The 6 Best Cooling Towels To Chill Out As Temperatures Rise

Dimensions: 27 x 17 inches | Materials: Polyvinyl Acetate (PVA) | Colors: 6

Pros: 

• Offers rapid, lasting cooling
• Blocks UV rays
• Bacteria-resistant material

Cons:

• Unpleasant odor when new
• Smaller than other options

The South Sport Cool Rag Extreme Cooling Towel can help you keep your chill for hours on end. Soak it once, wring it out, give it a snap and the towel will immediately begin a slow process of evaporation that naturally drops its surface temperature. Pressed to your skin, that means it will start to drop your temperature, too. Durable and well-made using PVA, a material that’s tougher and more resilient than the polyester and polypropylene base fibers of most microfiber cooling towels, the Cool Rag will last for scores of uses and wash cycles.

This material does have a strong chemical smell when the towel is new, so consider washing it before use. Note that the Cool Rag is more square in shape than many cooling towels, though it has about the same surface area as other towels. Some people prefer the more squared-off shape, whereas others prefer a longer, thinner cooling towel.

Dimensions: 29.5 x 13 inches | Materials: Polyvinyl Acetate (PVA) | Colors: 5

Pros: 

• Great low price
• Made in America
• Up to 4 hours of cooling per soak

Cons:

• Smaller than other options
• Pricing varies by color

The Ergodyne Chill-Its 6602 Cooling Towel costs less than $7, depending on which color you choose, yet it performs just as well as most other cooling towels that can cost double its price or more. Granted, some colors of the Chill-Its 6602 cost more, so you’re limited in choices if you want the cheapest option, but your neck, forehead and other body parts won’t care about towel color as they’re being cooled down. This cooling towel is made in America and is backed by a guarantee of customer satisfaction.

The Chill-Its 6602 is smaller than other cooling towels, which may partially explain its lower cost, but it still has plenty of surface area to wrap around your head. Except in very humid conditions, where all cooling towels perform less effectively, this cooling towel can offer evaporative cooling for up to four hours per soak.

Dimensions: 33 x 6.5 inches | Materials: Polyvinyl Acetate (PVA) | Colors: 3

Pros: 

• Comfortably wraps around neck or crown 
• Can be trimmed to size
• Recyclable

Cons:

• Pricing varies by color
• Too narrow for good coverage

The Frogg Toggs Chilly Sport Cooling Neck Wrap & Head Band was, as the name suggests, designed specifically to be wrapped around the head or neck. It’s nearly 3 feet long but scarcely more than 6 inches wide, so it forms a thin band that provides targeted cooling to the head and neck. This towel doesn’t provide a ton of coverage, but when used as designed it will provide plenty of relief.

Pricing varies a bit by color, so you may pay more for your desired choice, but any color will provide good cooling. When you’re ready to retire the towel, you can recycle it or you can even chop it up and mix it into soil, where it will slowly break down, helping the earth around it retain moisture as it does.

Dimensions: 40 x 12 inches | Materials: Microfiber | Colors: 13

Pros: 

• 4 towels per order
• Large size
• Multiple color options

Cons:

• Pricing varies by towel colors
• Storage bags of abysmal quality

The Sukeen 4-Pack Cooling Towels is a great value, with each towel coming out to cost less than $5. Every towel included in a pack is a different color, making it easy to give each family member, teammate or work colleague their own towel and not get them mixed up. At 40 inches long by 12 inches wide, these are some of the largest cooling towels we reviewed, offering ample coverage area for your head and neck or draped across your back or chest.

Sukeen offers good cooling towels for a great price, but the included storage bags leave much to be desired. They fall apart after only a few uses, and the included carabiners are shoddily-constructed, so be be ready to find a different way to manage your cooling towels when they’re not in use.

Dimensions: 32 x 6 inches | Materials: Nylon/polyester | Colors: 37

Pros: 

• Stylish designs
• Multiple pattern options
• Good for wrapping head and neck

Cons:

• Too narrow for much coverage
• Pricier than other options

ShakeitCool’s colorful and patterned towels are as eye-catching as they are cooling, actually enhancing the way your clothing ensemble looks rather than detracting. There are more than three dozen patterns to choose from, including some with more subdued colors and designs and some that are outright bright.

Long and thin, these cooling towels work well wrapped around the head or neck, but they offer the least overall coverage area of any cooling towel we’ve included, and they’re the highest price per towel, so keep those factors in mind before making a purchase.

Dimensions: 47 x 12 inches | Materials: Polyester | Colors: 15

Pros: 

• Good storage system
• Great price for 2-pack
• Large size

Cons:

• Often develops strong odor
• Dries out faster than other towels

A YQXCC Cooling Towel is a great choice for the golfer, not because there is anything super unique about the towels themselves (aside from the fact that they’re quite large) but because of their packaging. These towels come in large plastic tubes with lids that seal, so you can keep them moist even when you’re out playing 18 holes, no need for a sink or water fountain nearby. You can tuck a used towel back into its container and drop it into your golf bag without your gear getting wet.

These towels do tend to develop a funky odor if stored damp for too long, but it washes out just fine. And it’s a good thing the containers can help the towels hold moisture, as they do dry out faster than cooling towels made of PVA.