2021 test11 productsWorkwear & Safety Gear
Which Shop Towels Brand Wins?
We compared 11 shop towels options head to head. Wypall X80 came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
Winner
Wypall X80
Price shown in test: 15 cents per towel or $23.87 for 160 towels
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Runner-up
Sontara
Price shown in test: 27 cents for each towel or $16.79 for 100
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Budget pick
Great Value Ultra Strong
Price shown in test: 3 cents each or $3.67 for 120
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The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Scroll sideways to see all measurements. Products are listed in the order they finished.
| Product | Dry Pull Strength | Wet Pull Strength | Abrasion Resistance | Capillary Power | Shedding | Oil Absorption |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Wypall X8015 cents per towel or $23.87 for 160 towels | 133 lb | 105 lb after brake parts cleaner saturation | made 7 passes across a wet concrete paver before a small wear through formed, did not tear, best result among the shop towels | 3 in of water climb in 1 minute, finished first overall | about the same as Super Tough, minimal lint left behind | not tested |
| 2Sontara27 cents for each towel or $16.79 for 100 | 86 lb | 85 lb after brake parts cleaner saturation | made 8 passes across a wet concrete paver before wearing through, best result of all towels tested | 2 and 7/16 in of water climb in 1 minute, finished fifth overall | no fibers located under the microscope, best result of all towels tested | not tested |
| 3Brawny Professional25 cents per towel or $24.50 for 100 | 80 lb | 69 lb after brake parts cleaner saturation | made 6 passes across a wet concrete paver before wearing through, tied with Wypall X80 for second | 2 in of water climb in 1 minute, beat Krew 600 in their paired test | very few fibers left behind, rated a 4 out of 5 | 20.85 g of motor oil absorbed, worst of all towels tested |
| 4Tork Industrial18 cents per towel or $32.32 for 180 towels | 53 lb | 28 lb after brake parts cleaner saturation | not tested | 2 and 5/8 in of water climb in 1 minute, beat Tork Shop Max in their paired test, finished third overall | quite a bit of shedding, along with Tork Shop Max | 29.7 g of motor oil absorbed |
| 5Krew 60020 cents each or $35.84 for 180 shop towels | 38 lb | 34 lb after brake parts cleaner saturation | tied with Wypall X80 and Brawny near the top of the abrasion rating | 1 and 1/2 in of water climb in 1 minute, lost to Brawny in their paired test | very little shedding, rated a 4 out of 5, one of the best results | 28.5 g of motor oil absorbed |
| 6Super Tough11 cents each | 29 lb | not tested | moderate wear after 2 passes across a wet concrete paver, worn through on both sides by the third pass | 2 in of water climb in 1 minute, lost to the toolbox brand in their paired test | shed noticeably less lint than Great Value, Bounty and the toolbox brand | 27.5 g of motor oil absorbed |
| 7Great Value Ultra Strong3 cents each or $3.67 for 120 | 23 lb | 19 lb after brake parts cleaner saturation | tore after about 5 in across a wet concrete paver, weakest paper towel tested | 2.5 in of water climb in 1 minute, finished fourth overall | left a lot of lint material behind | 31.6 g of motor oil absorbed |
| 8Tork Shop Max16 cents each or $9.46 for 60 towels | 22 lb | 8 lb after brake parts cleaner saturation | did not complete a full pass across a wet concrete paver before tearing | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 9toolbox5 cents per towel or $2.79 | 21 lb | 6 lb after brake parts cleaner saturation | made it most of the way across a wet concrete paver before wearing through in two small areas, better than Great Value and Bounty | 2.25 in of water climb in 1 minute, beat Super Tough in their paired test | shed about as much lint as Great Value and Bounty | not tested |
| 10Bounty4 cents each or $4.64 for 110 sheets | 20 lb | 13 lb after brake parts cleaner saturation | fell apart about halfway across a wet concrete paver, about the same as Great Value | 2.75 in of water climb in 1 minute, finished second overall | shed about as much lint as Great Value | 40.7 g of motor oil absorbed, best result of all towels tested |
| 11Scott14 cents per shop towel | 14 lb | 6 lb after brake parts cleaner saturation | tore across one finger after a single pass across a wet concrete paver | 2 in of water climb in 1 minute | about the same as Super Tough | 35.8 g of motor oil absorbed, second behind Bounty |
How it was tested
- dry pull apart tensile strength using a clamp tester
- wet pull apart tensile strength after saturating with brake parts cleaner
- abrasion resistance dragging a wet towel across a concrete paver against padded fingers
- oil absorption capacity measured in grams of 5W30 motor oil absorbed by a 9x9 in section
- capillary and absorbent wicking power measured by water climb height in 1 minute
- lint and fiber shedding across dry concrete rated under a microscope
- reusability and durability test using the top performing towel as a head gasket in a small engine
“if you need a really strong towel especially one that needs to be reusable the white ball is going to be very hard to beat”