Sweat is the least glamorous part of training — and the part a good towel quietly solves. 🏋️
A gym towel soaks up sweat, keeps your hands dry on the bar, and gives you something clean to lay on a bench instead of bare skin on shared padding.
But let us be plain from the start: a towel does not improve your performance, it does not burn fat, and it does not replace wiping down equipment or washing your hands.
It manages sweat and hygiene. Used that way — one clean towel per session, washed regularly — it is the cheapest piece of gym kit that makes every session more comfortable.
How We Picked These Towels
This guide is research-based. We did not buy or hands-on test these towels, and we do not claim otherwise.
We compared verified buyer reviews and manufacturer specifications, and we checked each product’s Amazon listing status through search results and listing trackers.
We picked 6 towels that are genuinely sold and cover different needs: a bestselling all-rounder, a compact gym-bag towel, a value multipack, a large-plus-small set, a premium design pick, and a cooling towel.
Prices are not quoted in this guide because they change often. The check-price links take you to the current listing, where you can see the latest price and availability.
Availability can vary by size and colour, so if your size shows as unavailable, check the listing’s other options before switching products.
Quick Comparison
| Towel | Material | Size | Sold as | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainleaf Microfiber | Microfiber, 200 gsm | Multiple sizes | Single | Best overall |
| S&T INC. Gym Travel | Suede microfiber | 12″ × 40″ | Single + bag | Best compact gym-bag pick |
| CHARS Microfiber (6-pack) | Microfiber, silver ion | Gym size | Pack of 6 | Best value multipack |
| BOGI Microfiber Travel | Microfiber | 60″ × 30″ + 16″ × 16″ | Set of 2 | Best large + small set |
| Areté Premium Fitness | 80% polyester / 20% nylon | 16″ × 26.5″ | Single | Best premium design pick |
| Sukeen Cooling Towel | Microfiber, cooling weave | 40″ × 12″ | Single | Best cooling towel |
Photo: stu_spivack / Wikimedia Commons
1. Rainleaf Microfiber Towel — Best Overall
Who it suits: most gym-goers who want one towel that does everything — sweat, shower, travel, and bench cover in a single packable piece.
Rainleaf’s microfiber towel is one of the bestselling towels on Amazon, and the range is genuinely wide: six sizes and eighteen colours, from a small face towel up to a 40 × 72 inch full-size towel.
The fabric is 200 gsm microfiber (85% polyester, 15% polyamide) with a soft, suede-like feel, a snap loop for hanging, and machine-washable care. The brand says it absorbs about five times its own weight in water and dries quickly when hung — that is the brand’s account, not a tested fact, but the absorbency claim is consistent with how microfiber behaves.
Pros: bestselling range with huge size and colour choice; soft suede-like microfiber; snap loop for hanging; machine washable; packs small for a gym bag.
Cons: sizes and colours sit on separate listings, so check you are ordering the size you want; some variant pages have shown no featured offers in crawls, so check availability before ordering.
👉 Check price on Amazon (check the size and colour on the listing — Rainleaf variants sit on separate pages).
2. S&T INC. Gym Travel Towel — Best Compact Gym-Bag Pick
Who it suits: lifters who want a small towel that disappears into a gym bag, with a storage bag so a damp towel does not soak everything else.
S&T INC.’s gym travel towel is a 12 × 40 inch suede microfiber towel — a peachskin-style microfiber that the brand describes as super-absorbent and quick-drying — sold with its own storage bag included.
At 12 × 40 inches it is a true gym towel size: big enough to drape over a bench or wipe down after a set, small enough to fold into a side pocket. The listing carries Amazon’s Choice highlighting, which marks it as a highly rated, well-priced option available to ship.
Pros: compact 12 × 40 inch size; storage bag included; suede microfiber dries quickly; Amazon’s Choice listing.
Cons: too small to double as a shower towel — pair it with a larger towel if you shower at the gym; one size only in this listing.
3. CHARS Microfiber Gym Towels, 6-Pack — Best Value Multipack
Who it suits: lifters who train most days and want a fresh towel per session without doing laundry every night.
CHARS’ pack gives you six microfiber gym towels in a mixed-colour set, made with a silver-ion treated fibre that the brand says keeps the towels odor-free.
The six-pack is the practical answer to the washing problem: rotate a clean towel each session, wash the used ones together at the end of the week, and never train with yesterday’s damp towel.
One honest hedge: the silver-ion odor-free claim is the brand’s, not an independently verified fact. Wash the towels regularly regardless — no treatment replaces washing.
Pros: six towels for the price of a rotation; mixed colours make it easy to spot your towel; lightweight, quick-drying microfiber; machine washable.
Cons: the Amazon product link below rests on a single source, so confirm the listing before ordering; a six-pack is more towel than an occasional lifter needs.
👉 Check price on Amazon (please confirm the listing matches the 6-pack gym towels — its link is single-source, see the note in our research).
4. BOGI Microfiber Travel Sports Towel — Best Large + Small Set
Who it suits: lifters who want two towels in one buy — a large towel for the body or bench, and a small one for face and hands.
BOGI’s set pairs a 60 × 30 inch large towel with a 16 × 16 inch small towel, in a quick-drying microfiber the brand describes as absorbing several times its own weight and drying several times faster than a regular towel.
The range runs to four sizes and eight colours, and the brand says the towels shake sand off easily — a small detail that matters if your training includes the beach or outdoor sessions.
Pros: two useful sizes in one set; quick-drying microfiber; wide size and colour range; packs light for travel.
Cons: check the listing carefully — BOGI sells several size combinations, so confirm you are ordering the large-plus-small set; the absorbency multiples are the brand’s account, not tested figures.
👉 Check price on Amazon (confirm the set includes the 60″ × 30″ and 16″ × 16″ towels).
Photo: Matti Blume / Wikimedia Commons
5. Areté Premium Microfiber Fitness Towel — Best Premium Design Pick
Who it suits: lifters who want a towel that looks as good as it works — for the gym, yoga, cycling, and travel, with a design you would not mind carrying.
Areté’s fitness towel is a 16 × 26.5 inch hand towel in an 80% polyester / 20% nylon microfiber, printed with gallery-style designs — the brand’s towels appear in design and fitness studios, and the company leans hard into the look of the thing.
Under the design, the performance claims are familiar microfiber ones: the brand says it absorbs up to five times its weight in water and dries fast without wringing out, in a lightweight towel of about half a pound.
Pros: distinctive printed designs; soft, high-thread-count microfiber feel; quick-drying; lightweight at about half a pound.
Cons: hand-towel size only — too small to cover a bench or dry off after a shower; premium pricing tier; design patterns vary by listing.
6. Sukeen Cooling Towel — Best Cooling Towel
Who it suits: lifters who overheat — outdoor summer sessions, hot gyms, cardio days, and anyone who wants active cooling, not just sweat absorption.
Sukeen’s cooling towel is a 40 × 12 inch microfiber towel built for evaporative cooling: soak it, wring it out, snap it a few times, and the evaporation cools the fabric — the same principle as sweat itself, aimed back at you on purpose.
The listing is an Amazon’s Choice pick, ships from Amazon, and the towel hangs easily from a bag without adding weight — a practical extra for runners and outdoor trainers.
One honest limit: the cooling effect fades as the towel dries, so you re-wet it during a long session. It is a cooling aid, not air conditioning, and it does not replace drinking water.
Pros: genuine evaporative cooling effect; long 40 × 12 inch shape drapes over neck and shoulders; lightweight and easy to carry; Amazon’s Choice listing.
Cons: needs re-wetting as it dries; a cooling towel is a specialist extra, not a replacement for a regular gym towel; check the colour on the listing.
How to Choose the Right Gym Towel
Start with size, because that decides everything else. A hand towel (around 16 × 26 inches) wipes sweat and covers a bench pad. A full-size towel (40 × 60 inches and up) dries you after a shower.
Most lifters need the smaller one for training and, if they shower at the gym, the larger one too — the BOGI set above covers both in one buy.
Size and coverage
For wiping sweat mid-session, 12 × 40 inches (the S&T pick) is plenty and packs smallest. For laying over a bench, you want at least 16 inches wide so it stays put under your back.
For drying off after a shower, nothing under 30 × 50 inches will do the job comfortably — that is a different towel from your training towel, and it is fine to own both.
Material: microfiber vs cotton vs bamboo
Microfiber dominates this guide for a reason: it is lighter, packs smaller, and dries faster than cotton, which matters when a damp towel lives in your gym bag.
Cotton terry towels are softer and more familiar, and a regular cotton bath towel works perfectly well at the gym — but cotton towels are bulkier, slower to dry, and heavier when wet, so no cotton-specific gym towel is picked here.
Bamboo-fibre towels are soft and marketed as naturally fresh, but the bamboo gym towels found in this research were sold outside the US or as bathroom sets, not as dedicated US gym towels — so no bamboo pick is linked here.
Absorbency and quick-dry
Absorbency figures like “five times its own weight” come from the brands, not from independent tests — treat them as rough comparisons, not measurements.
What matters in practice is GSM, the fabric weight: around 200 gsm (the Rainleaf pick) is a light, fast-drying towel, while heavier towels absorb more but dry slower and pack bigger. For a gym bag, lighter and faster-drying usually wins.
Quick-dry matters twice: the towel should dry you fast, and it should dry itself fast between sessions, so it does not go musty in your bag.
Photo: Nenad Stojkovic / Wikimedia Commons
Packability and gym-bag fit
A towel that does not fit your bag will not come to the gym. Microfiber towels fold to a fraction of a cotton towel’s size — the S&T pick even includes its own storage bag, so a damp towel stays contained.
If your bag is already full, a compact towel plus a multipack rotation (the CHARS pick) beats one bulky towel you keep forgetting to wash.
For the rest of your kit, see our gym bags guide — a towel is only useful if it actually travels with you.
Care and washability
Every pick here is machine washable, which is the minimum for a gym towel. Wash after every few sessions at most — a towel that smells is a towel growing things you do not want on your skin.
Skip fabric softener on microfiber: it coats the fibres and cuts absorbency. Air-dry when you can; tumble-dry low if you must, and check the care label on the towel you buy, since guidance varies by brand.
Gym hygiene: the honest basics
Bring your own towel, lay it on benches and pads before you lie on them, and wipe equipment down before and after you use it — your towel helps, but it does not replace the gym’s cleaning spray.
Do not share towels, do not train with a towel that smells musty, and wash your hands after training. A towel is hygiene equipment, not a medical device, and it does not prevent illness on its own.
Frequently Asked Questions
What size gym towel should I buy?
For training, 12 × 40 inches to 16 × 30 inches covers sweat-wiping and bench cover. For showering at the gym, you want 30 × 50 inches or larger. Many lifters own both.
Is microfiber better than cotton for the gym?
For the gym bag, usually yes: microfiber is lighter, packs smaller, and dries faster than cotton. Cotton is softer and more familiar, and a regular cotton towel works fine — it is just bulkier to carry.
How often should I wash my gym towel?
After every few sessions at most, and sooner if it smells or stays damp. A rotation of several towels (like the CHARS 6-pack) makes this easy — use a fresh one, wash the used ones together.
Do cooling towels really work?
Yes, within limits: a wet cooling towel cools by evaporation, like sweat does, and re-wetting restores the effect. It helps you feel cooler during hot sessions, but it does not replace drinking water or resting in shade.
Can a gym towel replace wiping down equipment?
No. Your towel removes sweat, but gyms provide cleaning spray for a reason — use both. Wipe the equipment before and after your sets, and let the next person find it clean.
Do I need a special towel, or will any towel do?
Any clean towel works for wiping sweat. A gym-specific microfiber towel earns its place by packing smaller, drying faster, and surviving frequent washing — but the most important towel is the one you actually bring.
Our Pick in One Line
If you want one answer: the Rainleaf microfiber towel is the best all-round buy because its size range covers every gym job — but if your bag is already full, the S&T travel towel with its storage bag is the smarter pick.
For the rest of your home setup, see our dumbbells guide and our beginners equipment guide.
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This guide is research-based: we compared verified buyer reviews and manufacturer specifications, and we did not buy or hands-on test these products. Prices and availability change, so check the listing before ordering. The training and hygiene information here is general information only, not medical advice.