I am a fitness trainer who travels to clients' houses and also dabbles with yoga. I like Hapbear products — they are high quality. When this popped up on Vine I decided to give it a try.
PROS:
~ The color I got is a calming pastel green.
~ No off-gassing plasticky smell.
~ Unlike PVC mats, TPE is free of harmful plasticizers, has better rebound properties, and is naturally grippy without chemical coatings.
~ The TPE is easy to clean.
~ It folds up small and is light, making it easy to store and travel with. I would take this on a trip. It also excels for traveling to clients' houses.
~ The carry case is very practical for carrying, storing, and protecting the mat.
CONS:
~ Folding it back up is not always intuitive.
~ Being pastel, it shows dirty footprints.
~ It slips around at the folds, especially at the corners.
~ The folds are noticeable underfoot and can be distracting, they feel like the expansion joints in a sidewalk.
~ In certain positions, like down dog, my hands slip on the surface.
~ Since TPE is denser than foam, I found it uncomfortable on my back. My spine is pretty boney, so that may be a 'me'
issue.
I have another TPE mat that is thicker and accordion folds that I absolutely love — it is my go-to mat for myself rather than my clients, so I thought a second one as a backup would be nice. Alas, this is the first Hapbear product that has not worked for me. I am sure it is a quality product based on my experience with their other items, but the square folds caused the mat to slip in an odd way and got in the way of my hands and feet during sessions. Overall it was not comfortable. Due to its portability I will use it for travel or for clients who will not be doing exercises that cause slippage.
REVIEW SUMMARY:
My goal for each review is to list both the pros and cons of the product as I see it.
– I reserve 4 (like) and 5 (love) star ratings only for products I would either recommend to others or buy for myself.
– 5 stars are reserved for products that excite or amaze me, are high quality, and work as advertised.
– 4 stars are for items that mostly work and that I like, but there are some improvements that could be made.
– 3 stars (it's ok) I would recommend with reservations. There are some positive product features, but the product has a/some major issues or flaws that I would like to see resolved first.
– 2 (don't like) and 1 (hate) are for items that don't work or quickly fail. For items that fail, I like to contact the sellers first to resolve the problem as it may be a manufacturing issue. Do note, most sellers work hard to make things right.
If my opinion changes over time, I will update my review to reflect that.
