There are a lot of cool things out there that make us wonder - do they really work? In our I Tried It series, we set out to use them in the real world and have determined that, in fact, they really do.
Pact Airy Waffle Towels
Cat Bowen, parenting editor at Best Products, frequent lay-about post-shower.
I 'm a runner, and by the end of my post-run shower, I have almost no energy left in me, so I tend to hang out in my towel for quite a time. What should be a comfortable act of leisure can oftentimes turn into a pain if the towel is too small, not absorbent enough, or itchy - which, unfortunately, is the case with most towels. Pact airy waffle towels allow me to comfortably wrap myself up and forget about my terrible mile time (or the fact that I should probably get dressed) and are better than any other towel I've ever tried.
Since I've never been a fan of subpar towels, I've invested in my fair share of towels. As a mom, as someone who likes to redecorate rooms on a whim, and as someone who likes to try new things, I have what one would call an "eclectic" collection of towels. I've bought everything from flat-woven Turkish cotton towels to thick and plush oversized towels to hooded towels for my babies - and I've liked many of them.
But with most towels, there's usually something that bugs me. In the case of the flat-weave towels, it's the tassels. If the feel of the tassels catches me off-guard, I become instantly sure it's a deadly spider crawling up my thigh, causing me to scream, whip off the towel and spin around looking for the eight-legged demon. By the time I realize it was just a tassel, my heart rate skyrocketed, and I likely horrified my neighbors.
Super fluffy towels are fabulous when you're drying off or wearing them - but they're an epic pain to fold, store, and dry. They take too much time to dry and take up too much space in my closet. And while I love a hooded towel, they aren't designed for my formidable frame.
Pact airy waffle towels are the best "in-between" towels that I've ever tried. They're fluffy enough to feel luxurious but flat enough that they fold up nicely. They launder like a dream, getting softer with each wash but not losing much pigment. After all, a faded towel is an ugly towel, and I 'm not a fan of ugly towels.
They somehow manage to accomplish this with organic cotton that uses 81% less water than conventional cotton, yet they feel like they soak up 81% more water off my body and out of my hair. That's thanks in no small part to how big they are - at 70x35 inches, they are easily the biggest bath towel I've ever had.
The weird thing is that the bath sheets aren't even my favorite Pact towel. That honor goes to the hand towels and washcloths. Why, you ask? Remember those kids I mentioned? They are wonderful, fun, and the light of my life. They are also disgusting at times. Namely, in the bathroom. These poor hand towels and washcloths have been used to wipe up toothpaste, deodorant, lip gloss, and more, because my kids are known to just whip the towels and washcloths off of the rack to clean up their messes. (The Clorox wipes are right there, I swear to you they are. They have been ever since I found out just how not clean my bathroom is.)
Something about the waffle weave really gets things clean - and it washes great, too, no matter what's on it. Toothpaste and acne face cream are astringent as heck, and so far, my hand towels and washcloths are still in fantastic shape. Flat-weave towels and fluffy fancy towels simply don't do as well with this sort of wear and tear. In fact, my favorite flat weave towel was completely destroyed thanks to a run-in with my daughter's coconut lip balm. The greasy mixture is still very much visible on the towel that is now used only for my Shih Tzu, who I can only assume believes she is a princess with such fancy bathtime togs.
In the interest of science, I 'm sure my daughter got a different lip gloss all over the mirror, which she then cleaned up with a Pact washcloth - and you can't tell the stain was ever there. Again, I am assuming my daughter was running a questionable experiment because how else does one get messy lip gloss on a bathroom mirror? Oh, the joys of parenting...
I have the towels in the color shale, and although there are a few colorways to choose from, I think they'd benefit from a few more options, which is my one major quibble with these towels. I suggest the gray-black shale to parents because they seem to hide a world of "What in the heck is this? Do I want to know? No, I do not." after a solid laundering.
There's never going to be a perfect towel, but the Pact airy waffle bath sheets and towels come pretty darn close. They're soft on the skin, soak up a ton of water, and can really take the trials and tribulations of daily life (especially with children). Plus, it's a big bonus that they're made of 100% organic cotton and are much better for the environment.
Included in each set are two bath sheets, two hand towels, and four washcloths - priced at $140. And while it is indeed a pricier towel set, they are, in my opinion, totally worth it and are substantially better than most towels out there (trust me, I'd know).
$112.00
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