|  |
| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review: ( 339 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
108 of 109 found the following review helpful:
 Good mat, short life-span Jul 05, 2006
By Eugene Park
I enjoyed using this Jade mat for the past 10 months or so. My only real gripe is that it wore out so quickly. To be fair, though, it didn't last any longer or shorter than my previous mats. But for the price, I had hoped that I could get more than a year of use out of it.
The mat is heavier and thicker than most mats. It is also, at least initially, perhaps a little less sticky than some of the other mats I've used. Once in a while I did have some trouble slipping on the mat during my practice, but this was due to sweat, and I doubt any other mat would perform better in this respect.
For the money, I would probably go for a Manduka mat. That's what I've switched to, and I have no complaints. The benefit of a Jade mat, however, is that it is more ecologically friendly since it is, I believe, constructed entirely out of biodegradable material, which is something you can't say for most mats, including the Manduka.
67 of 69 found the following review helpful:
 My favorite yoga mat by far! Jan 24, 2008
By Dan
I've used a Jade harmony yoga mat for more than 2 years in a regular vinyasa practice. I remember it had a rubber smell at first, but the smell didn't bother me at all (it's weird but I actually liked the smell).
I saw a couple reviewers said it was slippery and not durable - I have had the opposite experience. It's lasted more than 2 years and still has much life to it. It's slightly worn where my downdog hands and feet go, but has actually given me more traction in those places. I should also say I'm an advanced yogi and am very rough on it. It's also great for traction. I've tried Wai Lana and other mats and this one is definitely the best. It does get slippery if I'm completely drenched with sweat, so I don't practice hot yoga without a towel on it. But I typically sweat a lot and my slippage is fairly minimal.
Tip for cleaning - every 3-4 practices I take my mat in the shower with me and rinse both sides with water, then let hang dry. No chemicals and it's kept it clean and in great condition. I can't speak highly enough of this mat.
81 of 85 found the following review helpful:
Why this is the awesomest mat. Oct 20, 2011
By Prajna V.
THE GOOD: Performance! I'm a vinyasa teacher and I teach 10+ classes a week and also keep up a vigorous personal practice, so I need a mat that can really perform. I work with a lot of jump-throughs, arm balances and other precarious poses requiring serious grip of my mat, and I just love how secure and confident I feel on the Jade Harmony. It's nice to be able to do things like jumping into bakasana from down dog without worrying if your hands are going to slide out from under you! I have to get insanely sweaty to feel even the slightest hint of slipperiness. I know some people complain about slipping when it gets really sweaty, but if you know of any surface in the world that does not become slippery when soaking wet, make a yoga mat out of it and get rich, baby! Until that day, this is hella-grippy and if I know I'm going to be sweating buckets I just bring a hand towel, duh.
THE REALLY GOOD: Jade is a great company and you can feel good about spending your hard-earned money on their product. By now you've read about how they plant a tree for every mat they sell, how the mats are made in the US (hooray for US jobs!) and that they are completely biodegradable (hooray earth!).
THE FINE PRINT: First, you must never, ever leave this mat exposed to direct sunlight. Put it in the trunk of your car, covered. Use an old junky mat for outdoor practice (or just touch the actual earth for once... dirt is cool!). Sunlight will RUIN the stickiness of a Jade mat. It does say this on the label and the website, but I forgot and left my first one in the backseat of my car and the part that was exposed totally dried. I've seen other people ruin theirs too so don't do it! Second, this mat is made from natural rubber and is biodegradable which means it will BIODEGRADE! How long yours will hold up depends on how hard you work it and for how many days a week. With my teaching/practice schedule (see above), I get about a year out of one of these (I've had three). Eventually I wear grooves in the places where my hands and feet go in down dog and then little bits of rubber start coming off. At that point, I accept that my mat's time has come and treat myself to a new one.
If you want a forever mat, get the Manduka Black Mat Pro. It will never break down, but you will need a towel if you're super sweaty. Also, it's extremely heavy.
The Jade mat is made with open-cell rubber, which is why it's so grippy. Other eco-mats are closed-cell, so while you may have a more environmentally friendly mat, you'll be slipping more. Some people worry about the cleanliness factor of the open-cell construction.... In my experience a quick wipe-down after class using a spray bottle of water with a few drops of tea tree oil is fine for daily maintenance, and once a month or so you can submerge it in your bathtub with a splash of vinegar and then hang (not in the sun!) to dry. Try rolling it up in a big towel and stepping on it to get the initial water load out... it will dry faster.
Happy practicing!
58 of 62 found the following review helpful:
 A great mat for a few days and then not so great Jul 23, 2007
By Timothy Byrne
"tbyrnestl"
The mat is indeed very non-slip when it's clean. But when it's not clean, it's very slick, worse than the worst sticky mat. The problem is that its open cell construction (like a sponge) soaks up sweat and body oils voraciously. The only way to clean it thoroughly is to soak it because the oils and such soak deep into the mat and wiping doesn't clean it. Since it's a big rubber sponge it takes days to dry after soaking it. Even worse than the slipping is that it starts to stink pretty quickly when it's not clean. So it's been quite a chore keeping my mat clean enough to enjoy. I'm tossing this one when it turns six months and going back to a normal sticky mat. I'd rather deal with the slipping using a towel than bother with cleaning this mat anymore.
34 of 38 found the following review helpful:
LOVE this mat! May 12, 2006
By Arbela
"Amazon Woman"
I had been on the lookout for a decent non-slip mat for some time. Fortunately, not only did I find a good one, but it's environmentally friendly too! And in colors (early rubber mats were in white...snore)!
The cushion is nice too, especially if you attend classes at a studio with a hard floor surface (those thin, plastic mats just don't cut it on hardwood). It *is* heavier than the average mat, so you'll feel the difference rolling it up and carrying it around. Plus it doesn't slide in and out of my cloth yoga mat bag like the plastic mats, so I've given up the mat bag for velcro straps. There's a heavy rubber smell in the beginning, but that goes away with time.
Easy to clean too ~ I just rub down with anti-bacterial wipes. I can't comment on durability yet, as I've only had this mat for about 3 months. But I use it nearly every day and drag it back and forth to class, and it's as solid as the day I bought it.
See all 339 customer reviews on Amazon.com
|
| | |
