Stay Dry Octopi Towel Set

I'm so bummed that these aren't very absorbant. They are super thin and don't feel like there is much to them, like a cheap towel from Walmart unfortunately. I was willing to give them a try and backed the Kickstarter because they were so cute and we love all things Octopi. The hand towels never dried out after using them last night. The bathsheet left me feeling like I needed another towel to continue toweling off. They are adorable but need to be thicker and more absorbant to be useful.
If you revised them, it would be nice to see a few other colors, like a darkish blue instead of the grey.

Backed the Kickstarter. The design is lovely but the material is minimally absorbent, making the towels more decorative than practical. It’s a bummer, because I love calamityware.

I’m so sad to see several poor reviews of these towels. On a trip years ago I was lured into purchasing Turkish towels, which is what style these towels are. When I got home I had the same response to them that I am reading here. I was so disappointed. But, I followed their instructions: soak in cold water overnight before washing the first time and always try to wash them in cold water, not hot. That was 10 years ago and I still have and use those towels. They get softer and more absorbent over time and dry so quickly on the towel bar. Now that I am accustomed to this style of towel, heavy terry cloth towels feel overly fuzzy and get musty smelling on the towel bar after just one or two showers, from not drying quickly. I see that the dates of the reviews are immediately after these towels were shipped out for the first time, and I assume people have not given them time to show their true potential. I have washed mine twice now in cold water and they are beautifully soft and lightweight. At first glance most octopi are a little offputting, and shy, but look a little closer, watch a little longer, and you will see the beauty and intelligence of them. I would say the same for these towels, give them a chance.

I received my Kickstarter rewards last night, 03 January 2025. Lovely bath towels, hand towels, and bathmats. I so appreciate the beauty of the octopi and their little umbrellas.Since the towels are 100% cotton, I plan to try tie-dying one of the hand towels...one of my favorite things to do. If I like the outcome, I may dye one of the bath towels to be able to tell them apart.

This morning, before using, I washed the all the towels and the 2 bathmats I had ordered. As a fabric and dye artist, I know fabrics frequently have oils and other chemicals on them from the manufacturing process and must be washed before using. All the towels and bathmats washed up beautifully. After they had dried, I placed the bathmats: one in front of the bathtub; the other in front of the bathroom sink. I am amazed at how well the bathmats hold the heat from drying, even on the cold of winter in the bathroom floor. I may need to order two more mats: one for the kitchen sink and one for the apartment entrance way.

I then took a nice long hot shower. First thing I noticed was where the terrycloth towel I had previously used would feel slightly damp from the shower steam, the Stay Dry Octopi Towel did not have that slightly damp feel. The towel is definitely lighter than the same size terrycloth towel. I like that lighter weight. I was completely dry in a couple of minutes using the Stay Dry Octopi Towel. (I take my time drying off after a shower or bath. As an older adult, in recovery from a third Traumatic Brain Injury, I move slowly to maintain balance.) My body feels silky smooth and glowing. For me, these towels are definitely winners.

As for the hand towels, nice touch, but I do not use these in the conventional fashion. (I use thin face flannels for hand drying in the bathroom. One use and into the washer.) One of the hand towels I will turn into a hot water bottle holder for the chilly winter months. The other, I have moved to the kitchen to live with in rotation with my other Calamityware tea towels.

These towels look fantastic but won't dry you off. I might repurpose them as a table cloth or something, but not as towels.

As someone who welcomes our cephalopod overlords, I wasted no time in backing these through the kickstarter. As I had expected from the description and photos, they are very similar to Turkish towels, so I soaked them for several hours in cold water and washed them before use--without that step, it would have been like trying to dry off with a saltine. I personally love Turkish towels, but if you prefer loopy terry towels, these may not be for you.

Let me start by saying I have bought many products from this website. Most (including these towels) were through kickstarter. The dishes are amazing and I have zero complaints but these towels… First the good. They are so cute and so soft! The pattern is adorable! End of good. These towels are about as absorbent as tissue paper. If you were hoping to dry off using them, you will not be pleased. They might work as beach towels. Or maybe you could sew several together and make a blanket? The hand towels will probably make good kitchen tea towels but won’t dry your hands. The bath mat is fine. Cute, reasonably functional. Just fine. I bought 3 sets and spent hundreds of dollars and the best I can say is that I hope to find a way to actually use them. But not as towels.