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

The Gaiam Premium Reversible is 6 mm of latex-free PVC, 68″ × 24″, with a different print on each face, at $39.98. The B Mat Strong is 6 mm of rubber made in Spain, 71″ × 26″, in solid colors, at $144.

The thickness matches and the prices sit $104.02 apart. That money changes how the 6 mm behaves under a knee and a sweaty palm. It costs you the prints, a latex-free build and 1.7 pounds of extra weight.

GearLab’s 2026 roundup scored the Reversible 54 out of 100 and summed it up as a cheap mat in stunning patterns without the best grip or cushion for regular practice. GearLab liked the patterns and how flat it lies once unrolled, and marked it down for poor cushion, slipperiness when wet and a tendency to stain clothing.

The Strong has never been tested. GearLab’s only B Mat review, from 2023, covered the 4 mm Everyday, the same rubber at two thirds the thickness. We lean on it below for how the surface behaves, but we don’t set its scores against the Reversible’s.

GearLab tests cushion by pressing a pen into each mat under a 40-pound cinder block, and its rule is that a mat showing your footprints is too soft for daily practice. The Reversible took 6 of 10 for comfort and support plus a poor cushion note despite its 6 mm.

Owners disagree with GearLab here. Only 32 cushioning mentions in Amazon’s review summary are complaints, against 226 compliments, and buyers describe it as soft on the knees. For kneeling on a hard floor, that softness counts.

The Strong is the same rubber GearLab found compressing only slightly and springing back fast on the Everyday, with 2 mm more of it. One Strong owner says its density and thickness are just right.

GearLab’s two grip numbers for the Reversible don’t agree. Its scored grip category gave it a 4, and its separate wet and dry table gave it 5 and 5. Against the rest of the field, the 4 and the dry 5 rank near the bottom, but the wet 5 is roughly 11th of 18, in the middle of the pack. On Amazon, grip mentions divide 293 good to 251 bad.

For the B Mat, the Everyday review is the evidence. GearLab’s testers had traction from the first session and named it their favorite for sweaty palms; sweat pools on the rubber rather than soaking in, and the grip survives it. GearLab also found it tacky on both sides, so it stays put on the floor.

That tack can be too much for gliding. GearLab said light sweaters doing Ashtanga or vinyasa may find it overly grippy, and some testers stepped between poses rather than sliding. The Reversible has the opposite problem once your palms get damp.

Looks are most of the Reversible’s appeal, and design is the one thing Amazon owners almost never fault, with just 32 negative mentions against 927 positive. Each of Gaiam’s ten or so designs puts a different print on either side.

The Strong comes in seven colorways at last count, from black and charcoal to solar orange. Tacky rubber shows what it picks up: GearLab called the Everyday a magnet for dirt, hair and lint, and the owner of a dark green Strong says pet hair and dusty footprints stand out on it, though they wipe off with a damp cloth.

The B Mat is three inches longer and two wider, and b, halfmoon sells an 85″ × 26″ Strong Long. The Reversible comes in one size, so at 68 inches it runs short for anyone near six feet, and 24 inches puts a hand on the floor in a wide stance.

The Reversible is the lighter carry at 3.3 pounds (GearLab weighed 3.2) against 5. Gaiam’s own page doesn’t list a strap, though the Amazon listing title now mentions one, and b, halfmoon’s page doesn’t list one either.

Expect a smell from the Gaiam. More than four in five odor mentions in Amazon’s summary are negative, 451 of 553, and Gaiam itself warns that a freshly unwrapped printed mat gives off a very strong but harmless odor, so air it for two to three days. It also says long sun fades the PVC and makes it brittle.

GearLab called the Everyday’s out-of-box smell terrible rubber tire, gone after two days of airing. b, halfmoon asks you not to unpack the Strong before you need it, because of oxidation, and to keep it out of long sun. The Strong is rubber and not an option with a latex allergy. The Reversible is latex-free PVC, which its Amazon listing says is made without seven phthalates.

Gaiam’s lifetime guarantee on the Reversible comes with no published terms, so we’d assume it covers faults, not a mat worn thin by use. Durability draws 102 complaints to 222 compliments on Amazon. Gaiam’s own returns take only unopened, unused mats bought on gaiam.com, and Amazon orders follow Amazon’s policy.

The Strong gets a year from b, halfmoon, with sun damage, dirt, stains and ordinary wear carved out. Hand and foot marks count as ordinary wear, and those spots are where owners in GearLab’s Everyday research saw the surface peel. Returns run 30 days, unused and still in the packaging, and sale items are final.

Check the Reversible at Amazon, where it holds 4.6 stars from about 15,600 ratings. The Strong is $144 at us.bhalfmoon.com. Its store page shows 4.9 stars over 254 reviews, and Amazon doesn’t carry it.

The 4 mm Everyday brings the same rubber down to $118, covered in our Reversible vs B Mat Everyday page. Gaiam’s better-scoring 6 mm mat is the solid-color Premium 6mm, which GearLab named its Best First Yoga Mat, and we set it against the Strong in Gaiam Premium 6mm vs B Mat Strong.

Buy the Reversible if you want the prints, a soft surface for stretching and gentle classes, or a latex-free mat for about $40, and you don’t sweat much. Give it a few days to air out first.

Buy the B Mat Strong if your hands slide, you practice often, or you want 6 mm that stays firm under a standing foot on a bigger mat. Accept latex, lint, 1.7 more pounds and no return once it’s out of the wrap.