I love yoga, and have only recently discovered (I know, I’m way behind) “hot yoga.” The mat that I previously had was a cheap, thin thing that, while textured, turned into a veritable slip-n-slide when it got sweaty. It was just under 24” x 72”, and maybe 1/8” thick (it was essentially a huge piece of that thick “shelf-liner” material), so this is a HUGE upgrade, but there are some areas for improvement.
First of all, it’s oversized. Like, WAY oversized. Realize that 36” x 72” is THREE FEET by SIX FEET. (Picture a standard-size folding “banquet table.” Those are most commonly 30” x 72”, so this is the same length as – and six inches wider than – the top of one of those tables.) For wide poses and other workout things, it’s great. But if you go to a fairly crowded yoga class, realize that you may inadvertently be “that guy” (or gal) who hogs a bit more than his/her fair share of floor-space real estate.
I got the “blue” version, and the artwork is vibrant, saturated, crisp, and quite visually stunning. I’ve had several compliments on it in class!
This mat has a TPE backing, so it affords solid floor contact and grips well (especially the hardwood floors of the yoga studio and my bedroom at home; haven’t used it on carpeting). I did NOT notice anything other than the faintest hint of “chemical odor,” and that was immediately upon unrolling it for the first time and it was gone in just a few minutes, literally.
It’s listed as 6mm thick (and a quarter inch, which is technically like 6.35mm, but if you’re gonna quibble over a third of a millimeter, that’s your issue). I think it’s thick enough to feel cushiony, but dense enough not to feel too “squishy.” It doesn’t throw me off-balance or anything, and the mat lays nice and flat once you’ve used it the first time (I reverse-rolled it after initial inspection and then put it into the bag before bringing it to class, and it was fine).
The carrying bag is listed as a “bonus mesh bag.” There’s a central mesh window, but the ends (averaging out to a little less than 1/3 of the length on each end) are a vinyl-like materials that feels cheap and crinkly. I don’t expect it would hold up under rigorous usage. The strap is attached to the aforementioned vinyl parts (i.e., it bridges over the mesh panel in the middle), and is adjustable via a “buckle-style slider” to be a total length of about 25” to about 32.5.” The strap is not removeable. I don’t know that we needed the ~7” adjustability, but there it is.
I considered the top material to be “sueded” or “suede-like,” but the listing says straight-up “suede.” And the label that comes on it says “Suede has a [sic] certain hygroscopic properties, which can absorb the sweat expelled by the practitioner’s body and keep the surface of the yoga mat dry.” I had to look up “hygroscopic,” and got that these are materials “such as silica gel, sugar, and wood, that readily attract, absorb, and hold water molecules from the surrounding atmosphere…often reaching an equilibrium with the environmental humidity.” Ummm…OK, so, long story short: I haven’t found that this mat gets slick or slippery, even if I’m sweating (having said that, I don’t ever sweat profusely).
The thing that made me knock off one star is that the label also says “Easy to clean, wipe the surface gently with a wet towel.” OK, I’ve done that – but if it’s ABSORBING SWEAT and FLOOR/FOOT STUFF, I want to be able to WASH IT. It doesn’t say that it’s machine-washable (nor would I expect that it is). I just don’t know how long it’ll hold up with “wiping gently with a wet towel,” although I’ve been doing so with a hot-and-wrung-out microfiber cloth, and it’s doing OK after a few months of semi-regular usage.
Thanks for reading; I hope that my review helps you out!
