Absorbency
How much liquid a web takes up, and how quickly.
Absorbency
Absorbency is really two numbers: capacity, which is how much the web holds at saturation, and rate, which is how fast it gets there. A towel can hold a lot and still be useless for a quick wipe if it takes too long to draw water in.
Both depend on the fibre, the void structure left by entanglement, and any finish applied to the surface. Comparing two data sheets without knowing the test method is comparing two different measurements that share a name.