Gaiam Dry-Grip Non-Slip 5mm Yoga Mat

Best. Mat. Ever. It’s very much like Lulu The Mat. But a bit smaller in size, lighter & more beautiful. Lulu’s The Mat wears down so fast & this one doesn’t. Much lighter than manduka. Thicker/comfier than jade harmony which previously was my favorite. The surface is very absorbent. The grip is amazing – way better than traditional mats – I am so secure in warrior 2. I am able to go through half my hot power yoga class without a yoga towel. Then I lay down a towel during core when my sweat starts really dripping. It performs great when hot & damp, but also when dry. This mat is thick which is awesome for my knees in camel, and feels sturdy rather than squishy. I use chained hair elastics attached to a large button to hold it rolled when not in use. Any mat strap would work, I was just feeling creative & made my own. I used another thick mat before, but it was slippery. Then I used jade harmony but it was too thin. This is perfect.

Update: I have had this yoga mat for 2 years now!!! I went through TWO yoga teacher trainings using this every day for hours, and often allowing other students to use it. I practice on it every single day. I do restorative yoga, drip-heavy heated power yoga and Bikram, as well as occasionally an outdoor class. It remains immaculate, as though I bought it yesterday! I cannot say enough good things about this mat. I clean it with JUST WATER and I think this is why it has retained its beauty. Occasionally, like every few weeks, I will clean it with either dish soap, vinegar, lemon juice-dilutred water with a drop of tea tree oil. Not consistent, just whatever is around. Usually it’s water and let hang dry outside. It does not smell (I am a medium-sweater, not a huge dripper but not just a glower). I wish my yoga studio carried this mat, I think I am going to recommend that they do. I don’t use it during my teaching only because I feel like I cannot “sell” it up, since we don’t carry it. But if we carried it, I would tell every student to buy it. Especially that student who face-planted on her lulu mat. The surface is only slightly worn – it’s almost as new looking as the day I bought it. It’s a beautiful mat. It’s thick and comfortable for those with knee issues, it has not matted down much at all – maybe just slightly after two years & only recently. I think I’ll get it in purple next!

UPDATE: Year 3 almost to the day. I am finally beginning to see wearing on my beautiful mat. I’ve been practicing at home regularly & just did a third yoga teacher training. I am starting to notice it wearing down at the top middle & top bottom of my mat. I think it’s time for a replacement, but I’ll never throw this one away. They’ll have to bury it with me.

UPDATE: It’s STILL my favorite mat after 5 years. It is showing some love wear on the surface but it’s not peeling, and i can see some of the threads around the top and bottom of the mat that are starting to be exposed. I kind of want to buy another identical mat but I kind of want this one to last forever and it’s still 100% functional. Part of me wants another just to test how much better (or not) a brand new one is because I think this MUST have lost some of its cushioning. Right? Well, it is like the tarot deck I’ve had for 25 years, I could buy a new one but the old has become an extension of me, one of my favorite possessions in its perfection as it is not new but still exactly perfect.

Perfect length and width for a small space, no weird smell and very grippy. Keeping in mind ,it is a thicker, heavier mat.
I personally wouldn’t use it as my portable mat. However, it’s perfect for home.
It really excelerates may practice because it holds me in place and yet, it’s easy to release and shift to the next position effortlessly.

This is a wonderful mat. I practice both hot flow and more traditional non-heated yoga and this mat has been amazing for me.

My previous mat was a thicker, cushier Kulae mat – and I loved it – but needed to use a towel with it for hot yoga, which is annoying, and I was having a lot of trouble in balance poses due to it’s exceptional cushiness. Mat towels are very annoying to me. At the beginning of practice I have to mist them down with water before I start sweating, then they shift, bunch, and even stick to me instead of my mat as I move. I hate having to break focus to adjust my towel – and I’ve tried several towels.

This mat actually wicks away your sweat itself. It’s pretty great. It is VERY grippy regardless of how moist my skin is. At the beginning before I start sweating it’s just as grippy as later when I’m dripping sweat. I do bring a small hand towel with me to mop the sweat off of my face and neck, just because it’s annoying, but this mat soaks up all of the sweat that I drip onto it without any change in grip. It is very dense and supportive, so I was expecting it to not be as comfortable as my previous mat – but once I got on it I was surprised that it does have a little bit of give for your joints, but is firm enough for balance poses. It’s a great balance.

I’m only 5’3″ so I technically don’t need an XL mat – but I sure do like having it. I really appreciate the extra space that it provides me. It also keeps me from having to worm and inch my way around the mat so that I can make sure I’m always on or over it.

I haven’t had it for very long, so I can’t speak to it’s durability or odor properties. Upon first arrival and for the first few classes it does have a rubbery odor. The odor was a little annoying for my first class with it, but it airs out over time. I purchased Gaiam’s mat wash along with it, and have used that per the instructions, and that may have helped with the odor.

My only complaint with this mat – it scuffs very easily. In fact, the first one I received scuffed in shipping I believe, so I asked for a replacement, and it too arrived scuffed. As it jostles around in the box a little in transit the surface of the mat rubs against the cardboard and gets abrasions on it. You can’t rub or wash them out either. They’re there to stay. I haven’t caused additional damage to it, but worry that because of the scuffing the life of the product will be shorter, and the scuffed areas may have reduced sweat wicking ability. I’ve been gentle and careful moving it around, because I’m afraid to further damage it. If the surface were a little tougher it’d be perfect. But I suspect that the surface gets worn easily and will need to be replaced before too long. I even noticed in the photos on the site you can see scuff marks in their modal pictures. I did not notice that at first.

I can be kind of picky about things like that – I’m the person who will pick up every single copy of a book in the bookstore to find the one with the most pristine cover. So it bothers me that this item was damaged before I even opened up the box.

Llegó en excelentes condiciones, es muy hermoso. Al sudas no resbalan mis manos. El tamaño es grande pero es muy útil si eres alta. Es un poco pesado.