Gaiam Dry-Grip vs Hugger Mugger Earth Elements: Which One Should You Buy?

GearLab’s 2026 roundup put these two three places apart: the Hugger Mugger Earth Elements scored 70 and placed ninth, the Gaiam Performance Dry-Grip 62 and twelfth. Both are 5 mm thick and 24 inches wide. The Earth Elements is soft TPE at $83. The Dry-Grip is a PVC mat with a topcoat that Gaiam says wicks moisture, at $69.98.

So the pricier mat scored higher, weighs less and is four inches longer. The Dry-Grip does win one thing outright, and plenty of people shop on it: how the mat feels under your feet.

GearLab’s scoring weights comfort and support most heavily at 35%, then grip at 30% and materials at 20%, leaving 15% for care and cleaning. The Dry-Grip took comfort 8 to 7. The Earth Elements won everything else: materials by 7 to 4, care by 9 to 7 and grip by 6 to 5.

Materials did the most damage. At a 20% weighting, a three point gap works out to about six points on the final score, most of the margin between them, and the Dry-Grip’s 4 was among the lowest materials scores in the test. GearLab’s care category also rates portability, which suits the lighter mat.

GearLab called the Dry-Grip’s cushion ideal. Its testers said it feels good on the joints, is firm for support and doesn’t budge on the ground, and they found its silky-smooth surface well suited to stretching. That firmness pays off most in one-legged balances.

The Hugger Mugger is built for the opposite. GearLab found its foamier cushion best suited to seated postures, yin and sound baths, with only moderate stability for balance, and squishy for balance postures made its cons list. For standing sequences, the Dry-Grip is the steadier mat. For long seated holds and restorative work, the Hugger Mugger is the cozier one.

Gaiam calls the Dry-Grip its best-selling mat and pitches it as non-slip and made for hot yoga. GearLab’s separate wet and dry table, built by soaking each mat with a liter of water, scored it 6.5 dry but only 3.5 wet; just one mat in that table did worse wet. The table has no row for the Earth Elements.

In the scored grip category, the one that feeds the total, the Earth Elements beat the Dry-Grip 6 to 5. GearLab’s pros credit it with decent grip, and its cons flag mediocre wet grip. Owners are kinder to both. On Amazon, 568 of the Dry-Grip’s 722 grip mentions are positive, a count shared with the Long & Wide, as are 16 of the Earth Elements’ 22 traction mentions.

Neither belongs in a heated room. GearLab’s hot yoga winner is set against the Dry-Grip in our Dry-Grip and GRP Adapt 2.0 comparison.

Gaiam lists the Dry-Grip at 4.25 pounds, but the one GearLab weighed came in at 5.4. Hugger Mugger’s figure for the Earth Elements is 2.4, and GearLab’s scale read 2.2. By either set of numbers the Hugger Mugger is much the lighter carry.

It is also 72 inches long against the Dry-Grip’s 68, which is short for taller people in a long down dog. Gaiam’s fix is the Long & Wide, which adds ten inches of length and two of width for $74.98, just $5 over the standard price and still cheaper than the Earth Elements. GearLab tested only the standard size; our Dry-Grip vs Dry-Grip Long & Wide page covers the choice. Hugger Mugger makes no larger Earth Elements.

The Dry-Grip’s cons start with not very durable, and its Amazon owners agree. Of the 385 reviews that mention durability, 283 are negative, and Amazon’s summary says owners report the top layer peeling and separating from the base. One owner saw bubbles appear under the surface the first time they used it.

The Earth Elements scored better on materials, but durability concerns are on its cons list too. Its Amazon listing has only about 100 ratings, and the six reviews that discuss durability split evenly, one owner reporting peeling inside a year.

The Dry-Grip needs a little prep. GearLab warns that its surface dye can transfer and suggests rubbing the mat down with a towel before the first session so your clothes stay clean, and stains easily is among its cons. Gaiam calls the new-mat odor strong but harmless, suggests airing it for 2 to 3 days, and warns that long sun fades PVC and leaves it brittle.

Hugger Mugger suggests washing the Earth Elements before its first session for maximum traction. After that it is one of the easiest mats to keep clean, going by GearLab’s care score. Hugger Mugger’s Amazon copy calls the material photo-degradable and says not to leave it in the sun or in extreme temperatures for long.

Either one works with a latex allergy. Gaiam markets the Dry-Grip as rubber-free, latex-free and 6P free, and Hugger Mugger specifies latex-free, recyclable TPE, made in Taiwan.

Coverage is where they split. The Dry-Grip comes with a lifetime guarantee, but Gaiam doesn’t spell out its terms, and we wouldn’t count on it for a topcoat that peels with use. The Earth Elements has no warranty at all, and Hugger Mugger’s 30-day returns apply only to unused mats bought from it directly. Gaiam itself only takes back unopened, unused mats ordered from gaiam.com.

List prices are $69.98 and $83. Check the Dry-Grip at Amazon, where black, purple and blue are priced separately, and the Earth Elements at Amazon or at huggermugger.com, which sells it in four colorways at last count.

If grip is what you actually need, neither mat is the answer at this price. Our IUGA vs Earth Elements comparison looks at the $66.99 IUGA, which took GearLab’s Best Value Upgrade award.

The Earth Elements suits yin, restorative and seated work, and anyone who wants a lighter, longer, softer mat. It outscored the Dry-Grip by eight points and costs about $13 more, with no warranty behind it and a squishy feel in balance poses.

The Dry-Grip is the better fit for standing-heavy practice, a slick floor it has to stay put on, or a buyer who values a lifetime guarantee. If you go that way, the Long & Wide costs only $5 more. Whichever you choose, don’t buy it for hot yoga.