If you take your yoga practice seriously, you need the best yoga towel of 2024. A towel just for yoga? We know, we know, but like so many things designed specifically to aid in your comfort and safety, the best yoga towels aren't as barmy as they sound, especially when you're spending lots of time on the mat.
Rather than functioning like a gym towel for mopping sweaty brows and equipment after a strenuous workout, the best yoga towels are designed to sit on top of your yoga mat, adding an extra grippy layer to keep you from slipping in your own sweat (ew) or on top of communal mats to stop you slipping in someone else's (double ew). Not so silly now, are they?!
While the best yoga mats are designed to minimise slippage, none are fool proof, and a yoga towel is a smart idea if you're going to be getting sweaty. Yoga towels are typically lightweight and thin, with soft-touch absorbent toweling on one side and grippy silicone dots on the other to adhere to the mat. They're also shaped in a long rectangle, like your average yoga mat (makes sense). They can also be used as a protective layer to keep your yoga mat clean and stain-free, and if you're short on space, a yoga towel can even be used in place of a mat.
In this guide, we've rounded up the best yoga towels, from various brands and multiple price points, so you can find the top options for you.
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Best yoga towel ranking 2024
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The best yoga towel all round
+ Sweat-more-grip-more design
+ Eco-friendly, non-fading inks
+ Lots of different designs
- Some reviews say its too thin to work out with
The more you sweat, the more it grips: that's the promise from the experts at Yoga Design Lab, who say this yoga towel not only keeps bikram practitioners from slippy situations, but dries in minutes, making it our best towel for hot yoga.
It comes in a range of designs both out-there and pared-back, depending on how much you want to stand out in class, and the use of non-fading eco-friendly inks ensure you can pop it into the washing machine after a particularly sweaty sesh without worrying about ruining the design, or polluting the waterways.
Our rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Looks like fleece, feels like a dream
+ Nice thick surface
+ Excellent moisture wicking
+ Feels amazing
- Not very absorbent for super sweaty sessions or hot yoga
The fleecy look of this microfibre sand wash towel might not fill you with confidence on first glance, but don't be fooled. Alongside providing a plush, comfortable surface on which to practice those tricky inversions without hurting knees or hips, this tie-dye towel includes a moisture-wicking protective layer to reduce the risk of harbouring bacteria and sweaty smells.
It’s said to absorb, and dry, quickly, and comes with an attached elastic loop for easy packing and carrying, so it can be used wherever you fancy.
Our rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Two-layered support in the face of potential slips
+ Corner pockets hold towel taut
+ Silicone layer for extra grip
+ Non-slip
- Might not fit all yoga mats
If a series of tiny silicone dots alone doesn’t sound like enough grip to stand firm in the face of your killer moves, you might want to take this non slip towel out for a spin.
As well as a two-layer microfibre and silicone construction, resulting in what Heathyoga call a “grip-grid” texture designed to help you stay stable in poses for longer, there are corner pockets that slip over your mat and hold the towel taut and firm. Just simple physics, but very helpful. Of course, this does mean it might not fit all yoga mats, so you might want to check the dimensions before you buy.
Our rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Super soft and super absorbent at the same
+ Feels soft on bare hands and feet
+ Very absorbent
+ Affordable
- Not the best non-slip
Testers loved the feel of this ultra-soft yoga towel, saying that while it was gentle on bare feet and hands and comfortable enough to do floor poses on, it wasn’t so plush that it left imprints as a terry cloth towel would.
They did find that it wasn’t the most slip-resistant mat out there, so it might not as suited to twisty-turny or upside-downy poses as, our previous picks, but with its soft feel, ultra-absorbent fibres and beginner-friendly price, it’s hard to go wrong for the casual practitioner.
Our rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Durable yet soft for luxurious-feeling practices
+ Soft
+ Washes well & very durable
+ Great choice for hot yoga
- Some might not like the suede feel
One of the most absorbent options on our list, this is a strong contender for the title of best hot yoga towel. The low-pile microfibre is said to feel less like a traditional towel, and more like suede, making for the most non-intrusive inclusion to your practice.
As a hygienic layer between you and the mat, it protects you from other people’s bacteria or your own mat from wear and tear, and as well as offering traction to slippy, sweaty hands and feet, it’s highly durable and stands up well to frequent washing.
Our rating: 4 out of 5 stars
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