Men's long waffle cotton bathrobe

Start with what the garment is for: a bathrobe earns its place in the ten minutes after a bath, when you want to be dry and warm at the same time. Waffle is cotton woven into a honeycomb grid. The pockets in the weave hold air and water at the same time, so it absorbs like towelling while weighing a fraction of it. That is the difference between a waffle robe and one that only looks the part.

In use it shows up as one thing: it absorbs without the bulk — the reason spas and hotels use it: it works after a shower and still folds flat. In the same vein, have a look at our mens waffle dressing gown.

Men ask about room across the back and enough length in the sleeve before anything else, and they are right to — it is where most robes fall down. There is more of this in our waffle bathrobe range.

• Dry in an hour or two — the open weave means air gets through, so it is ready again the same morning
• It packs down to almost nothing — which makes it the one that goes in the suitcase
• Cut to the ankle — cut to the ankle, it keeps the draught off the legs when you are standing at the kettle at seven in the morning, and it reads as a proper robe rather than a cover-up.
• Belt loops that hold the belt — a small thing, and the first thing missing on a cheap robe

Waffle is not a warm fabric. In a cold house you will want fleece over the top of it — this one is built for the bathroom, not the sofa in December. Machine wash at 40°C and line dry. Treated that way, a waffle bathrobe lasts five winters rather than one — the difference between a robe you keep on the back of the door and one you replace every autumn. In the same vein, have a look at our waffle dressing gown.