Additional Information
- Story
- All we really wanted was a damn good towel. On one side we found fat, fluffy cotton towels that
were way too big to travel with and filled with sand at the beach. On the flip we found microfiber
sport towels that were remarkably compact, but managed to hold odors in a way unbecoming of an
object of any size. As is often the case we thought: there has got to be a better way.
As much as we love high tech fabrics, here at Outlier we start our searches in the history books. We found a surprising answer in the form of linen. Linen has the remarkable ability to absorb moisture while remaining dry to the touch. It is also one of nature's strongest fibers; it gets softer and softer over time and when treated properly can be handed down through generations. We zeroed in on a box weave structure that maximizes the surface area of all the beautiful linen fibers while providing a subtle massaging handfeel. All this results in a towel that is bigger yet lighter, while absorbing moisture better and drying faster than cotton.
One of our favorite aspects of linen is how well it performs at the beach. It tosses off sand so you stay clean, and because it's lighter and more compact it unfolds into a bigger beach blanket than you'd expect. Truth is, it makes for a better towel in a whole lot of places. It's lightweight and quick drying enough to hike with, and it feels so good on the skin that you'll probably want to use it after your shower just about every day.
- Fabric
Linen has the strongest tensile strength of the plant fibers and is generally considered to be one of the oldest used for textiles. With its low static and pilling it easily weaves an open structure that lets air flow through the fabric. Linen also has the remarkable ability to absorb 20% of its weight of moisture while remaining dry to the touch.
We chose a box weave linen, its three dimensional structure maximizes the surface area of the linen fibers. It absorbs moisture better, dries faster and shrugs off sand and dirt better than a flat weave linen.
High quality linen gets softer and softer over time, and when cared for properly can be handed down through generations.
A note on handling linen properly:
Linen has many times the lateral strength of cotton, which is why it was once used to make ropes; however it is significantly less flexible. In day-to-day use this doesn't make much difference, but in certain conditions, particularly those found in top loading washing machines, it can become a problem. So wash yours in a front loading washer on a gentle cycle and you should be all good.- Details
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- Grid Linen Towel
- Made with 100% linen, woven in Lithuania
- 200 gsm
- One of nature's strongest fibers, the original performance fabric
- Three dimensional box weave structure maximizes surface area of fabric
- Unattached polypropelyne compression strap with aluminum closure for packability and storage (XL only)
- Cotton twill hanging loop
- Absorbs moisture while staying dry to the touch
- Dries quickly
- Packs down to a fraction of its size for travel
- Tosses off sand and dirt
- Soft handfeel
- Gets softer with use, ages beautifully over time
- Unwashed, we recommend washing before use. Darker colors may shed at first, but that clears up after first few washes.
- Hand or machine wash on gentle, hang or tumble dry low. Avoid top loading washing machines.
- Made in New York City with Lithuanian fabric
- Grid Linen Towel
- Sizing
- Please refer to the table below for measurements.
Approximate measurements in inchesSize X-Large Large Medium Small Width x Length 75 x 56 36 x 55 26 x 26 15 x 15 - Colors
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Gray Rock
Orange Glow
Summer Blue
New Red
Botanical Green
↗ 100% Linen
Linen is the deep secret of the towel world, it's a highly absorbent fiber that actually gets stronger when wet. More importantly though, unlike cotton it retains a dry hand feel when it starts absorbing water, which means you need less fiber for a good drying experience. For superior performance we have our linen woven into a dimensional grid weave structure that maximizes surface area for optimal drying.
↗ Lightweight and Packs Compact
Because linen both absorbs drier than cotton and also retains its strength when wet, you can make a towel that is both far thinner and more open in structure. That makes for a much lighter towel that can be rolled up compactly for super easy carry. Your towel shouldn't weigh you down!
↗ Expands Full Size
Compact only goes so far, at some point you need to expand the towel and use it! These are not some stinky skimpy synthetic swim towels, these are full size, naturally odor resistant, pure linen towels that work great as both beach blankets and for drying off properly.
↗ Sheds Sand and Dries Quick
Linen makes for the best beach towels for a lot of reasons, but our favorite is probably how well they shed sand. No more of that gritty sand trapped in the terry cloth, and no need to bring a separate blanket. A quick flick of a linen towel should leave it sand free and good to use. Plus it dries faster than cotton so it's easier to pack out or reuse too.
↗ Woven in Lithuania, Cut and Sewn in New York
We source our linen directly from Lithuania, one of the world's absolute centers of flax history and production. It's then cut and sewn into towels in midtown Manhattan, just blocks from Times Square in New York's historic Garment District. It's a bit of an old school way of doing things for an online only company but hey, if it makes the best towels...
Gray Rock
Botanical Green
Summer Blue
New Red
Orange Glow