Amazon Basics 1 Inch vs Lululemon The (Big) Mat: Which One Should You Buy?

Lululemon’s The (Big) Mat is its 5 mm mat stretched to 84″ × 28″: a polyurethane top, an FSC-certified natural rubber base with a textured underside, 7.1 pounds and $128. The Amazon Basics measures 74″ × 24″ and is 25.4 mm of NBR foam, for $38.40.

Both are sold for more than yoga. Amazon’s title calls its mat a workout exercise yoga mat, and GearLab gave the standard-size Lululemon its award for mixed fitness routines. They suit different sessions, though: floor work on one, anything on your feet on the other.

The Big Mat covers 2,352 square inches to the Amazon Basics’ 1,776, about a third more. It adds ten inches at the ends and four across, and it needs a clear patch of floor seven feet long and two feet four inches wide. Someone well over six feet lies flat on it with room to spare.

The Amazon Basics is already long for a budget mat, and one tall owner says they can lie flat on it without their feet touching the carpet. Its 24 inches of width is the tighter number, and the one you notice when your hands land wide.

GearLab tested the standard 71″ × 26″ The Mat, not the Big Mat, but the build is the same. It gave that mat a perfect 10 for comfort and support, a mark shared only with the Manduka PRO, listed a perfect comfort-stability combo and a springy cushion among its pros, and called it stable for inversions and cozy on the joints.

A full inch of soft NBR goes the other way. Stand on one leg and the foam dips more under part of the foot than the rest, so your ankle stays busy through warrior three and half moon, and your wrists sink in down dog. For lunges, balances and anything else on your feet, the rubber is the better floor.

Lying down, the foam takes over. It is five times as thick, and owners describe it as soft enough to exercise on hardwood or tile without pain; one uses it under sneakers to cushion the floor. GearLab’s buying advice says a cushy mat can be the right choice if you mostly use it for restorative stretching.

GearLab counts the standard The Mat among the most comfortable mats it tested, but it is still 5 mm of firm rubber. Long kneeling on concrete is where you would reach for a blanket on the Lululemon and not bother on the foam.

On GearLab’s wet and dry grip table the standard The Mat sits at a 6.5 dry and a 4.5 wet, middling numbers. Its award writeup is warmer, listing great wet or dry traction and saying the sticky side gets grippier with a bit of moisture. Treat the scores as the cautious read. The polyurethane top absorbs sweat, so it keeps working longer than foam does.

Amazon’s review summary for the Amazon Basics says some owners find it doesn’t slip at all and others find it very slippery. Foam has no way to absorb sweat, so damp palms tip it toward the second group.

Flip the Lululemon over and the textured rubber becomes a second surface, which GearLab says gives textured grip for more challenging moves. The Amazon Basics has no different surface to switch to. One owner says sneakers had already ripped its surface, which is worth knowing if your workouts involve shoes.

The Big Mat weighs 7.1 pounds, about two more than the standard The Mat, which GearLab already called a little heavy. An 84 inch roll is awkward to carry any distance, so this is a mat that lives at home.

The Amazon Basics is lighter at 4.6 pounds but rolls fat, and the strap that is supposed to come with it gets more negative mentions than positive ones. Neither is one you would carry to a studio by choice.

GearLab says the standard The Mat has a relatively long lifespan for a rubber mat. Several practitioners reported using theirs for five to six years of regular practice, with only moderate wear and grip loss at the spots where hands and feet land. Open-cell mats usually wear faster than closed-cell ones, and GearLab still found this one decently resilient.

Amazon Basics owners can’t agree on durability. Some report the foam holding together fine, others report rips, and the review summary tilts slightly negative. NBR also compresses for good where knees and heels press.

Amazon Basics gives a one-year warranty. Lululemon’s Quality Promise applies to the Big Mat, with no set term attached.

Two of GearLab’s cons for the standard mat are that light colors stain very easily and that it needs deep cleaning, and it scored 7 out of 10 for care. The Big Mat came in black only at last count, which sidesteps the worst of the staining. Its natural rubber base contains latex.

There is no latex in the Amazon Basics foam, according to its listing, which also rules out eight named phthalates and three heavy metals. Amazon asks you to hand wash it and to air it out for at least two days before you first use it.

The Big Mat is $128 from lululemon.com and Lululemon stores. Lululemon mats that turn up on Amazon come from third-party resellers, so we would buy direct. The Amazon Basics lists at $38.40; check the current price at Amazon and see which of its three colors is cheapest that day.

The two list prices are $89.60 apart. For $10 less than the Big Mat, the standard 71″ × 26″ The Mat comes in more colors; our The Mat vs Amazon Basics 1 Inch page covers it, and Amazon Basics 1/2 Inch vs Big Mat covers the thinner foam.

The Big Mat makes sense if you do most of your yoga at home on your feet and can spare seven feet of floor. It is stable, reversible and large enough for tall bodies and wide stances, and GearLab’s results for the standard size back up the surface.

The Amazon Basics 1 Inch is the pick for workouts on your back or knees, for a latex-free house, or for a budget under $40. It is far softer and far cheaper, and you give up steadiness underfoot.