Microfiber towels are best for the beach.

Yes, microfiber. They dry in minutes, fold down to the size of a burrito, and sand practically falls off them instead of clinging like it does to cotton. You can shake them out once and be mostly clean.

Turkish cotton towels are the other option — they’re softer and more absorbent, but they take longer to dry and hold more sand. If you’re lounging at a resort with a chair, Turkish is fine. If you’re walking to a windy beach and packing wet stuff back, microfiber wins every time.

One small gripe: microfiber feels weird against the skin when it’s damp, like drying off with a slightly wet gym shirt. But for the trade-off of never packing a wet towel home, I’ll take it.

Get a microfiber towel and never deal with a damp sandy mess again.