Non-slip fitness mat for pilates/yoga

Lisbon

I'm about to replace the carpet in my living room with wooden laminate flooring. My current very old/unbranded mat is quite thin and will slip on a smooth floor.

Please could anyone recommend a non-slip mat which is a decent thickness (the bones are getting older!) and preferably folds up flat rather than rolling?

Many thanks for any advice.

jenniewb

What's your price range?

Lisbon

jenniewb wrote: »

What's your price range?

I'd like something good quality and durable, so up to about £75, but very happy to spend less if that's realistic.

jenniewb

Theres a store called Lululemon, they have some fantastic mats. They are pricey (I think around £65-£75, the £42 mat is good for laying on top of a basic mat to provide a non-stick surface but not really as a mat by itself.) Personally I really think they're the best mats I've tried for not slipping (am building up to getting a thicker one after the un-mat I got given a few months ago).

They have several different thicknesses- make sure you are OK with the weight as they aren't thick mats without being reasonably heavy!

If you are in London, there are other yoga stores which are slightly cheaper but in my experience you do get what you pay for. I went through a few mats and my main search was for a mat I didn't slip on and a mat that was light enough to not bother me when I carried and long enough/wide enough.

I am not sure how any mat would work on carpets though as all mats seem to have a certain amount of "stick" but this in turn can mean the lint in your carpet sticks and the mat loses it's stick so with the best will in the world it may be difficult to find an appropriate mat for this unless it has zero stick in which case you wont find it as easy to use and balance on. It may be a case of washing your mat every week or so to get rid of any lint and dust it will pick up from the carpets but be aware that by doing that the stick on the mat can wear off faster and mean you have a soft mat but a non-stick mat.

If you are in London, or can get to London you could try Yoga Matters, they also offer to purchase online but I'd recommend visiting your to-be mat first because it really is a personal thing. Lululemon have an online store and a few stores dotted around the UK. There are other places which sell yoga mats (Sweaty Betty, TK Maxx, Sports Direct, Nike, Adidas...etc) but these are a bit too non-stick, narrow or short for my tastes, make sure you stay true to your list and don't let yourself be swayed by the colours, patterns or price-discounts when your looking!

Lisbon

Many thanks for such a detailed and helpful answer. Lint from a carpet won't be a problem - I'm about to replace it with wood laminate, which is why I'm taking a keen interest in the non-slip aspect, having seen how mats develop a life of their own on smooth surfaces!

bacono

Lululemon is expensive, imho they're capitalising on people with cash to splash joining a 'craze' and getting all the best gear straight away. I've never seen a yoga teacher with anything Lululemon.


Yogamatters, as mentioned earlier in the thread, know what they're doing at have some good own-brand mats for less than £20. I've been using one of those probably 4 times a week for two years and it's good. If you're happy with £75 budget they've also got the fancy Manuka mats, which are proper 'pro' standard and should be suitably sticky and high performance from the second you unroll it.