Manduka ProLite Yoga Mat Vs. Lululemon: Which Expert

By Sara Coughlin

All products featured on SELF are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

As someone who practices yoga daily and writes about it, I feel a (very specific) question looming large: In a matchup between the Manduka ProLite yoga mat and Lululemon The Reversible Yoga Mat, which one comes out on top? Both brands come highly recommended by yoga instructors and experts, and customers have written troves of glowing reviews; safe to say, this is a tight race.

In the name of yoga science, I decided to put Manduka's and Lululemon's top-rated offerings to the test in my home yoga studio (read "my living room"). Here's how some of the best yoga mats on the market measure up.

Lululemon

I’ve had experience using both Lululemon and Manduka yoga mats. I’ve been a longtime user of both The Mat and The Reversible Mat from Lululemon in my personal yoga practice, preferring these makes for their smooth top layer and Goldilocks level of cushion (for a fast-paced vinyasa flow followed by floor poses, it's just right). In other words, I was already very familiar with Lululemon's yoga mats—my go-to mat right now is the Lululemon Reversible Mat and I’ve put several others through the wringer. For a time I used Manduka's GRP Mat for hot yoga a few years ago and found that it performed exceedingly well under ultrasweaty conditions (no yoga towel required), but I’d never experienced the ProLite Mat until setting out on this experiment. Upon receiving my sample ProLite from Manduka, I swapped it in for all of my practices, leaving my tried-and-true Lulu mat to collect dust.

I used the ProLite mat every day for two weeks for yoga sessions that took anywhere from 40 to 75 minutes.

Despite their different names, both The Mat and The Reversible Mat from Lululemon are reversible. One side is made from natural rubber for lower-sweat flows where you want more cushion, while the other has a polyurethane top layer that provides additional grip and sweat absorption, though it feels smooth to the touch. Meanwhile, the Manduka ProLite is textured with a grid-like pattern, which is intended to prevent slipping during your flow.

Lululemon's site states that its mats do contain latex, so people with latex and rubber allergies should steer clear. The Manduka ProLite is conveniently made from PVC and thus latex-free. The ProLite's material actually comes with a lifetime guarantee and, if you opt in to the brand's Live On sustainability program at checkout, you can send your mat back to be recycled when you’re done with it. The ProLite's material is also closed-cell, which seals moisture and protects bacteria from penetrating the mat. By comparison, Lululemon uses an antimicrobial additive in its mats to prevent mold and mildew growth.

While there are major differences in these mats’ materials, they’re designed with similar ends in mind: to provide a grippy, supportive, and relatively clean experience on the mat.

At the risk of stating the obvious: A thick yoga mat will always be cushier than a thinner one, and that was easily the case here. Clocking in at five millimeters thick, Lululemon's mat had a slight edge over Manduka's, which was a close second at 4.7 millimeters. The rubber base on the Reversible Mat provided an ample amount of support for me during seated and supine postures, and I could stay on my knees for extended periods of cat/cow pose. (That said, if you have sensitive joints, you may want an even thicker mat—consider choosing a mat between 6 and 10 millimeters.)

While the Lululemon was my preference for floor sequences, the Manduka felt better during single-leg and arm balancing poses. The (albeit small) difference in thickness worked in tandem with the mat's high-density construction to help me feel extremely grounded, as if I could feel the hardwood floor through the mat. Where the Lululemon mat is a little more responsive, the Manduka offers more in terms of stability.

Simply put, neither mat necessarily had a superior grip over the other. That's because, as mentioned in the materials section, both Lululemon and Manduka prioritize great grip in their mats. The downward dog felt fantastic across the board, and my hands only slipped when my palms got a little sweaty farther along in my yoga flow.

It's more accurate to say that the grip on these mats is different. Lululemon's mat feels smooth and dry. Manduka's mat is grippy in large part due to its finely gridded texture, which felt pleasantly sticky without feeling clingy or tacky.

As tends to be the case with high-quality yoga gear, these mats aren't exactly cheap. The price tags range between $88 and $115, depending on the colorway, retailer, and length (some shades of the Manduka ProLite are available in an extra-long length of 79 inches). To give you an idea of comparable costs, The Mat from Lululemon and the ProLite are $98 and $99, respectively. You can find a discounted version of the ProLite through Manduka's Almost Perfect line of gear, which features cosmetically imperfect Manduka items that still have plenty of functionality to offer.

In comparing the Manduka ProLite yoga mat to Lululemon's mats, I struggled to find a clear favorite. My extremely not-hot take is that they’re both fantastic yoga mats that I’d happily roll out for a home workout or tote to yoga class (they both have a portable weight and are compatible with a standard carrying strap).

If you’re looking for a grounded feel and plenty of grip, the ProLite might be more in line with what you want. And if support and cushion are a priority for you (but you still want to move through powerful flows securely), either Lululemon's Reversible Mat or The Mat will work well for you. Whatever mat you choose, you can trust that you’re practicing on an incredibly well-made mat designed for performance. And the fact that they’re resoundingly approved by yoga teachers doesn't hurt either.

If you’re curious about other expert-approved yoga mats, here are a few ideas. Alo's Warrior Mat is smooth like Lululemon's and can take a real beating before show signs of wear and tear. The Manduka Pro Mat is thicker than its Lite version that I tested, so if max cushioning is what you’re after, give this so-called "Rolls Royce of mats" a try. The Harmony, JadeYoga's ultra-thick, natural rubber mat, is stunningly non-slip. Plus, as an eco-friendly brand, JadeYoga plants a tree for every mat sold.

Manduka

Lululemon

Alo

Manduka

Amazon

Related: