Manduka  PRO Yoga Mat - Long

The good: I'm 6'3" and I take hot yoga classes (Modo!). I've been dancing around my regular-sized mat for years and it's so nice now to have this mat that fits me. Wherever I lay my hand or feet or face, it's there waiting for me. The cushioning is nice, but I don't feel like I need it. I think it wouldn't be possible to use it in a hot class without a mat towel, but it's a tradeoff I'm willing to make. Even when mats are mostly-sweat friendly, I really don't like the feeling of my hands slowly sliiiiiiiiding away during a late-class downward dog. Also, I like that this is PVC and not rubber. If it were porous, I'd worry about it retaining my sweat all the time. I just clean it with a little vinegar spray. Once that dissipates after a minute, I smell nothing. Towels: I would recommend trying some off-brand towels, like YogaRat. Their logo is really ugly, but they have reasonably priced microfiber towels that fit these mats and it's easy to snip off the tag. The price of Manuka towels had me looking into buying bolts of microfiber cloth on Alibaba and making my own!) I'm ok with using a towel every time. The less good Using the mat is chaining a lot of my habits. It's just so big and heavy that sometimes when I unroll it in the studio it hits the ground with this loud "SLAP"--I don't want to disturb people who are already there. I also find myself unintentionally knocking things over when I'm carrying it around the house, but that's more my fault. Really, I think this is the best option for large-sized mats. I'd like it if Manduka offered all their mats in the 85" size. When I asked their customer service about it, and they said they have no plans to sell things like the eko or prolite in 85", but people writing in might convince them to do it. Try it out, tall people! Otherwise, it's a pretty great mat, and it's hard to beat the feeling of one that fits your entire body. I'd highly recommend it.

I wanted to love this mat. I read all of the reviews and praise so I bought it. But when I tried it, it had a slick film on it that everybody, even the company, said would wear off with use. But to speed up the process, the company recommended scrubbing it with sea salt and water and letting it dry in the sun. Well, I did that and it was a little better but not great enough to keep their $135 mat. At that price, I'm gonna need it to be out-of-the-box ready to yoga. Also, although it's thicker than most mats, it wasn't thick enough for my wrists and knees. It's material is compact and has no give or cushion to it, so it almost felt like I was on the floor. I found that the mat isn't really textured that much so there's very little grip when getting in the downward dog-like positions; which makes it easy to slip once your hands get sweaty. So, I had to return it. I got the Jade Fusion instead and couldn't be happier.