Amazon Basics 1/4 Inch TPE vs Gaiam Dry-Grip: Which One Should You Buy?

Amazon Basics sells its 1/4 Inch TPE mat for $26.36, and about 980 ratings give it 4.6 stars. The Gaiam Performance Dry-Grip costs $69.98, and its roughly 2,560 ratings average 4.2 stars. On stars alone, the cheap mat wins.

The Dry-Grip has something the Amazon Basics lacks, though. GearLab tested it alongside 18 other mats and gave it 62 out of 100, and no reputable outlet has reviewed the Amazon Basics. So you are weighing a small pool of happy owners against a lab result with specific strengths and flaws.

The Amazon Basics pool is small. Its review summary rests on a few dozen tagged mentions, such as 31 about quality with 30 positive, and a pool under a thousand ratings can still move as more owners weigh in. The one mixed note is color, with several owners saying the pink came out closer to purple.

The Dry-Grip’s ratings are pooled with the Long & Wide on one listing, so they cover two sizes. The summary praises its grip, cushion and embossed pattern. Durability is the only aspect it marks negative, with owners describing the surface layer coming apart from the base.

GearLab’s overall score leans hardest on comfort and support (35%), then grip (30%), materials (20%) and care (15%). The Dry-Grip scored 8, 5, 4 and 7 in those categories, which put it 12th of 19, level with Gaiam’s $29.98 Premium 6mm and Alo’s $148 Warrior.

It is a mat with one clear strength. GearLab called the cushion ideal and firm enough for support, and liked the silky-smooth surface for slower sessions. The weak spots are materials, where its cons include not very durable and stains easily, and grip once the mat is wet.

The Amazon Basics is 73.6″ × 24″. The Dry-Grip is 68″ × 24″, 5.6 inches shorter and at the short end of standard. If your heels or head end up on the floor in savasana on a 68 inch mat, this matters more than anything else here.

Gaiam’s fix is the Long & Wide, 78″ × 26″ for $74.98, only $5 over the standard Dry-Grip. It is longer than the Amazon Basics and two inches wider, and our Dry-Grip vs Long & Wide comparison makes the case for sizing up.

Amazon’s listing promises padded support, shock absorption and a quarter inch of TPE that springs back to help you balance. TPE does spring back, sinking a little under a knee before pushing up again. Under one foot in a balance, the same spring reads as a slight bounce.

Gaiam’s Amazon listing calls the Dry-Grip’s cushion firm, and GearLab’s comfort score of 8 backs that up. It is a millimeter thinner and denser, so the foot finds a stable floor sooner. For standing sequences the Gaiam is the steadier mat. For kneeling, neither is thick, and one extra millimeter of TPE is a small difference.

Amazon calls its mat non-slip. Gaiam goes further, and its Amazon bullets say the Dry-Grip’s coated surface is made for sweating through hot yoga and holds up well in that setting.

GearLab’s numbers exist only for the Gaiam. Dry, it managed a respectable 6.5 out of 10. Wet, it fell to 3.5, ahead of just one mat in the field, and slipping when wet is among its cons. The Amazon Basics has no lab score. Its small review summary says owners find it does not slip, but closed-cell TPE, like PVC, cannot absorb sweat.

If damp palms are the problem, look past both. The IUGA lists a few dollars under the Dry-Grip and scored 7 out of 10 wet, and our IUGA vs Amazon Basics TPE comparison lays out what that upgrade buys.

Amazon lists its mat at 2 pounds and includes a carrying strap. Gaiam lists the Dry-Grip at 4.25, GearLab’s measured weight for it is 5.4, and no strap is listed on Gaiam’s page. For a walk or a bus ride to class, the Amazon Basics is far nicer to carry.

The weight earns something at home. GearLab found the Dry-Grip stays planted on the ground, while a 2 pound mat can slide around on a slick floor mid-flow.

The Amazon Basics is TPE. The Dry-Grip is PVC according to gaiam.com, which calls it rubber, latex and 6P free, though Gaiam’s Amazon listing describes it as PU and PVC. Amazon’s own listing is silent on latex, so only the Gaiam gives you a written latex-free claim.

Expect a strong smell from the Dry-Grip at first. Gaiam says it is harmless and suggests two to three days unrolled before use, then spot cleaning and drying flat. Gaiam warns that long sun exposure can leave the PVC brittle, and TPE does not like heat either.

GearLab has one more tip for the Dry-Grip: give it a going-over with a towel before first use, because the surface dye can rub off on clothes.

Amazon Basics covers its mat for one year. Gaiam’s guarantee runs for life on paper, but with no published terms we would expect it to cover defects, not a topcoat worn thin. Gaiam accepts returns on gaiam.com orders only when they are unopened and unused, and Amazon purchases follow Amazon’s rules.

List prices are $26.36 and $69.98. Look up today’s price for the Amazon Basics TPE and for the Gaiam Dry-Grip, since individual colors are often priced differently. Amazon offers four colorways and Gaiam three.

Choose the Amazon Basics when you are tall, carry your mat, or practice gently in a cool room and would rather keep about $44. It is longer, weighs 2 pounds, rates well with its owners, and comes with a year of written cover.

Choose the Dry-Grip for a firmer, steadier surface under standing work, backed by a tested comfort score, or for a written latex-free claim, and look hard at the Long & Wide for $5 more. Buy neither for hot yoga.