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Sometimes it's the smallest failures that keep you humble. For example, each day I am reminded of my human futility by my magnetic paper towel holder. It simply does not work well, and with the slightest of tugs, the roll will come loose and fall to the ground. It also doesn’t hold the roll far enough away from the side of the fridge, so the standard jumbo roll of paper towels won’t even fit until its been whittled down to half a ream.
I would say my paper towel holder is the worst of the worst, but I’m also of the mind that most paper towel holders are flawed: They make it difficult to tear away a sheet, their designs make users prone to knocking the roll onto the floor, or they take up valuable counter space.
Keeping in mind that everything is terrible in its own way, here is my highly biased ranking of the various styles of paper towel holders. Use it as a guide to reorganize your paper towel setup, or simply use it as a cathartic reminder that you're not alone in your daily frustration with your paper towel mechanism.
5. Floating 2-piece magnetic paper towel holder
Meant for the space-conscious kitchen, a magnetic towel holder typically consists of two separate pieces that hold the paper towel roll at both ends.
Penning this sort of feels like writing the kind of letter a therapist would tell you to draft and not actually mail, but consider this postmarked, paper towel holder. You make me feel bad every time I need your assistance. You fall off the fridge and you drop the roll. Don’t dare even think about a single handed tear. I inherited you from a previous roommate and never bothered to replace you, and now I hold onto all of this resentment. But today I am letting it go. Goodbye, I no longer need you. You have done nothing for me but remind me of my clumsiness, and by extension, my own mortality.
4. Mounted hook shaped towel holders
This style makes replacing rolls easy by having a hook-shaped support rod that is open on one side.
Yes, with this style, replacing the rolls is easy. All you do is slide ‘em off the end. However, that’s where the pros of this model end. Getting a single-handed tear is damn near impossible, unless you get the angle just right. Also, without a doubt someone will come into your house at some point and pull the towel toward the open side of the hook, causing the roll to fly off and unfurl. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!
3. Upright counter top towel holder
A classic choice, this design sits on your counter top for quick and easy access.
Upright paper towel holders are for the Haves in this world. The people with cathedral sized kitchens full of Smeg and Breville appliances. When I think of an upright paper towel holder, I think of a Tuscan revival kitchen in suburban Colorado, with granite countertops big enough to dance on. If you have an in-sink garbage disposal, you probably have one of these.
As someone with a small kitchen, I resent these for the space they require, no matter what they represent. I’m also of the mind that something that utilizes space in a more practical and considered way is a superior design. That being said, some of the best single tear providing towel holders come in this form, like this model from Bed Bath and Beyond.
2. Single bar mounted towel holder
This model consists of a bar for the paper towels connected to a parallel support bar on the back by two rods; the paper towel cannot slide off the side. This means the roll won't fall off, and you can get a more even single-handed tear (you still might get an imperfect tear or occasionally pull of too many towels at once). However, it does make roll replacement slightly more complicated.
You can get both magnetic and wall-mounted versions of this model; the wall mounted will be more secure, but the model below has a powerful magnet and it works much better than my aforementioned cursed magnetic paper towel holder.
1. Mounted towel holder with friction core
Yes, this is still hook-shaped, but unlike the classic hook model, the roll wont come flying off due to a little end cap that screws on called a “ring spring”. The bar also has added friction, making it possible to pull off an easy single hand tear. In comparison to the countertop model, this takes up less space and allows you to tear evenly across instead of pulling up or down at an extreme angle. Will it still sometimes give you an irregular tear? Yes, but it's the best we've got.
