I have the Lululemon mat and have no reason try something else out. I'm happy with it.

I don't have a huge yoga background. I starting going once or twice a week starting last year and I used "the mat" not "the big mat" you have listed. I sweat a lot and have rolled it up before without drying it off and haven't had any problems with mildew, but if you are a heavy sweater I'd recommend unrolling it once you got home so it could air out. A side disclaimer is that I am an ambassador for Lululemon so it was kind of the defacto mat I would go to once I started taking yoga classes.

My wife will be getting one too - both for home yoga. I've been leaning towards the Lululemon one because we'd save about $60 between the two of us. If the other one is worth it, it consider paying the extra. Thanks for the input - looking forward to hearing other's responses as well.

no experience with the Lululemon. But I've had the Manduka mat since ~2000 and it's still going strong (although i have to admit I haven't been doing much yoga the past few years).

My wife owns a Yoga studio and swears by Jade yoga mates

I would recommend the Manduka. It's quite firm and provides a super stable platform. It doesn't stretch and squirm around underneath you like some cheaper mats I've used. When you apply force it seems to return your energy instead of absorbing it like spongier mats. It also has by far the nicest surface texture I've ever experienced - just the right amount of grip. My only complaint is that it's almost a little too firm. With my bony spine, some poses are uncomfortable (e.g. shoulder stand), and I often double layer it for ab exercises. Another possible downside is that is weighs a ton - great for permanent residence at your house (I treat it like a carpet), but not so awesome for lugging around. The price is sort of obscene for a slab of rubber, but with the lifetime guarantee, it's probably the last mat you'll ever buy.

I can't comment on the Lululemon Big Mat, but I have one of the old cheap ones (~2007) that is still going strong. However, another newer one around the house seems to be made of a different compound that is less durable. The material started to crumble off after a couple years.

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CodyBeals.com | Instagram | TikTok
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I have a thick Jade matt and love it. I am a 62yr old male yoga novice and not flexible so a "normal" thickness matt was painful for me. I used to use two matts, one on top of the other until I got this thicker Jade matt. Now when I sit in Sukhasana my ankle bones don't hurt and the Jade matt shows no signs of wear after a year of use.
Hope this helps
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2011 Broward County 60-64M Sprint Tri Champion
2011 1st place 60-64M Race Troops Sprint Tri
2012 1st place 60-64M Spring Training Sprint Tri
2013 1st place 60-64M Bone Island HIM
2013 1st place 60-64M Tri-Miami International Tri

$$$$88-128 for a yoga matt???? is this in USD??? WHAT THE FUCK?????

what does a 128 dollar yoga matt do that a 15 dollar one cant??? I have to ask....

Gee, theres a big shock, I would expect yoga to beat the shit out of your equipment.

If nothing else, the Manduka will last longer. No, it's not 4x better than a $30 one, but IME it'll probably last at least 4x as long. So it's not a bad investment if you're serious about yoga. I still wouldn't buy one myself, but after using my dad's, the price seems somewhat less ridiculous.

Besides, it's really the only option to go with your $10,000 bike, $4,000 wheelset and $1200 wetsuit.

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CodyBeals.com | Instagram | TikTok
ASICS | Ventum | Martin's | HED | VARLO | Shimano | 4iiii | Keystone Communications

I have a Manduka, they last forever and stay in place. Look to Amazon since I think I paid about $75 for mine there.

god i'm glad someone finally said this - i thought i was losing my mind there for a minute.

-mike

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https://lshtm.academia.edu/MikeCallaghan

http://howtobeswiss.blogspot.ch/

I bought a $50 bottle that holds water today. I heard you can get $3 ones at the LBS. A triathlete calling equipment from another sport ridiculously expensive is pretty ironic.

A serious answer to your question though. Aside from differences in thickness, sourcing of the rubber (recycled vs newly processed), and durability, a big factor is resistance to slipping. A cheaper low-end mat may cause a practioner to slip and be injured when in vulnerable positions. Another factor would be that some mats have anti-bacterial properties that will keep it from stinking too bad. Lastly, just like in every other walk of life, the label on the mat will also inflate the price(not a knock on WTC).

I guess the closest thing we have in cycling would be bar tape.

The Wife bought one for $12 from Walmart in 2002. She still has it and uses it almost daily for a lot more than yoga.

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Take a short break from ST and read my blog:
http://tri-banter.blogspot.com/

Maybe it's just because I'm so bony but my Manduka extra thick provides tons of cushion, therefore it is very comfortable, and won't slide around on the floor it is placed on. I don't slide around on it that much either. When I am traveling and renting a mat, and it's one of those super thin, cheap ones (which it almost always is), not even folding it double makes certain poses comfortable, layering two mats doesn't solve the problem either, and they slide around on the floor like mad and also under my hands when any sweat is introduced at all. For me the $128 mat is worth it in terms of comfort and ease of use. Add the durability that is so obviously part of the equation, and it's an investment in quality that will last a long time.

I agree. The studio I practice at has a bin of them as well, and everyone really likes them. I bought one a few months back, and it's the only mat I've ever used that I don't slip on during jam packed, 95 degree sessions.

Manduka Pro -- 3-4x yoga a week for over a year.

I bought mine off of Vickerey. The cost of a mat is nothing compared to studio time. I am mostly Y which is free with membership, but my hot sessions are $12 and that is inexpensive relative to some. As triathletes we are very big about buying the right tools for the job. My $4K bike ridden 13K miles is not so expensive when compared to a $600 bike ridden 500 miles over its lifetime. My yoga mat cost 53 cents per session and I expect it to last many more years, which will further reduce the cost.

Make sure you get a long and wide enough mat for your body size.

For hot make sure you have a yoga towel to place over the mat.

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Swim - Bike - Run the rest is just clothing changes.

My wife uses the Manduka Pro, but she says many people are happy with the Lululemon... though it stinks badly when new.

I really like my lululemon The Mat. I've been very happy with it. Plus their customer service is excellent if there were ever a problem with it.

When I was practicing a lot, i'd go through a mat/year (they'd fray, and end up with finger holes). That's when I decided to put the money down and get a good mat. The Manduka has shown zero signs of wear in > 10 years.

I took a black sharpie and wrote Zipp on my high dollar matt. :-)
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2011 Broward County 60-64M Sprint Tri Champion
2011 1st place 60-64M Race Troops Sprint Tri
2012 1st place 60-64M Spring Training Sprint Tri
2013 1st place 60-64M Bone Island HIM
2013 1st place 60-64M Tri-Miami International Tri

Manduka Pro is a mat you won't be able to "kill"---ever. Jade is also a very very tough mat and not PVC, but not as dense and durable as the Manduka. I have 2 Mandukas in rotation and 1 Jade--I am a full time yoga teacher, FYI.

ps...I had the very first generation Manduka and it began to stink after 6 years (I dunno) & I could not get the funk out. So I rolled it up and put in it my yoga mat basket in the corner. A year (or more later) my hubby takes to using it. It cured itself of the funk, and now has a second life--one more that won't/can't die. It's probably the PVC.

I bought a cheap one (about $30) a few years ago, when it starts to get stinky - I throw it in the washing machine. On the advice of my yoga teacher. it works for me!

HAH!!!!

Well, I learned something about yoga from this thread. my yoga is a 20 minute thing I downloaded from the internet that I try to do a few times a week, my mat is...ummmm. I have no mat.

Why get Red when you can get Apex? What does Red do that Apex doesn't?