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| In the market for a new mat for heavy ashtanga practice. I've always used a standard mat. Because of my home environment, I have to practice on carpet frequently and would like a mat that will make a firm surface on carpet. Does anyone have comparative experience with any two of the following products?
manduka black mat: http://www.manduka.com/products.html
tapas mandara mat:
yv premium mat: http://www.yogavermont.com/m-003.html |
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| James,
I have the tapas mandara mat that's my primary one for Bikram on the short-napped carpeted Bikram studio floor. It's HEAVY like a Michelin tire, very sticky, and compresses and rebounds evenly and consistently--good, stable surface. |
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| Thanks for the info Bruce. The mandara is less then half the price of the manduka I'm looking at. I don't mind spending money on quality, but $95 is quite a bit for a mat. The only reason I still might go with the manduka is because it is 100 inches and I'm a tall guy.
How does the mandara fare when you get sweaty? |
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| 100 inches--ach du leiber--my Bikram studio would probably charge me more for taking up a space and a half. As for the mat holding up when wet, the cleaning instructions say it gets better the more often it's washed--seems to be true. BUT, I took it to a Power Yoga class once and without a towel, it gets slick. |
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| Thanks again! Good info to know about the slickness. Yes, 8.3 feet is a LONG mat. I'm not THAT tall (6'2") but as long as I'm going to drop some bucks on a mat, might as well buy the last one for a while. Besides, I'm pretty irreverent and have no compunction about doing something like trimming the darn thing down to 7 feet. Then I can have a knee pad! 
In addition to a preference for hot and sweaty yoga, I have oily skin, so if one mat has a tendency to be more sticky in sweaty conditions, I'm definitely interested in that regardless of price. Looks like I'll go with the manduka and report back my findings unless someone comes up with a comment here shortly. |
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| Tao, I think Manduka.com has the mat at $65.00.... oh but that's for the standard, plus shipping... well, check it out! good luck |
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| Yes exactly. Their 100" mat is 95 plus shipping, about 110 all told. Amazon.com currently sells it for 89 with free shipping... although a reviewer notes that he had a problem (not with the black mat, but with their purple one), but Manduka would not support the product since it was bought at amazon even though it was their product. Curious. |
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| Something to consider here.
First, there is only one Manudka mat. The others are pale substitutes and the 'feel' is different.
You don't wash a manduka mat with anything other than Windex (window cleaner that happens to have amonia in it) whereas you can throw a tapas mat into the washing machine. Mandukas can weigh as much as 11 pounds so invest in a bag or a strap (strap on HuggerMugger.com).
It's always slick when you get it and the smooth side is the top, not the nubbly, rough other side. Too may people use them upside down, which defeats the purpose of what I'm going to share next.
The one and only thing, however, that makes your mat less slippery? Get ready. It's gross.
Ready?
Sweat.
Let your mat dry before you roll it up. Never use someone else's and have the courtesy not to step on someone else's mat as they should have the courtesy to do the same.
Vendors don't stand behind stuff on Amazon and often eBay because it's close out, can't get rid of it stuff. I loved half.com (now owned by eBay) because bookstores who used to put stuff out on tables for $1.00 are now putting it online and it's wayyyyyy less expensive. Other vendors are getting into the act. I saw bug netting being sold on ebay when the cicadas were here. Go figure.
Christine |
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manduka vs tapas vs yv
