Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

It is so nice to finally find a good price on a sheet set that doesn't outright lie to customers about what it is. So many of the linens that have the word "Egyptian" in the title are fraudulent. I would say "misleading," but that gives too much credit to the vendors who are obviously trying to defraud customers by pretending their cheap, short, or synthetic fibers are actually quality, long-staple cotton. (Anytime you see "Egyptian-quality" or something similar, avoid at all costs -- such terms are meaningless marketing-babble and reveal the vendor as underhanded, hoping to cash in by confusing their customers.) This item from Royal Hotel Bedding is manufactured in China, like most consumer textiles today. However, it has what many lack: an official seal from the Egyptian government establishing provenance as genuine, 100% Egyptian long-staple cotton from the Nile valley. All that really means to a consumer is that even at "only" 300 thread count, this feels as luxurious, substantial, and durable as much higher TC products that use cheaper, short-fiber, micro-fiber, polyester, and/or multi-ply yarns (which are almost always used to inflate the actual thread count). This 300TC set happens to be a great fit where I live (California) as it is not so heavy as to be uncomfortably warm, though generous enough to feel wonderfully luxurious, especially compared to typical linens. It uses a "satin weave" (4 over 1 under) for extra smoothness, sheen, and soft handfeel. The long fibers of this kind of cotton are what make this type of sheet last so long after many washings, and keep it from pilling and fraying and wearing through as quickly as inferior (though much more common) materials. A "plain weave" (1 over 1 under) is the strongest, and would last even longer, but it is not very smooth feeling compared to sateen. Quality, long-fiber sateen is a good balance of durability and softness, imho. (Satin and sateen use the same weave method, but "sateen" denotes a spun fiber like cotton instead of a continuous filament like silk or polyester.) I chose the least expensive color (which happened to be the pink at the time of my purchase) to save ten bucks, since I care about the feel, the durability, and the overall quality more than color. And it allowed me to get this item in a Cal. King-size complete set for about fifty bucks. Can't beat that price for this level of quality. (Usually, you can almost count on high quality sheet sets starting at over $100 for the small mattress sizes and going up rapidly from there. $500 for 800TC Egyptian single-ply cotton is not unusual, assuming it is genuine.) Note: most linens advertising very high thread counts are playing tricks -- they usually use multi-ply yarns and multiply the thread count by the number of plies. A 4-ply yarn claiming to be 1200TC is really only 300TC, but not nearly as nice as single-ply 300TC since the 4-ply yarns are course and much less durable through repeat washings. Going for the highest TC without ensuring it is single-ply is a rookie mistake unscrupulous vendors are counting on, which is why they concoct product pages and titles that maximize market-speak and provide the least amount of detail they can get away with.