My current mat is a Jade Harmony, which I love, but is stretching during practice and showing some significant wear. I've had the mat for ~2 years and practice 3-4 times a week.
I'm looking to replace it and I'm not sure I want another Jade. I'm debating between LLL the Mat and the Manduka EKO ProLite. Any thoughts, comments, recommendations?
I think I want a slightly stiffer mat that won't stretch and buckle so much during practice - the Jade is driving me nuts because when I transition from warrior ok through a vinyasa to down dog, my mat is shifted and askew - constantly straightening it back out is driving me crazy. Perhaps I need to work on letting go more - but that's a conversation for a different day!
I just got my ProLite in the mail yesterday. They were on sale at Fab.com - I think I got it for under $40. Haven't tried it out yet, but I'm excited to use it because my cheapie mat that I have does the same thing - shifts and buckles during sessions.
Post by Raggedeannie on Jan 29, 2015 12:00:03 GMT -5
I loooove my LLL - it stays in put and stays sticky even when my skin is slippery from sweat. But it is super heavy, if that's any consideration. On days that I go straight from work I just use a cheapie from Marshalls.
Post by venice2007 on Jan 29, 2015 20:45:03 GMT -5
I'm the loner here but I hated the manduka mat. I've only found The Mat from LLL to work for me Manduka was slippery, made my wrists sore and uncomfortable
Post by Wines Not Whines on Jan 29, 2015 22:02:10 GMT -5
I'll mention that I had to wash my Manduka mat (with regular dish soap and water) when I got it. My yoga teacher told me to do it. Apparently you have to wash off some kind of protective coating on it? It's not sticky until you do that. After I washed it, it was great.
Post by heliocentric on Jan 30, 2015 10:38:57 GMT -5
I might be late to this, but...
I have a Hugger Mugger para rubber mat that I really like. It's thicker and more dense than other mats, which is good for me because it has cushion for my knobby knees without being unstable. My knees and ankles always hurt when using other mats. Or there would be enough cushion, but I'd feel wobbly. Not sure if you have the same issue or not.
Because it's dense, it doesn't stretch as much as other mats I've had.
The only downside is that it's not super sticky (there is texture to help with grip, but not the stickiness I was used to) and it stinks like a tire until it airs out.
I'm late on this but the only mat that has worked for me for hot yoga is the LLL The Mat. I don't even need to use a towel and it has held up for going in 2 years.
I'm going to bump this instead of creating a new post I've been considering getting The Mat - does this mean I won't need a towel at all? Is the stickiness weird? I'm not concerned about the weight since I don't have to walk far, mainly that what makes it sticky in a hot class would make it not work in a regular class? ETA - will I need the LLL mat strap too or will a regular one work? (not sure how bulky the mat is)