Beach towels

Here's a possibly silly question, but I was wondering.. are there any real reasons beach towels often are smooth on one side, and a bit coarser on the other? I very much prefer the coarser side.. the smooth side doesn't feel very absorbent.

Then again.. is the smooth side is for lying on at the beach? That would put the nice coarse side on the sand.. Hmm.. maybe the smooth side's bottom down..

Kerfuffling to me.

Any thoughts? Ta muchly.

The course side tends to pick up loads of sand, maybe it's so you can put the smooth bit on the sand so it won't pick up too much and lie on the course side?

I say course. Fluffy really.

i luv both sides...depends on what i'm in the mood for. i'd like to think that having two sides is just to make everyone happy in the long run....
but i suppose there is a real reason for it, i just don't know what it is...sorry...

I always wondered this, I'm glad I'm not alone hehe..I like the smooth side. But then if I'm soaked I use the scrunchy side because yeh like you said, it dries better.

hmmmmmmm i thought this thread would be about the germans and that nasty habbit of reserving sun loungers with beach towels

Im pretty sure its a sand thing too.

Or maybe its to do with wicking water to the outside to help it dry quicker

I took a closer look today- the 'coarse' side has looped individual strands.. the smooth side doesn't.

The beach towel makes a terrible bath towel I reckon.. I never use the smooth side at all!

i thought the smooth side was so they can put nice pretty pictures on. I have a Finding Nemo beach towel, but you're right, its rubbish at drying you off.
I think its just so you can show off your lovely towel at the beach and doesnt have any real practical functions.

thing with the sand theory is... if it's the smooth side that is meant to go on the sand why put the pretty pictures on it? because if like jo says, you want to show off your lovely towel, you are going to lie it down pretty side up, no? so you'd get sand all in the other side, which will hold it better because it's got the big loops....

Got it...

Two schools of thought on this one:

1:

 Written by:

One side is soft velour to pamper you, while the other is fully looped to offer optimal absorbency

2: Also the pretty pattern is generally on the velour side - this is because it is harder to put a pattern on the course looped side:

 Written by:

Most towels available from your imprinted sportswear distributor have a velour side and a terry side. The purpose of the velour side is to provide a smoother surface for printing. When printing on a terry towel, it is difficult for any printer, no matter what his equipment, to achieve a solid print. That's because the loops hold the ink on top of the towel. A velour towel allows the ink to penetrate deeper into the towel's fibers for more solid coverage.

I am sooooo bored. Had ya noticed?
Still off work with the whiplash.

I want two terry sides!

Yeah. The velour side just spreads the water about in my opinion.
But does it make you feel warmer when you're cold after a dip in the sea?
Whereas the terry side has optima drying power. But isn't snuggly warm.
My brother got me a dressing gown for my birthday years ago, it's yummy. The inside is terry, so dries you after a bath, but the outside is velour-sort of. So it feels like a snuggly teddy-bear.

Still bored.....