I’m not kidding that when I went to Japan I bought $500 worth of Imbari towels and never looked back. They’re so soft and water absorbent and never smell. Would buy again 100%
They’re good for traveling because they dry faster! I highly recommend it. I got mine from H&M and it was good. Not sure about long term use since I only used it for travel.
This review was really helpful. I planned on buying a couple sets of the Imabari towels but they’re on waitlist so I went ahead with Gilden Tree and was *not* disappointed. They’re fantastic!
I used my onsen towel once. It felt like I was drying myself with a macrame rag. It definitely didn’t feel very absorbent at all!! IKEA has some waffle pattern towels that I actually really like. But I am still searching for something I can call my favorite!
What a coincidence, I was just looking to buy towels! And every time I’m looking for a specific computer you post a review to that video too! You read my mind man!
I like the Gilden Tree brand (Purchased 2 bath towels, enough I need) but man are they expensive! 😬 Want to replace my regular cotton hand towels (mostly so I don't have to use my dryer so much) but very hesitant due the price. #28 dollars for only 2. 😬
What about washing them. I noticed after washing I had to keep washing. Like it removed the odor eating material off the onsen towel. I never heard of the Imbari towel.
@@ComputerStuff Same towels sell in Japan for less than $30 USD. I'm not into making some posh boutique owners rich. I'd rather buy an Imabari towel through Japanese importers and not get ripped off. Literally I can show you identical towels that sell for about $25 each in Japanese Yen, about 3500 Yen. That's what they're worth, retail. What's it worth that they bring them to the US for us? More than 2x their initial retail cost? Maybe if you live in upper east side or just don't care about being bilked. In Japan, unlike the US, they don't have this culture of trying to get the most you can for anything. Everything in Japan is fairly priced, you can't find a scam or rip off in Japan unless you really really and I mean really try to find one. In the US, it's the norm. Just look at all these made in China "barefoot" shoes that have literally a few dollar value in terms of total materials and labor, these companies are buying them for
@@ComputerStuff UA-cam will likely block my link. imabari-towel dot jp is the official website for imabari towels. The stock is always changing. There are folks who import these and resell them in the United States to streamline the process. I've purchased two sets of bath towel and hand towels from them, for a total of 4 bath towels and 6 hand towels. Some of them are even on amazon, but I'd make sure the seller is legit before buying from there. You can see they currently have a very similar product to the towel the citizenry was selling, it's made with organic cotton and has the same large waffle weave. They're about 3800 jpy on the site.
I want the imabari but don't wasn't pay for the pair! That's another factor when considering purchase. I emailed the Citizenry...they said set only for $120
Dude... I'm pretty sure the brand NUTRL is pronounced NEW-TRULL like the word "neutral". It's funny that you pronounced it wrong 4 times in a row then finally said it correctly at 2:29 then you go back to saying it wrong again throughout the rest of the video except once at 7:18 when you reverted to saying it correctly again. Just kinda weird. Haha. I still gave it a thumbs up.
@@ComputerStuff Sorry if I sounded harsh, I wasn't trying to, I was just pointing out the weirdness of you pronouncing that word correctly, incorrectly, then correctly again. Stuff like that sticks out for some reason (in my head anyway) so I just wanted you to be aware of it. All in good fun. Love the content!
Great video, thanks for sharing. The Imabari towels from Citizenry are out of stock and they recommended the Aegeon Cotton Bath Towel as an alternative. Any chance anyone knows if the Aegeon compares to the Imabari's? Secondly, there are other brands of Imabari waffle towels on ebay - same quality if made in Japan? or should I stick to the Citizenry brand? Thank you.
The Aegeon Cotton Bath Towel looks more like a Turkish towel which while good, is probably not as nice as the Imabari. I'd recommend sticking direct with Citizenry. I heard complaints from people who got knock offs from eBay.
Are the Imabari towels EXTREMELY lightweight and not dense? I just received some and they seem like tissue paper. Wondering if this is normal or if they might be fake? They are also substantially smaller than normal bath towels. There is so little info on these online your video is literally the only one that has good info. Also, you keep saying "imbari" instead of Ima-bari like it is spelled. Which pronunciation is correct? Thanks!
It's Ima-bari. lightweight and not dense? Not at all, they are quite thick and plush. They are a little "rough". but they soften up with use. If you got light and thin ones I'd think they may not be legit.
Imabari just means any towels from Imabari which is in Ehime prefecture in Japan. Most Imabari towels do not have this waffle weave and look like normal towels, and yes many Imabari towels are much lighter than what Americans are used to. No one has any way to know what you ordered or where you ordered it from. Considering how vague your comment was, I'd bet you did get scammed.
Has your team owned these towels long enough to detect an “aged” related odor, for example a year’s worth of using I’ve found towels begin to have a funky smell therefore needing replacement. Will these need to be replaced annually?
We can't comment to how long they'll last over a year, but one of our testers used the towel for 3 weeks without washing it and it never developed a smell. And in my personal test of putting all 4 brands through the ringer - none of the towels developed a smell after test, multiple saturations, practical use. These waffle towels do seem to maintain their freshness better than tradiational american towels. Even the big Imbari towel remained odor free despite having more matieral.
This test is silly. all of these towels are different sizes. and most certainly different GSM. If you actually wanted to compare absorbency you'd need to consider those variables for a start. Otherwise I could give you my 3000 GSM bath rug and despite being the size of a good hand towel would out absorb everything by a long shot.
I’m not kidding that when I went to Japan I bought $500 worth of Imbari towels and never looked back. They’re so soft and water absorbent and never smell. Would buy again 100%
KP speaking FACTS!
Thank you so much for this. Almost shelled out for the onsen without any knowledge of imabari
Glad it was helpful!
They’re good for traveling because they dry faster! I highly recommend it. I got mine from H&M and it was good. Not sure about long term use since I only used it for travel.
H&M making them now? Interesting. May have to try one.
This review was really helpful. I planned on buying a couple sets of the Imabari towels but they’re on waitlist so I went ahead with Gilden Tree and was *not* disappointed. They’re fantastic!
Thanks for watching and commenting, Mike! Enjoy the Gilden Trees.
Did you buy from Amazon?
@@mrquatch Some of these towels can be found on Amazon, yes.
Nice video! Was just about to buy a Onsen towel! Going with a Imabari.
Good choice! Thanks for watching!
This is so interesting! Can't lie - I love the Gilden Tree towels. They do get softer as you wash and use them, and they dry super fast!
Thanks for watching, Ann. Appreciate the input on the Gilden Tree!
Did you buy from Amazon?
@@mrquatch Yes.
I used my onsen towel once. It felt like I was drying myself with a macrame rag. It definitely didn’t feel very absorbent at all!! IKEA has some waffle pattern towels that I actually really like. But I am still searching for something I can call my favorite!
What a coincidence, I was just looking to buy towels! And every time I’m looking for a specific computer you post a review to that video too! You read my mind man!
Haha, thanks for watching Del. And thanks for mind melding influence our videos!
I like the Gilden Tree brand (Purchased 2 bath towels, enough I need) but man are they expensive! 😬 Want to replace my regular cotton hand towels (mostly so I don't have to use my dryer so much) but very hesitant due the price. #28 dollars for only 2. 😬
Thanks for the review. Super helpful!
Thanks for watching!
Thank you for the info. You helped a lot
You're welcome!
Thank you
You're welcome!
Very helpful review, thanks!
My pleasure!
What about washing them. I noticed after washing I had to keep washing. Like it removed the odor eating material off the onsen towel. I never heard of the Imbari towel.
Washing any of these waffle towels should be done on cold gentle cycle with a light detergent. And dried on delicate low.
The Imabari, unfortunately comes in a set of two. So if you want two separate colors (couples) you must buy 4 towels. :\
They're worth it!
@@ComputerStuff Same towels sell in Japan for less than $30 USD. I'm not into making some posh boutique owners rich. I'd rather buy an Imabari towel through Japanese importers and not get ripped off. Literally I can show you identical towels that sell for about $25 each in Japanese Yen, about 3500 Yen. That's what they're worth, retail. What's it worth that they bring them to the US for us? More than 2x their initial retail cost? Maybe if you live in upper east side or just don't care about being bilked. In Japan, unlike the US, they don't have this culture of trying to get the most you can for anything. Everything in Japan is fairly priced, you can't find a scam or rip off in Japan unless you really really and I mean really try to find one. In the US, it's the norm. Just look at all these made in China "barefoot" shoes that have literally a few dollar value in terms of total materials and labor, these companies are buying them for
@@user-xf4es7eh9y Wow! Send us your source for cheap towels please!
@@ComputerStuff UA-cam will likely block my link. imabari-towel dot jp is the official website for imabari towels. The stock is always changing. There are folks who import these and resell them in the United States to streamline the process. I've purchased two sets of bath towel and hand towels from them, for a total of 4 bath towels and 6 hand towels. Some of them are even on amazon, but I'd make sure the seller is legit before buying from there. You can see they currently have a very similar product to the towel the citizenry was selling, it's made with organic cotton and has the same large waffle weave. They're about 3800 jpy on the site.
Linen makes a better material for towels, bath towels and tea towels. More expensive than cotton and three times stronger.
I love the waffle towels from World Market!
Great recommendation - I"ll need to check those out.
I want the imabari but don't wasn't pay for the pair! That's another factor when considering purchase. I emailed the Citizenry...they said set only for $120
Just kidding...they emailed me back with a purchase link for one, so I hope it's all you cracked it out to be!!!
What are your thoughts on it? Have you had the chance to use it yet?
great review!!!
Thank you!
Dude... I'm pretty sure the brand NUTRL is pronounced NEW-TRULL like the word "neutral". It's funny that you pronounced it wrong 4 times in a row then finally said it correctly at 2:29 then you go back to saying it wrong again throughout the rest of the video except once at 7:18 when you reverted to saying it correctly again. Just kinda weird. Haha.
I still gave it a thumbs up.
Hah, thanks for the thumbs up UA!
@@ComputerStuff Sorry if I sounded harsh, I wasn't trying to, I was just pointing out the weirdness of you pronouncing that word correctly, incorrectly, then correctly again. Stuff like that sticks out for some reason (in my head anyway) so I just wanted you to be aware of it. All in good fun. Love the content!
@@UltimateAnarchy All good. Appreciate you watching and commenting!
Great video, thanks for sharing. The Imabari towels from Citizenry are out of stock and they recommended the Aegeon Cotton Bath Towel as an alternative. Any chance anyone knows if the Aegeon compares to the Imabari's? Secondly, there are other brands of Imabari waffle towels on ebay - same quality if made in Japan? or should I stick to the Citizenry brand? Thank you.
The Aegeon Cotton Bath Towel looks more like a Turkish towel which while good, is probably not as nice as the Imabari. I'd recommend sticking direct with Citizenry. I heard complaints from people who got knock offs from eBay.
@@ComputerStuff Thanks for the tip. Because they are out of stock I'm forced to go with Onsen.
These towels are the leading cause of dry skin.
hahaha, we need to start an NBC PSA!
Are the Imabari towels EXTREMELY lightweight and not dense? I just received some and they seem like tissue paper. Wondering if this is normal or if they might be fake? They are also substantially smaller than normal bath towels. There is so little info on these online your video is literally the only one that has good info.
Also, you keep saying "imbari" instead of Ima-bari like it is spelled. Which pronunciation is correct?
Thanks!
It's Ima-bari. lightweight and not dense? Not at all, they are quite thick and plush. They are a little "rough". but they soften up with use. If you got light and thin ones I'd think they may not be legit.
Imabari just means any towels from Imabari which is in Ehime prefecture in Japan. Most Imabari towels do not have this waffle weave and look like normal towels, and yes many Imabari towels are much lighter than what Americans are used to. No one has any way to know what you ordered or where you ordered it from. Considering how vague your comment was, I'd bet you did get scammed.
Do these towels shrink?
No. But their shape is prone to warp if you hang on a hook.
Yes - Gilden Tree towel is meant to shrink and form waffles.
Tried Sutera waffle towel…yuck it’s like drying yourself with a rough dish towel or woven floor mat they’re in the trash now
Use them as a junk / stain / garage / car towel!
wish I have seen this before getting a set from Onsen
silly enough the little flag fooled me
Imabari the OG!
Has your team owned these towels long enough to detect an “aged” related odor, for example a year’s worth of using I’ve found towels begin to have a funky smell therefore needing replacement. Will these need to be replaced annually?
We can't comment to how long they'll last over a year, but one of our testers used the towel for 3 weeks without washing it and it never developed a smell. And in my personal test of putting all 4 brands through the ringer - none of the towels developed a smell after test, multiple saturations, practical use. These waffle towels do seem to maintain their freshness better than tradiational american towels. Even the big Imbari towel remained odor free despite having more matieral.
@@ComputerStuff When I click on your affiliate link it just takes me to this youtube video. Where can I buy the imabari towel?
@@Nyxius22 Thanks for notifying us about that. Try this one: fave.co/2O7boNf
@@ComputerStuff Thanks that link works, the Onsen link is broken as well FYI.
Fixed, thanks again for pointing that out. And thanks for watching!
nutrl has antimicrobial properties the others do not.
"American" towel?!? 😂
North American, South American, Central American... anyone's guess! :P
This test is silly. all of these towels are different sizes. and most certainly different GSM. If you actually wanted to compare absorbency you'd need to consider those variables for a start. Otherwise I could give you my 3000 GSM bath rug and despite being the size of a good hand towel would out absorb everything by a long shot.
Thanks for sharing your opinion.
Went to purchase a set of Imabari towels and they’re sold out - in every color! Very bummed. 🥲
I think it might be due to this video ;P. They're getting a lot of good press, haha. Sorry to hear, they'll restock soon I'm sure!
These towels are still sold out in every color.. any suggestions?