Yoga mats!

[Bedroomdilemmas113]

What makes one yoga mat more expensive than another?

I want to buy some yoga kit - mat and bag being the key. I’ve looked at Alo and Sweaty Betty (brands I wear) but I’m struggling to
see what makes the mat worth the money. They’re really heavy. Is this it? Will they stay put without slipping better? Or am I genuinely paying for a brand?

Relatively new to yoga, don’t mind spending but don’t really know what I should be looking for when I do spend…

Advice from more long term yoga people would be appreciated!

Look at Yogamatters - they have lots of kit and their sticky mats are excellent.

Mine was a relatively cheap mat I bought from Amazon. I actually bought it just for doing floor exercises at home but started going to yoga last January. Anyway it's got markings on it which help you with foot/hand placement and alignment which have been really handy as a person new to yoga so thought I'd mention it as something to consider. 😊

The big difference is a natural, more environmentally friendly product with no plastic/micro plastics. I splashed out and bought a natural rubber one from Jade Yoga after doing all the research. I used it this week for the first time, it’s about 10 times more comfortable than the £20 ‘light’ one I had before. It’s £60-£80 depending if you want fashionable colours. I got mine as a second for £40, it’s slightly faded in one corner but I don’t care about that or the colour. It’s a lovely mid pink.

I have several yoga mats. My most expensive one is cork with a rubber backing, second most expensive is a rubber travel mat (love this one, it's super grippy), then I have an old plasticky spongy one I bought about 20 years ago in TK Maxx which is perfectly functional, DD has one that is cheap but has a pretty pattern on it but I dislike it because the pattern is fabric and stuck on the plastic backing. DD loves it though.

I agree with @LaurieFairyCake that the more expensive mats are generally more environmentally fruendly materials but cheaper mats are definitely perfectly good. I've been doing yoga for years so know I'll get the use out if all my mats but if you're starting out a basic mat is fine.

I have hessian/rubber one from Amazon about £20? Love it has the right amount of stickiness yet not sweaty and light enough to carry to classes. Thin enough to use for balance yet thick enough to be comfortable on my creaky knees!
I do tend to think the names ones are expensive purely
because of the name..

After going through a million of cheap mats. I ordered a jute and natural rubber one. It cost around £40 and I've had it for over 10 years. It's thick, heavy, non slip, provides excellent padding and doesn't fall apart.
I wouldn't pay for a branded mat of it's made of the same shit as any cheap one from decathlon. Although, I bought the basic decathlon mat an holiday and it feels quite nice. I'm not sure it would last though.

Just be aware that rubber yoga mats on companies like Amazon are actually plastics. They’re synthetics like PVC or TPE.

You have to actually specify Natural rubber in a search engine to get rubber. And then read the company description closely.

Well Sweaty Betty etc are probably firm quality but you're paying for the brand name. Some are thicker and better quality than others. I've got one from Amazon which is a lot nicer the the previous even cheaper one I had before.

I started yoga about 4 years ago and the mat I have came from Amazon and cost about 40 quid. You want to look at things like thickness and grippiness. A mat I had borrowed prior to buying was too thin and hurt my knees. I personally prefer a plain colour with a few alignment markings, some can be distractingly busy. I agree with pp that you’re partly paying for the name however Liforme ones are apparently worth every penny.

I upgraded to a rubber mat and my cats basically ate it

I have a Manduka that's over 20 years now. They come with a lifetime warranty but the company doesn't honor it so I wouldn't buy another.

I like a slightly thick, heavy mat and I would look at what the mat is made of and go with something environmentally friendly now.

I bought a cheap one from Amazon while I checked that I was actually going to stick with yoga. It was nicely cushioned but if I stored it rolled up, it didn’t really unroll completely, it kept curling up at the corners. After a few months I bought a more expensive one which I had seen other people use in class. It’s by Lifeforme and it’s slightly longer than some mats and has useful markings for alignment and comes in a really sturdy bag. Worth the money. I have had it years

Is thick and heavy a good thing? The Alo one seemed to weigh a ton.

I’m not a beginner per se. More a beginner to the commitment of attending regularly rather than prioritising strength and conditioning or spinning and popping along to yoga once a week.

I just really don’t know what I should be considering. I went to Alo to buy the mat and the weight put me off. I’m now thinking based on these posts that heavy is a good thing? I didn’t expect it to be this complicated.

My gym is a luxury spa set up, so I don’t have to take my own mat. However, my teenage daughter wants to join me and try yoga and is too young for the spa, so I’ve agreed to join some other classes one of the instructors runs elsewhere that she can come along to - and for this I need a mat!

I have a Liforme mat. Before that I had a different plain Amazon one as well as used one provided at the class. Both were horribly slippy. Although the Liforme is expensive, it really is so much better. If you’re ready to invest in a really good mat, that’s the one.

I’ve got a cork one which is lovely, but quite heavy. (Cork space but they seem to have sold out of everything). Definitely much nicer than the cheapy plastic/foam rubber ones on Amazon. Do get a plain coloured one - anything with patterns/markings would be distracting.

Hard agree on this! Liforme are magic mats

my Alo mat is amazing I wouldn’t use anything else now I love it. Expensive but worth it for me

It depends on your practice but I want my mat to be planted. Thin mats just don't do that. They slip and bunch up.

Thick means a little more cushioning for joints and I can maintain a pose for longer. Heavy means it's not going to be as likely as the lighter mats to slip around when I'm moving through positions or doing things like jump through and moving in arm balances.

My instructors use Jade mats. They're a little bit bouncier than the Manduka but still have that density and grip that I like.

A lot of people in my hot yoga class have lifeforme. Started off just a few but now it’s quite lot of people so they must be decent. They are expensive but do have offers and sales and come with their own bag.

I got a lifeforme mat for a big birthday recently...absolutely amazing. I was using a squishy old exercise mat. This one stops me from slipping, I think has improved my "form" as the markings help you put hands and feet in the right places, and the carry bag is so handy
Well worth it. That's what the instructor recommended too

Thanks all! I think I’ll try the Lifeforme one