Gaiam Premium Reversible vs B Mat Everyday: Which One Should You Buy?

The Gaiam Premium Reversible is $39.98 of latex-free PVC, 6 mm thick, with a different print on each side and both sides usable. The B Mat Everyday is $118 of dense rubber, 4 mm thick, made in Spain and tacky on both faces. The rubber mat costs $78.02 more and is 2 mm thinner.

That money buys grip and a steadier surface. It costs you cushion, a latex-free build and the prints. How much your hands sweat, and what the mat is for, decide whether that trade is worth making.

In GearLab’s 2026 roundup the Reversible came 15th of 19 on 54 points, summed up as a cheap, beautifully patterned mat without the grip or cushion for regular practice. The patterns, and the fact that it lies flat, were its only pros.

The B Mat was never part of that test. GearLab’s separate review from November 2023, filed under the old B Yoga name, found no break-in period and named it one of the grippiest it had tested, wet or dry. Its reasons to avoid were too much grip for transitions, an initial odor, limited durability and staining. The reviews come from different rounds, so take each on its own terms.

A closed PVC surface has nowhere to put sweat, so damp hands slide. GearLab gave the Reversible 4 in its scored grip category and 5 dry, 5 wet in its separate table. The two figures don’t quite agree: the category score and the table’s dry 5 sit near the bottom of the field, while the wet 5 lands mid-table. Amazon’s review summary is close to a coin flip on grip, 293 good mentions and 251 bad, and one owner found it too slippery even for a restorative class.

The B Mat doesn’t absorb sweat either, but GearLab says its grip holds even with your palm in pooled sweat, and it was GearLab’s pick for sweaty hands.

Unless you sweat heavily, GearLab thinks its grip can be too much for gliding styles like Ashtanga or vinyasa. An instructor with 15 years of practice, writing on b, halfmoon’s site, likes it for power and hatha but says it’s so grippy that yin gets uncomfortable, so for those sessions they put a softer mat, like a Gaiam, on top.

That’s roughly where the Reversible fits: stretching, floor work and slow classes where nobody is sweating through their palms.

GearLab listed poor cushion among the Reversible’s cons even though it’s the thicker mat. Its buying guide cautions that an overly squishy mat can make your foot tip inward or outward in balance poses, and says density counts as much as thickness. Owners are kinder, and Amazon’s summary says they find it soft on the knees.

GearLab describes the B Mat’s 4 mm as springy rubber that gives a little and bounces straight back, supportive under elbows and knees and steady for standing work. For a long kneel on a hard floor, the Reversible still gives you more to sink into.

The B Mat is 71 by 26 inches, three inches longer and two inches wider than the Reversible’s 68 by 24. GearLab liked the extra width for wide-legged squats and long wingspans, and b, halfmoon sells an 85″ × 26″ Everyday Long for tall practitioners.

The Reversible is the lighter carry at 3.3 pounds (GearLab weighed 3.2) against 4.1. Gaiam’s own page doesn’t list a strap, though the Amazon listing title now mentions one, and b, halfmoon doesn’t list one either.

GearLab warns that the Reversible’s printed surface can stain clothing, so pale leggings may pick up color. The B Mat marks the other way: GearLab’s sample picked up water stains, and the review lists stains easily as a drawback and suggests a darker color. The mat also grabs dirt, hair and lint, so GearLab keeps it in a bag.

Both smell at first. Gaiam says a fresh printed mat has a very strong but harmless odor and should air out for two to three days, and odor is the Reversible’s top complaint on Amazon, with 451 of 553 mentions negative. GearLab warns of a terrible rubber tire smell when you unpack the B Mat, gone after two days off-gassing in the shade. Neither should sit in the sun for long.

Gaiam sells the Reversible as latex-free PVC. The B Mat is rubber, natural and synthetic per b, halfmoon’s FAQ, PVC-free and OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certified, and GearLab steers latex-allergic buyers away from it.

Gaiam backs the Reversible for life without publishing what that covers, and we’d treat it as protection against defects, not wear. Amazon owners split 222 to 102 on durability, and some report the surface starting to tear, one within a few weeks. Gaiam itself takes back only unopened, unused mats bought on gaiam.com, within 30 days; Amazon purchases go through Amazon’s returns.

b, halfmoon’s one-year warranty leaves out sun damage, dirt, stains and ordinary wear, which rules out the marks that build up where your hands and feet land. In its market research, GearLab found owners describing peeling in exactly those places, with the grip going next. Returns are 30 days, unused and unopened, and sale items are final.

The Reversible lists at $39.98 and comes in about ten prints. Check the Reversible at Amazon for the current price; about 15,600 ratings there average 4.6 stars.

The B Mat Everyday is $118 from b, halfmoon in seven colorways at last count and isn’t sold on Amazon. If $118 is too steep, the IUGA vs B Mat Everyday page covers a $66.99 mat that GearLab scored 7 for wet grip, and Premium 6mm vs B Mat Everyday sets the rubber against the plain Gaiam that outscored the Reversible overall.

Get the Reversible if the mat is for stretching, floor work, gentle classes or occasional use, if you want the prints, or if latex is a problem. It’s the softer surface for knees at about a third of the price. If you sweat, have a towel ready.

Pick the B Mat Everyday when your hands slide, your practice is vigorous or heated, or you want a wider, steadier surface. Accept the rubber smell, the lint and a purchase you can’t return once it’s out of the packaging.