Gaiam Premium vs Gaiam Dry-Grip Long & Wide: Which One Should You Buy?

Both of these are Gaiam PVC mats, latex-free and covered by Gaiam’s lifetime guarantee. The Premium 6mm is $29.98 at 68″ × 24″ and is GearLab’s Best First Yoga Mat. The Performance Dry-Grip Long & Wide is $74.98 at 78″ × 26″, with a moisture-wicking topcoat Gaiam sells for hot yoga.

The $45 between them pays for two things you can pin down: a mat that fits tall people, and a firmer cushion. It doesn’t pay for better grip, whatever the Dry-Grip name suggests.

GearLab’s 19-mat test included the Premium and the regular 68 inch Dry-Grip. The Long & Wide wasn’t in it. It shares that mat’s topcoat and PVC, so the scores below are a fair guide, as long as you remember they belong to the smaller model. Both finished on 62 out of 100, eleventh and twelfth.

Underneath, the Dry-Grip took comfort and support 8 to 6.5. The Premium took materials 6 to 4 and care and cleaning 8 to 7. The grip category came out at 5 for both. So the Dry-Grip scored better underfoot and worse on build, and neither grips well.

The Premium is 68 inches, the short end of what mats come in. Most people outgrow it at about five foot seven or eight: heels drift off the end in savasana, and a deep lunge sends the back foot onto the floor.

The Long & Wide fits anyone up to about six foot four, and the two extra inches across give wide stances and broad shoulders some room. For a tall beginner that settles most of this page, because a first mat you don’t fit on is annoying every day.

Need only a few more inches? The Gaiam Essentials we link on Amazon is 72 inches at a lower list price than the Premium (gaiam.com sells a 68 inch version, so check), and our Premium vs Essentials comparison covers it.

The Premium is thicker and softer. A GearLab tester loved it for stretch classes and slower flows, since kneeling and longer stretches on the floor feel comfortable on it. GearLab also noticed that a hand pressed into it leaves a print for a while, and that the foam compresses with regular use.

The standard Dry-Grip is a millimeter thinner and firmer. GearLab described its cushion as ideal and firm enough to support you. For standing work and balances, we would take the firmer surface. If most of your practice is seated or on your back, the Premium is the kinder mat, provided you fit on it.

GearLab’s separate wet and dry table gives the Premium 6 dry and 4 wet. The standard Dry-Grip got 6.5 and 3.5, so the mat Gaiam calls ideal for hot yoga posted the second lowest wet score of the 19. The Premium makes no such claim, and one tester still lost confidence in poses like warrior one and two as moisture built up.

Amazon’s review summaries lean the other way, praising the Dry-Grip’s sweaty grip and calling the Premium’s mixed, but those owners weren’t comparing mats in the same room. If you sweat a lot, look past both Gaiams to a mat with an absorbent top, like the Manduka GRP Adapt 2.0.

Gaiam lists the Premium at 3.3 pounds, and GearLab’s scale agreed. A tester found it light enough to commute with, and GearLab practiced on it outdoors in Joshua Tree, where it cushioned slightly uneven ground well enough.

Gaiam lists the Long & Wide at 5 pounds. Nobody has published a measured weight for it, but GearLab weighed the standard Dry-Grip at 5.4 pounds against Gaiam’s 4.25, so we would expect the bigger mat to come in above its spec. With a taller 26 inch roll, it is more of a home mat.

GearLab saw the Premium pick up scuffs and compression over time, most of all with daily studio use, and lists moderate durability as a con. That is about what $30 of soft PVC buys.

The Dry-Grip’s materials score of 4 was among the three lowest of the 19. GearLab warns that the dye on its surface can come off and suggests buffing a new one with a towel to spare your clothes, and Amazon’s review summary mentions the top layer peeling from the base. The pricier mat has the more fragile surface.

Care is the same Gaiam routine for both: a few days unrolled before first use, spot cleaning with mild detergent, and storage away from strong sun. The lifetime guarantee on both comes without published terms, so read it as a promise about defects, not wear.

Between these two sits the standard 68 inch Dry-Grip at $69.98. It has the Long & Wide’s firmer cushion at the Premium’s size, and three colors instead of one.

We would rarely pick it. Against the Premium it asks $40 more for firmness and a weaker materials score at the same 68 inches. Against the Long & Wide it saves $5 and gives up ten inches in length and two across. If a Dry-Grip is what you want, the size is most of the reason to pay for one.

List prices at gaiam.com are $29.98 and $74.98. For current prices, see the Gaiam Premium on Amazon and the Dry-Grip Long & Wide on Amazon. That second listing sells both sizes and labels the big one Black (XL), and the bullet points are written for the 68 inch mat, so make sure 78 × 26 is selected. Its 4.2 stars from about 2,560 ratings cover both sizes, against 4.5 stars and roughly 2,740 ratings for the Premium.

The Premium is reversible, with a different solid color on each side. Gaiam currently offers four pairs, including Granite Storm and Turquoise Sea. The Long & Wide comes in black.

Get the Premium if it is your first mat, you stand five foot eight or under, and your practice leans toward stretching and slower flows. It is $30, light enough to take anywhere, and scored level with the standard Dry-Grip in GearLab’s test.

Get the Long & Wide if your height or your stance needs the room, or you want a firmer surface for standing work on a mat that mostly stays home. Don’t buy it for hot yoga.