so this is just my first impression. If my opinion changes I will update this as I always do. So I gave it 5 stars, and given MY NEEDS it deserves five stars. Here's the problem I was trying to solve... we're a very active family... lots of outdoors activity, classes at the gym, soccer etc. It is not uncommon for me to end up taking 3 showers a day. I had a nice plush robe that was super comfortable and warm etc. etc. The darn thing NEVER dried out. Never. My wife would wash it in all sorts of ways but it would eventually start smelling like something out of a CSI episode. So I was looking for something that would: 1. dry my body acceptably quickly easily 2. be reasonably dry within say 3 hours if I needed to shower again 3. be completely dry within 5-6 hours in order to not sit there accumulating nasty moisture. So far the bath towel has accomplished it's goals admirably. Now if I were married for my robe as something to keep on and be all "robe-guy" this would suck. I was not. If I wanted a towel to keep me warm after getting out of the shower, this would suck. I don't need it for that. The fabric is CRAZY thin. It's hard to comprehend how much lighter than a regular towel this is. This will not keep you warm, this will not snuggle you in... but it will dry you off and it will dry off quickly. I accidentally bougth two. My wife ditched her robe and loves her as well. There are more attractive ones but I liked the simple look of this. Color is as represented in the pictures.

I was doubtful if this style of towel was going to work for me. I have spent years preferring thick terry cloth for drying myself. The problem with them is they tend to just spread the wet over you, you can't see which area you have used, and they take forever to dry. Since using this towel I am a convert. I was surprised how absorbent they are, and you can easily see where they have been used unlike a regular towel. They also dry very quickly. They feel great against your body though it is not as good at just wrapping yourself up when you first get out of a shower and adjusting to the chill of the bathroom. I bought one and had to get a couple more. I thought I would try a different brand but they were not as soft as Cacala so I ordered two more.

I needed a new towel and was considering getting yet another large, fluffy towel.....but looked on Amazon for Turkish Spa Towels (I was replacing a Turkish Spa Towel--the fluffy type--that I had bought at Costco). First, let me say that I had bought a couple of towels at both Costco and at Bed Bath and Beyond and all they seemed to do was wipe water from one part of my body to another. They just weren't that absorbent. Thus, I reluctantly decided to get these and figured I could always use it as a dog blanket if it was a failure. Okay, this is an amazing, highly absorbent towel. It is thin and not fluffy and you might need to reprogram yourself to understand that fluffy doesn't mean absorbent. These towels really dry you. After my first towel, I bought several more, including hand towels. I gave one to my mother who looked at me strangely and said that it was really not for her. I told her to keep an open mind and try it and a few days later she asked me to buy her some more as she felt these were the best towels ever. I did a bit of research into the history of towels and found out that towels originate from Turkey, that the peshtemal is the original type of towel (and still used there in Turkish baths) and that terry towels came into existence for mass production purposes. I love these towels and have owned them for a while now and they do get softer as they get washed more. They drive so quickly, too and are great for travelling. I wash mine in cold water in the washing machine and then let them air dry. They are woven well and seem very durable. Highly, highly recommended. Yes, they are a bit out of the ordinary and people who visit now ask why I have a cloth as a hand towel in my bathroom and I explain. Everyone is so impressed and they are such beautiful towels....I have several in many colors.... One last thing, the peshtemal towels on Amazon are about half the price of other places on the internet.