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“What’s the perfect yoga mat for [fill in the blank]?” It’s a query we hear on a regular basis. Our reply is, “It relies upon.” Extra particularly, it is dependent upon the way you apply, what you apply, and whether or not your apply calls for cushiness, grippiness, portability, affordability, sustainability, or any of a number of different qualities.
We requested 18 yoga lecturers and college students of various expertise ranges (together with YJ staffers) to ditch their traditional mats for greater than a month of sweating, balancing, kneeling, and sitting cross-legged. We unrolled these contenders for finest yoga mats at studios, stretched on them at residence, tossed them in our automobile trunks, lugged them alongside metropolis sidewalks, and (generally) scrubbed them down afterward. Then we did it repeatedly and once more.
The next yoga mats are standouts for varied causes. Under, we’ve highlighted what our testers appreciated most about every that can assist you match one together with your apply.
Be sure you additionally take a look at the best way to clean your yoga mat in addition to the best yoga leggings, best yoga shorts for men, and best plus-size yoga leggings.
At a Look
All mats on this information had been examined by a number of reviewers. Whenever you purchase by way of our hyperlinks, we might earn an affiliate fee. This helps our mission to get extra folks on their mats. Learn more.
Finest Yoga Mat You’ll By no means Have to Exchange
Manduka Professional
$138 at REI $138 at Backcountry
Materials: OEKO-TEX Customary 100 PVC
Thickness: 6mm
Weight: 7.5 kilos
Dimensions: 71 x 26 inches
Execs and Cons
⊕ Lifetime assure
⊕ Dense cushioning
⊕ Straightforward to scrub
⊕ Wider than many mats
⊕ Accessible in extra-long
⊗ Heavy
⊗ Slippery when sweaty
There’s a purpose why so many yoga lecturers contemplate the Manduka Professional their go-to mat. Really, there are a number of causes, together with the mat’s “dense cushioning,” defined a trainer tester who’s practiced on the Professional for nearly a decade. Additionally, the no-slip dot sample on the underside ensures the mat doesn’t wrinkle or slide, regardless of how rapidly you transition between poses, at the same time as you make your manner from Revolved Lunge dealing with one fringe of the mat to Flying Monkey on the opposite.
A pair testers asserted that the Professional is supportive of “any kind of apply.” One other tester, a yoga therapist, asserts that it greater than adequately helps “all our bodies,” together with these of us with “achy knees,” whether or not you’re kneeling in Camel, arm balancing in Side Crow, or reclining in Legs Up the Wall.
When it comes to repairs, the Professional doesn’t take in sweat, which makes cleansing a cinch. It additionally makes for a slippery expertise should you sweat rather a lot. Throw down a towel should you’re taking scorching yoga, cautioned one vinyasa-taking tester.
Additionally, the breaking-in course of for Manduka mats is considerably extended in comparison with most mats however well worth the persistence required, in accordance with most of our testers. Learn the packaging’s fantastic print on tips on how to flatten these furled edges and tame any preliminary slickness.
Bonus: Manduka ensures their mats will final a lifetime and you’ll select from 13 colours.
Finest Grip Yoga Mat
Jade Concord Mat
Materials: Pure rubber
Thickness: 4.7mm
Weight: 5 kilos
Dimensions: 68 x 24 inches
Execs and Cons
⊕ Grippy
⊕ Fabricated from pure rubber
⊕ Accessible in extra-long and extra-wide
⊗ Attracts fuzz and fur
⊗ Not for out of doors use
In comparison with different manufacturers of yoga mats, Jade makes a textured floor that gives what one tester described as an “unearthly grip.” “Think about you had Alien Tape suction cupping your palms and ft to the mat and that’s the grip you’ll expertise,” she defined. One other tester who’s practiced on the Concord mat for years swore, “It’s excellent for my chronically sweaty palms and ft. I by no means slide. NEVER.”
That textured floor, frustratingly, additionally holds onto fuzzies, fur, and the rest that’s airborne. It additionally attracts lint from towels if you wipe it down. One longtime Jade proprietor suggests you’re taking the mat with you within the bathe or hose it down—however provided that you’ll be able to enable a number of days for it to dry.
Even so, it delivers precisely what many people need in a mat, which is “assist, grip, and cushion,” in accordance with a tester who practiced gradual, yin, and restorative yoga on the Concord. Aesthetically talking, everybody commented not simply on its sturdiness or all-purposeness however its pretty and muted “earth colours” and “jewel tones” which can be “much less nondescript than most yoga mats.”
Testers additionally famous that they respect the corporate’s dedication to planting a tree for every mat offered. As will we.
Finest Yoga Mat for Aesthetics
Yune Pure Rubber Yoga Mat
Materials: PER (Polymer Environmental Resin)
Thickness: 6mm
Weight: 2 kilos
Dimensions: 72 x 24 inches
Execs and Cons
⊕ Array of shade and design choices
⊕ Light-weight
⊕ Worth
⊗ Modest cushioning
“Usually, if you purchase a yoga mat, you’re confronted with a choice—perform or style,” defined one among our testers who’s a graphic designer and yoga trainer. “Not with this one.” A handstander and arm balancer, the tester discovered the Yune to be the “excellent thickness” and “impossibly grippy.” She defined that it additionally “mainly adheres to the ground,” which rapidly earned her belief.
The grippy and design-savvy mat glad extra than simply arm balancers. A number of different testers reported feeling “fully assured” on the Yune whereas working towards vinyasa. And everybody appreciated the way it lies flat instantly out of the packaging and rolls up small for ease of storage in addition to lugging it to and from class.
And about these designs. Yune makes dozens of expressive patterns which can be “printed digitally with UV inks,” which makes for minimal environmental impression. Your choices embody patterns designated for astrological indicators, impressed by up to date artwork, even depictions of Peanuts characters.
Finest Inexpensive Yoga Mat
All in Movement PU Pure Rubber Mat 5mm
Materials: Pure rubber base with polyurethane floor
Thickness: 5mm
Weight: 5.5 kilos
Dimensions: 68 x 24 inches
Execs and Cons
⊕ Tremendous grippy
⊕ Lies flat upon first use
⊕ Rolls up simply
⊕ Value
⊗ Incorporates polyurethane
⊗ Delicate artificial scent
This easy-to-find and comparatively inexpensive mat is rated 5 stars by customers on Goal.com. After working towards on it, we perceive why. Regardless of its easy floor, the mat boasts an nearly uncannily robust grip. “I like this. I really feel like I’m going to remain put,” stated one tester who was new to yoga. Evaluating it to a number of different finances mats she’d slid on whereas studying poses, she blurted out, “There’s no slippage with this [expletive]!”
A 78-year-old tester echoed that feeling of safety. She appreciated how the All in Movement “holds you in place” throughout standing poses and felt just like the mat allowed her to “sink in a tad—in a great way.” That grip simply releases as you progress on the mat. Though a pair testers report occasional air bubbles beneath the mat when transitioning from pose to pose, the wrinkles dissipated as rapidly as they appeared.
Though the mat was much less cushioned than some others, in accordance with our almost octogenarian tester, it was surprisingly satisfactory for many testers in comparison with different finances manufacturers. That stated, anybody with achy joints or who merely prefers extra cushioning will choose the thickness of a dearer mat.
Our main grievance is the origin of the floor materials and its lingering scent the primary day or two after eradicating it from the packaging.
Finest Yoga Mat for Freshmen
Gaiam Premium 5mm
Materials: Latex-free PVC
Thickness: 5mm
Weight: 2.6 kilos
Dimensions: 68 x 24 inches
Execs and Cons
⊕ Tremendous light-weight
⊕ Lifetime assure
⊕ Array of shade and design choices
⊕ Accessible in extra-long
⊗ Barely slippery
⊗ Quick
Usually, novices to yoga are available in the market for one thing that isn’t a splurge and helps them really feel snug. Once we requested yoga newbies to strive a number of $30 and beneath mat choices, the unanimous favourite was the Premium 5mm from longtime mat-maker Gaiam.
“Ooooh fairly!” commented a millennial tester as she stepped onto the pale turquoise mat. “And comfortable!” She appreciated that she might take her time studying tips on how to come into sitting and kneeling poses in exponentially extra consolation than on different finances mats. She additionally felt extra supported whereas wobbling in balancing postures akin to Tree Pose. Our 78-year-old tester additionally skilled confidence standing and transitioning on the Premium 5mm and regarded different mats in that value class to be “too arduous” and “too slippery.” It allowed her to “slide just a little” however much less so than different mats.
Though it’s not as cushioned or sturdy as pricier mats, the Premium 5mm gives a decent thickness and much much less slippage than most mats for the cash. We advocate it for novices as an inexpensive choice.
Observe: There are a dizzying variety of Gaiam mats labeled “Premium” with various traits, colours, and designs. Our desire is the 5mm thickness.
Finest Thick Yoga Mat
Jade Yoga Fusion
Materials: Pure rubber
Thickness: 8mm
Weight: 7.2 kilos
Dimensions: 24 x 68 inches
Execs and Cons
⊕ Cushioning, cushioning, cushioning
⊕ Grippy
⊕ Fabricated from pure rubber
⊕ Accessible in extra-long and extra-wide
⊗ Heavy
⊗ Attracts fuzz
⊗ Difficult to scrub
⊗ Costly
Few yoga mats dare to approximate an 8mm thickness—and people who do are inclined to really feel dangerously unstable and extra like a mattress than a mat. However everybody who tried the Fusion was shocked that it delivered luxe cushiness in a manner that felt each sturdy and supportive. “Frankly, I used to be shocked that I cherished this mat as a lot as I did,” defined one among our testers, a longtime trainer who switched her loyalty from a unique model after making an attempt it.
For anybody with sore wrists or knees who craves extra cushioning, whether or not throughout vinyasa or a extra subdued apply, this mat is a boon. However it’s not simply concerning the cushioning. A number of testers additionally commented on how they appreciated the mat’s assist and grip.
We heard only a few complaints, though one downside is that with extra materials comes extra weight. A yoga and meditation pupil who thought-about the Fusion to be “very supportive” additionally discovered the mat’s heft to be a chore to roll and unroll in addition to transport to the studio. Nonetheless, he was fairly content material to apply on it at residence, as was his four-and-a-half-year-old daughter, who bounced on it to Cosmic Kids Yoga.
The one different quibble we have now pertains to the mat’s textured floor. With nice grip comes painstaking cleansing. “It appears to choose up each piece of mud and lint,” a tester reported. “I felt prefer it was sort of subtly shaming me for having a dusty home!”
Different Yoga Mats We Like
Manduka Professional Lite
This rendition of the Professional has all of the attributes of the basic. There’s simply much less of it to apply on. The 1.3mm distinction in thickness (the Manduka Professional is 6mm thick, the Professional Lite is 4.7mm) makes for a mat that’s much less cushioned however simpler to each roll and carry. It’s additionally significantly extra inexpensive.
Liforme Printed
$140 at Liforme $150 at Amazon
This mat from UK-based Liforme has turn out to be the darling of an growing variety of scorching yoga college students stateside lately. The mat has a pure rubber base and grippy however easy eco-polyurethane floor that’s wider and longer than most rivals. It’s solely modestly cushioned at 4mm, though one among our testers cherished it for working towards vinyasa on carpet at residence.
All testers had been divided on the “alignment traces” printed on the mat with the intention of serving to the consumer discover their place throughout apply. Some reported them to be useful, whereas others discovered them distracting. “As an ‘A’ kind, any mats with alignment markings could make me obsessive,” defined one tester. So far as we’re involved, the largest drawback of this mat is its value level.
Yoga Mats to Keep away from
Don’t race out to purchase a yoga mat priced $19 to $30 to avoid wasting a couple of dollars. After working towards on many of those in current months, we will say with certainty that they are typically exceptionally slippery in your palms, lack cushioning, slide on the ground if you transition between poses, and put on out comparatively rapidly the place you place your palms and ft. At finest, most present just a little padding between you and the ground. Nearly with out exception, they trigger extra distraction than they’re value.
How We Examined
- Mats examined: 35
- Testers: 18
- Weeks of yoga practiced: 4
- Skinned knees: 1
- Splinters from pure cork: 1
- Professions of unabashed love for an inanimate object: 3
We drew on the experience and opinions of dozens of yoga lecturers and college students throughout our testing. First, we interviewed everybody we all know who practices yoga concerning the mats they’ve been in long-term relationships with and why. This helped us perceive extra about sturdiness, stability, grip, ease of cleansing, and different options you could solely admire—or curse—after working towards on a mat for months or years.
We additionally researched big-name, boutique, and lesser-known mat manufacturers and scoured on-line opinions from customers for near 200 mats that are available an array of supplies, sizes, designs, and value factors. Then we narrowed down which mats we truly wished to check.
Subsequent, we requested 18 college students and lecturers—together with two newbies—to take a twirl on totally different mats. Our testers ranged from millennials to near-octogenarians, scorching yoga goers to yin and restorative regulars, newbies to 20-year lecturers. Some search consolation in a mat. Others demand grip and stability.
We did our greatest to offer every tester with mats which can be comparable in type and performance for comparability. The take a look at mats turned a part of every individual’s common yoga routine—whether or not at a studio or residence apply area, for warm yoga or restorative yoga—for at least three lessons. Then we requested our testers questions. Tons and plenty of questions.
Testers weren’t shy about letting us know which mats they felt had been probably the most grippy, sturdy, cushioned, sensible, transportable, fashionable, and inexpensive. (One tester even texted a photograph of a skinned knee and a request to not ask them to apply on that mat once more. We acquiesced—and took the mat out of rivalry.)
We additionally checked again in with testers a few month after the testing had ended to inquire which, if any, of the mats they had been nonetheless utilizing lengthy after the required testing was over.
Methods to Select a Yoga Mat
Our recommendation is identical whether or not or not you’re new to yoga: Date round.
That’s, don’t purchase a mat immediately. We all know you’re enthused about settling into your apply and that’s terrific. However should you’re nonetheless determining the sorts of yoga you prefer to apply, you don’t but know what you want in a yoga mat.
Pay the mat rental price at your yoga studio a couple of instances or possibly decide up a used mat for a couple of dollars at your native thrift retailer earlier than investing in a brand-new mat. You’ll begin to discern which options are vital to you—together with mat thickness, slickness versus grippiness, rollability, portability, and, sure, the colour and design. Realizing what issues to you most will probably be useful if you do your analysis and make a purchase order.
Additionally, should you see a mat at school that intrigues you, strategy its proprietor after class and ask them about it. In the event that they gush and demand that you just’ll like it, it’s okay to prod just a little for particular explanation why as that individual might worth grip and aesthetics whereas you could be searching for one thing with further cushioning that’s simple to scrub.
Save your cash on the outset. When you’ve settled on what options matter to you, go for a modestly priced mat and remind your self that as your yoga apply modifications, what you need in a mat may additionally change. Belief us once we warning you to not splurge immediately.
Take into account Your Wants
In case you’re somebody who walks a number of metropolis blocks to class lugging your mat, you in all probability need one thing pretty light-weight. In case you’re the kind of one who tends to place off washing dishes or scrubbing the lavatory flooring (no judgment right here), you’re in all probability higher off with a mat that’s tremendous simple to scrub. In case you expertise knee or wrist ache, you’re going to need one thing considerably cushier than the naked minimal thickness. In case you’re a heavy sweater (once more, no judgment), search for a mat that gained’t take in sweat or turn out to be slick when moist. Or possibly you merely need a mat in a selected shade—there’s actually nothing mistaken with that—however make sure that it has efficiency options as effectively.
The first factor to remind your self is you’re not going to vary your methods merely since you spent some huge cash on a mat. So depend on that self-awareness you’ve cultivated in your yoga apply and store accordingly.
Additionally, watch thos expectations. With any yoga mat, you’ll expertise trade-offs.As an illustration, should you worth cushioning over grip, the mat you purchase could also be just a little heavy to hold and you could often slip barely. Attempt to set your self up for the perfect expertise quite than an ideal expertise.
Preserve trying. The appropriate mat for you is on the market.
Meet Our Testers
Arundhati Baitmangalkar, yoga trainer coach and host of Let’s Talk Yoga podcast
Tamika Caston-Miller, yin, restorative, somatic circulate, and yoga nidra trainer coach and founding father of Ashé Yoga
Stephanie Acosta, vinyasa yoga trainer and founding father of Yogis Unidos
Ben Ko, longtime pupil of Ashtanga and vinyasa yoga pupil and hair stylist
Brady Garrison, scorching, vinyasa, and yin yoga trainer and trainer coach
Ashlee McDougall, vinyasa yoga trainer and co-owner of Yoga Loft Tucson
Denver Clark, yoga therapist, anatomy trainer, and trainer coach
Jenny Clise, yoga therapist, creator of The Complete Guide to Yoga Props, and social media editor at YJ
Holly Fiske, yoga and motion trainer, creator and app creator, and founding father of UpsideDownMama
Yogi Bryan, yoga and meditation trainer and creator of the Sleep With Yogi Bryan app
Alex Tzelnic, longtime pupil of meditation in addition to phys ed trainer
Phoebe Digges-Elliott, yoga trainer and motion fanatic
Sierra Vandervort, yoga trainer and author
Jane Schettler, beginner to yoga who likes to stretch in entrance of the TV
Sara Waits, beginner to yoga who lives in yoga leggings
Lisa Jhung, intermittent yoga pupil of 25 years and longtime runner
Laura Harold, yoga pupil and digital editor at YJ
Renee Marie Schettler, yoga trainer, author, and editor in chief of YJ
Don’t overlook to take a look at the best way to clean your yoga mat in addition to the best yoga leggings, best yoga shorts for men, and best plus-size yoga leggings.
