Manduka PRO yoga mat review

With more sophisticated yoga mat technology around than ever before, it can be hard to know what to look for when purchasing a yoga mat. Most yoga mats are now made from environmentally friendly materials with the big selling point, alongside their climate awareness, being their grip and padding. With so many choices sorting the good from the great can be hard so we’ve reviewed the Manduka Pro yoga mat to help you make the right decision.

Manduka PRO yoga mat review

Manduka PRO yoga mat: Design

★★★★★

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• Simple design in a wide range of colors
• Standard size and extra long versions are available
• Eco-conscious made from OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 PVC

Yoga mats do not need to be works of art, and a fancy design does not make a mat any better at its job. Manduka has opted to keep things simple with the Pro mat. Available in 13 colors, most of which are one, solid color, there are no distracting patterns or garish designs to be found. Arguably, a plain mat is more conducive to your yoga practice as visual stimuli can be a distraction and inhibit our concentration, although there is always the option to practice with your eyes closed (Annerer-Walcher et al., 2020), so Manduka could experiment with more patterned designs.

Opting to be as eco-conscious as reasonably possible, Manduka has made the Pro mat out of OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 PVC which ensures the product is harmless to human health. This means it has been tested to ensure there are no harmful plastics that, over time, will release chemicals into the environment, especially if they end up in the landfill.

An added bonus from Manduka is that this mat has a lifetime guarantee which is quite a statement to make, implying it will last you a lifetime and therefore, contribute to less landfill yoga mat waste. Furthermore, the mat is manufactured in an emissions-free facility. However, for those of you who want to be super eco-conscious, this facility is in Germany so if ordering outside of Germany, your purchase will cause damage to the environment through travel.

While Manduka states the PRO mat has a lifetime guarantee of ten years, this is incredibly hard to test in our review. However, we do note the top layer appears to be able to withstand quite a lot of wear, showing no early signs of crumbling away after a few strenuous practices. Not only is it robust to friction, it isn’t a mat that marks easily. Some yoga mats leave sweat marks or greasy forehead marks after a break in child’s pose but the Manduka Pro seems resistant to such marks, helping to keep it looking almost brand new.

Manduka PRO yoga mat: Functionality

★★★★

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• Two-sided texture for good grip on floors
• Heavy yoga mat due to thickness and material
• Not ideal for travel

Available in standard size (180cm x 66cm) and an extra long version (216cm x 66cm), the Manduka Pro yoga mat can be used by those who are taller without the fear of their feet touching a cold floor during relaxation (there is nothing worse…).

The top layer is smooth to touch while the bottom layer has a dot pattern. These dots help secure your mat to the floor beneath you to avoid the rather annoying sliding of your mat around the room as you practice. We haven’t been able to test this mat on the carpet to see how the dot pattern performs. This shows a nice attention to detail from the creators and an understanding of how a yoga mat needs to function during a yoga practice.

This yoga mat is quite hefty, weighing 3.4 kg for the standard size and 4.3 kg for the extra-long version. To give an idea of how this compares to other yoga mats, most are around 1.5kg. The weight of this mat might be annoying if you’re having to traipse across town or onto public transport to classes but it does mean that as soon as you roll it out, there are no annoying curling edges. It lies flat instantly.

Manduka PRO yoga mat: Performance

★★★½

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• Ample cushioning of 6 mm is comfortable
• Dot pattern texture holds mat in place well on hard floors
• The grip is not as good as advertised

When practicing on a hardwood floor, this mat offers ample cushioning being 6mm thick. This means less aches and pains on your knees and we can say truthfully that the thickness does support you during your practice and is one of the best we’ve tried for protecting your joints. The dot pattern held the mat in place on the hard floor with it not moving once, allowing distraction-free practices. The extra width also helps meaning you can spread out during your relaxation or just enjoy the extra space during standing postures, allowing you to take your feet wider if in a warrior one, for example.

The only thing that let this mat down was the grip. The mat is advertised as having superb grip but we didn’t think the grip was that impressive. Our hands constantly slid when holding a downward dog, this was where it was most noticeable. This was a shame and led to frustration. Unfortunately, this is common with all yoga mats, even those that claim to have fantastic grip.

The Manduka PRO's grip is meant to improve with time so the more often you use this mat, the better the grip will become. In our experience this happens over a number of months and Manduka has not supplied a timeline on how long it will take, so this cannot be realistically tested in the time we’ve had the mat. But Manduka offers a hack to speed the process up. You can sprinkle sea salt onto the mat and leave it for 24 hours before using a damp cloth to remove the salt. They recommend repeating the process if required.

Should you buy the Manduka PRO yoga mat?

Overall, this yoga mat gets four out of five stars from us. The Manduka PRO mat is heavy and not very portable. It doesn’t come with a carry bag so taking this to yoga classes might be tricky but the added weight gives you an instantly flat mat whenever. The things we love are the extra thickness for cushioning sensitive joints, the extra width and the dot pattern helping to hold your mat in place during your practice. The one disappointment was its grip, which was mediocre at best compared to the claimed ‘superb grip’ that is advertised. We hold out hope that this grip will continue to improve with time.

If this product isn't for you

If you're not convinced the Manduka PRO yoga mat is right for you? If you travel a lot then we think the Primasole Folding yoga mat might be a better option. It's budget-friendly (so you can spend more on your trip) and it's lightweight at just 2 lbs so you won't be weighed down.

If you're concerned about the environment then picking up a yoga mat that isn't contributing to the global wide climate crisis could be the ticket. The Jade Harmony yoga mat is made from natural rubber and when we reviewed this mat we noted that for every mat bought one tree is planted in partnership with Trees for the Future.