A colleague of mine, Yosef, who lives and works in Jerusalem, has been in the talit business for 25 years. He deals with both Mishkan Hatchelet and Talitnia – Israel’s leading tallit makers – so he’s just the right person to ask for an objective comparison.
Yesterday I spoke to him about two white-on-white wool talits: Tallit Malchut, made by Talitnia (often spelled “Talitania”), and Beit Yosef Nonslip Tallit by Mishkan Hatchelet. He said the Tallit Malchut is a nice tallit and well priced, but warned that after a year of daily use the fabric will look worn. Therefore he recommended it as a Shabbat tallit. I would add that it has the advantage of being lightweight, so if having a lightweight, non-slip talit is important to you, Malchut is the way to go.
In comparison Yosef said the Beit Yosef Nonslip is more durable and more non-slip, which makes it worth the $10 or $15 price difference. Most telling of all is that he said that is what he wants as his next Shabbat talit: a Beit Yosef Nonslip with Yemenite-style netted fringes. He’s Sephardic, not Yemenite, but he likes the look of the netted fringes.
The Beit Yosef Nonslip is a talit made of the same fabric as Hamefoar but instead of satiny stripes the striping is woven from the wool itself. Also the atara is all wool, which is a rarity. If you want a true 100% wool tallit with non-slip fabric and do not insist on lightweight, the Beit Yosef Nonslip Tallit is the way to go.