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Sand-Free Beach Towels in Australia: What You Should Actually Pay
Posted by Empulse | 
Sun, Sep 20, 2026 | 0 Comment A sand-free beach towel is a towel woven tightly enough that sand cannot bury itself in the pile, so one good shake leaves it clean. In Australia right now, the best known sand-free beach towels sell for roughly $55 to $80 each. Empulse sells its sand-free beach towels, oversized at 160 x 80 cm, for $19.98. That is the lowest price we have been able to find anywhere in the Australian market, and it is a final run.
Summer is close, the Bureau of Meteorology long-range forecast is already the most refreshed page in the country, and every household is about to replace the tired old bath towel that has been doing beach duty since 2022. Here is what to look for, what things actually cost, and where the money goes.
What makes a beach towel sand-free
There is no magic coating involved. Sand sticks to a normal cotton towel because a looped terry pile is basically thousands of little hooks. Grains work their way down between the loops, dry in place, and stay there until you put the towel through a wash.
A sand-free beach towel removes the hooks. The surface is a tight polyester microfibre with no loops for sand to catch on, so grains sit on top of the fabric instead of inside it. Lift the towel, give it a flick, and the sand falls off. That is the entire trick, and it works.
The same construction brings two bonus effects. It holds less water, so the towel dries in a fraction of the time. It also packs down far smaller than a terry towel, which is why these towels have quietly taken over beach bags, car boots and carry-on luggage.
Sand-free beach towel prices in Australia, compared
This is where the category gets interesting. The sand-free beach towel has been sold as a premium lifestyle product in Australia for the better part of a decade, and the pricing reflects the marketing rather than the materials.
The table below lists advertised prices, published sizes and stated fabrics taken directly from each brand's Australian website in September 2026. Prices change, and sale pricing moves constantly, so treat this as a snapshot rather than a permanent record.
| Brand | Single towel price (AUD) | Size published | Fabric | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Empulse | $19.98 | 160 x 80 cm | Eco-friendly polyester microfibre, thick waffle weave | Six designs, RRP $39.98, final run |
| Tesalate | $55.30 on sale, $79 RRP | Not listed on the range page | Microfibre | Beach blankets listed to $119 RRP |
| Dock & Bay | $55 to $60 | M, L and XL, no cm on the range page | Recycled microfibre | Towel sets listed at $220 to $240 RRP |
| Department store marketplace listings | Around $63 | 160 x 80 cm | Microfibre | Third-party seller, not house brand |
Two things stand out. The first is the gap. A household buying four sand-free beach towels from a premium brand is looking at $220 or more. The same four from Empulse is $79.92. For a family, a share house or a club merch table, that gap is the whole decision.
The second is that a $63 microfibre towel from a marketplace listing is the same 160 x 80 cm as ours, at more than three times the price. Where a brand does not publish dimensions at all, you are buying on the photography.
We are not doing anything clever to get to $19.98. We buy well, we sell direct, and we do not spend the difference on influencer campaigns. The product does the talking, which is the same approach we take across the Empulse gym towel range at $16.98.
Why the weave matters more than the fibre
Here is the thing most brands would rather you did not work out. Almost every sand-free beach towel sold in Australia, ours included, is built on a polyester microfibre. The fibre itself is not the differentiator. The weave is.
Most premium sand-free towels use a thin, flat, sueded microfibre face. That gives the fastest possible drying time and the smallest pack size, which is genuinely useful if you are hiking. What it does not give you is body. A lot of people describe that finish as thin, or slippery, or say it catches on dry skin.
Empulse sand-free beach towels use an eco-friendly polyester blend woven into a thick waffle. The raised waffle pockets add loft and surface area, so the towel absorbs more and feels substantial in the hand, closer to a proper towel than a travel sheet. It still dries far faster than terry cotton. You trade a little pack size for a lot of comfort.
- Flat sueded microfibre: fastest drying, smallest pack, thin and slippery against skin
- Thick waffle microfibre: more loft and body, strong absorbency, still dries far faster than cotton
- Traditional terry cotton: plushest feel, heaviest, slowest to dry, worst for sand
Neither weave is universally better. If your priority is the smallest possible pack for a hike, the flat sueded face wins. If you want something that feels like a towel and still shakes clean, the thick waffle is the more comfortable choice. If you want the longer read on how these fabrics behave over time, our guide to caring for cotton and polyester covers it properly.
How to choose a sand-free beach towel
Five things matter, and only five.
- Size in centimetres, not adjectives. Anything you plan to lie on needs to be oversized. A standard bath sheet leaves your feet in the sand. Ours are 160 x 80 cm, and if a brand will not tell you the number, ask why.
- Weave, not just fibre. Almost all of them are microfibre. Ask whether the face is flat and sueded or a thick waffle, because that is what you will actually feel.
- Colour retention. Salt water, sunscreen and UV are brutal on cheap prints. Look for double-sided or through-printed designs.
- Pack size. It should fold flat into a beach bag without becoming the reason you need a bigger bag.
- Price per towel. You need three or four of these, not one. Multiply before you commit.
One thing a towel will not do is protect you. Australia has some of the strongest UV on earth, and SunSmart notes that UV can burn unprotected skin in about eleven minutes on a fine January day. Check the UV index, and follow the Cancer Council Australia sun safety advice. The towel is for drying off, not for shade.
The Empulse sand-free beach towel range
Six designs, one price, all 160 x 80 cm, all thick waffle microfibre. The whole range sits in the sand-free beach towels collection at $19.98 each.
- Cabana Blue, classic blue and white cabana stripe, the one that never dates
- Coastal Chill, ocean-blue print drawn from the Australian coastline
- Tropical Bloom, bold florals and palm leaves
- Flamingo Elegance, pink flamingo and palm print
- Summer Fun, double-sided tropical print
- Vibrant Canopy, sunset gradient with a geometric reverse
Why this range is $19.98, and why that will not last
Straight answer: this is a final drop. These towels never got the run they deserved, they are priced at half their $39.98 RRP to clear, and we are not reordering the range. When the stock is gone, it is gone.
That is the whole reason a 160 x 80 cm sand-free towel is sitting under $20 in a market where the same thing normally costs $55 to $80. It is not a permanent price and it is not a loss leader we plan to repeat. Tropical Bloom is already the thinnest stock in the range, so if that is the print you want, do not leave it until Boxing Day.
For a wider look at our towel range, including the cotton options, have a read of the best Empulse beach towels for summer and our write-up on the Cabana stripe.
Looking after a sand-free beach towel
These towels are low maintenance, but a few habits will keep them looking new through several summers.
- Shake the sand off before it goes in the bag, not after it has been sitting damp in a pile
- Rinse salt and chlorine out with fresh water when you get home
- Machine wash cold on a gentle cycle with like colours
- Skip bleach and fabric softener. Softener coats the fibres and kills absorbency
- Line dry in the shade, and keep the iron off the printed surface
Beach towels for clubs, teams and Christmas gifting
At under $20 a unit, sand-free beach towels are one of the easiest gifts to get right. They suit end-of-season presentations, club raffles, corporate Christmas hampers and teacher gifts, and unlike most merch they actually get used. Our guide to end-of-season team gifts that do not end up in a drawer goes deeper on what works.
If you want a volume for a club or a corporate order, get in early on this one, because there is no second production run behind it.
Beach towels ship as-is in the six designs above. If you want your club logo, player names or numbers applied, that is our customisation service on jerseys, jackets, shorts, backpacks and duffel bags, and on branded gym towels for bulk orders. The planning side of a branded bulk run is covered in our guide to bulk custom gym towels, MOQ and lead times.
Pair a towel with a Nike Academy Team Backpack 30L and you have a complete beach or training kit in one order.
Frequently asked questions
Do sand-free beach towels really work?
Yes. The tight microfibre face gives sand nothing to grip, so a single shake clears the towel. It is a structural property of the fabric rather than a coating, which means it does not wear off with washing.
How much should a sand-free beach towel cost in Australia?
Premium brands sell single towels for roughly $55 to $80. That pricing reflects brand positioning more than materials. Empulse sand-free beach towels are $19.98 each at the same 160 x 80 cm size, which is the lowest price we have found in the Australian market, though it is a clearance price on a final run.
What size is an Empulse sand-free beach towel?
Every towel in the range is 160 x 80 cm. That is larger than a standard bath sheet, so you get full-body coverage for sunbaking, reading or lounging by the pool without your feet in the sand.
What are they made from?
An eco-friendly polyester blend, essentially a microfibre, woven into a thick waffle. The waffle adds loft and absorbency so it feels like a proper towel rather than a thin travel sheet.
How long does a sand-free beach towel take to dry?
Far faster than terry cotton, because it holds much less water. On a warm, breezy day a towel hung over a rail will usually be dry within the hour, which is why they suit back-to-back beach days and travel.
Can you machine wash a sand-free beach towel?
Yes. Machine wash cold on a gentle cycle with like colours. Skip bleach and fabric softener, since softener coats the fibres and reduces absorbency, and line dry in the shade to protect the print.
Shop the final drop
Six designs, 160 x 80 cm, thick waffle microfibre, genuinely sand-free, $19.98 each while stock lasts. Browse the full Empulse sand-free beach towel collection and sort your summer before the range sells out for good.
Empulse is a Melbourne-founded custom apparel and teamwear business supplying Australian clubs, schools, gyms and households. We stock our own towel, sock and apparel ranges alongside genuine branded teamwear from accredited vendors, and we personalise kit with club logos, names and numbers in-house. Pricing and size comparisons in this article were taken from publicly advertised Australian listings in September 2026 and may change.
