b, halfmoon B Mat Strong vs Manduka PRO Travel: Which One Should You Buy?

The B Mat Strong is b, halfmoon’s heavy-duty mat: 6 mm of rubber made in Spain, 71″ × 26″, $144, grippy on both faces from the first class. The Manduka PRO Travel is 2 mm of dense German PVC that folds flat at 2.9 pounds, $74.

They are $70 apart and doing opposite jobs, so this is usually a question of whether you are buying your main mat or a second one for the bag. It is worth noting up front that both carry OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certification, which is unusual on either side.

The B Mat grips by tack. Hands stick to the rubber on contact, both sides are the same surface so it does not matter which way up it lands, and there is nothing to break in. It is the reason people choose it over a PVC mat at similar money.

The PRO Travel uses the PRO surface, which ships slick and needs a few weeks of regular practice before the grip arrives. Manduka retired its old salt-scrub advice and now says the slickness resolves with use. Break a new one in at home rather than finding out about it in a hotel room.

The B Mat’s rubber is dense rather than open-cell, so moisture sits on top rather than soaking in. The tack still works better with damp hands than a smooth surface does, which is why it holds up in a warm room, but a genuinely hot class will beat it and owners reach for a towel.

The PRO Travel is closed-cell PVC and absorbs nothing at all, so sweat pools and wet palms slide. What that buys is cleaning: a damp cloth handles it in seconds and nothing gets into the mat, which matters more on a shared studio floor than at home.

The B Mat Strong is the thickest mat b, halfmoon makes, and 6 mm of dense rubber is enough that kneeling on a hard floor stops being something you plan around. It is firm rather than soft, so it does not wallow when you push into it.

The PRO Travel is 2 mm and Manduka does not oversell it. It is stable and firm enough for standing balances and inversions, and on tile or hardwood the floor comes straight through. Over carpet, or unrolled on top of a studio loaner, it is a good surface. As a daily mat on a hard floor it is not.

The B Mat Strong weighs 5 pounds, which is less than the Manduka eKO, the Liforme and the Lululemon The Mat despite being thicker than all three. If you carry a mat to a studio several times a week, that is a genuine point in its favor.

It still rolls rather than folds, so it does not lie flat in a suitcase. The PRO Travel folds and weighs 2.9 pounds, and the fold lines that show on a new one flatten out within a couple of weeks of use.

Both are 71 inches long. The B Mat is 26 inches wide, the current standard, against 24 on the travel mat, which is the older narrow one and shows in a wide stance.

Both lines go longer: b, halfmoon sells an 85 inch B Mat Strong Long, and Manduka sells a 79 inch PRO Travel Long for $84. Nothing in the travel line goes wider than 24 inches.

b, halfmoon covers the B Mat for a year. Rubber wears at the contact points, and the specific thing owners mention is marking: lighter colorways show scuffs and foot marks sooner than dark ones, so buy a dark color if you care how it looks in a year. It is PVC-free rubber, mostly natural with some synthetic added for durability.

The PRO Travel carries the PRO series lifetime guarantee: roughly ten years of regular use in the fine print, one replacement, and proof of purchase from an authorized seller, which on Amazon means sold and shipped by Amazon itself. For a 2 mm mat destined for luggage that is a strange amount of coverage, and no other travel mat we cover comes close.

$144 against $74. b, halfmoon does not sell the B Mat Strong on Amazon, so it comes from us.bhalfmoon.com and it does not discount often. The Manduka is on manduka.com and Amazon, where colorway pricing moves: check the PRO Travel at Amazon.

Color goes to b, halfmoon with seven colorways at last count against three dark options on the travel mat.

Buy the B Mat Strong if this is the mat you practice on. It grips from the first class, it is thick enough for knees, it is light for what it is, and both faces work. Buy a dark color, keep a towel handy in a hot room, and expect to replace it after a few years.

Buy the PRO Travel if you need something that folds into a bag. It is thin, narrow and slick until broken in, and it costs half as much and is covered for life. Owning one of each runs about $218, which is a sensible setup. Our PRO vs B Mat Strong page covers the full-size Manduka alternative.