Gaiam Premium Reversible vs Retrospec Solana 1/2": Which One Should You Buy?

The Gaiam Premium Reversible lists at $39.98 and the Retrospec Solana 1/2″ at $24.99. Spend the extra $15 on the Gaiam and you get 6 mm of PVC in place of 12.7 mm of NBR foam, a mat four inches shorter, and a print on both faces.

That reads like a poor trade until the first standing pose. The Solana is soft exercise foam; the Reversible is a soft yoga mat that GearLab ranked 15th of 19, at 54 out of 100. Neither is a strong mat, so the split comes down to how much of your practice happens upright.

Hold tree pose on half an inch of soft NBR and the foam sinks by different amounts under your heel and toes, so your ankle stays busy with tiny adjustments until you step down.

The Reversible is soft as well. GearLab’s comfort and support score was a 6, with poor cushion among the cons, so this is no firm studio mat. With 6 mm there is simply less foam to sink through, and a standing foot settles on something solid sooner.

The Solana has a niche of its own. GearLab’s roundup, which didn’t include it, says a cushy mat may be a good choice if you mainly do restorative stretching, and Amazon’s summary of Solana reviews calls its thickness perfect for restorative or deep stretch yoga.

For kneeling, lying on your back, or a few minutes in pigeon over tile, the Solana is much the kinder mat. Retrospec’s product page names mat Pilates and somatic stretching among its uses, and its store files it under meditation and stretching.

Amazon’s review summary does call the Gaiam soft on knees, and on carpet it copes. On tile, a long kneel works through 6 mm of soft PVC within a few breaths, so expect to fold a blanket under your knees on the Gaiam far more often than on the Solana.

The Solana’s 72 inches also fit a six-footer lying flat, while the Reversible’s 68 leave anyone over five foot eight with heels or head off the end.

GearLab rated the Reversible’s grip in two places that don’t agree: a 4 in its weighted grip score, and 5 for both dry and wet traction in a separate table. Both land near the foot of the 19-mat field, and slippery when wet made its list of cons.

The Solana has no score, so Amazon’s review tags are the best evidence. Roughly 200 reviews mention its grip and about two thirds complain, and one owner who took it to hot yoga says they nearly fell in class. Reversible reviews that mention grip split closer to even, about 290 happy to 250 not.

Neither surface soaks up sweat. For damp palms, see the absorbent top in our IUGA vs Gaiam Premium Reversible comparison.

The Solana weighs 3 pounds and the Reversible 3.3, so weight isn’t the issue. The roll is. Half an inch of foam coils into a wide cylinder that won’t slide into a typical mat bag, and Retrospec ships a nylon strap with it.

The Reversible rolls slim enough for any bag or cubby, and GearLab counted rolling out nice and flat among its pros. Gaiam’s own page doesn’t list a strap, though the Amazon listing title now mentions one.

About 320 Solana reviews bring up durability, and around three quarters are complaints. A similar number of Reversible reviews mention it, roughly two thirds favorably. Soft NBR keeps the dents your knees and heels press into it and tends to tear at the edges; one Solana owner’s dog punched a hole in the surface with a toenail.

The Reversible isn’t especially tough. GearLab gave it 5 out of 10 for materials, some owners report tearing, and Gaiam says long sun fades the PVC and leaves it brittle.

Retrospec covers defects for 6 months and takes back only unused mats within 30 days. The terms of Gaiam’s lifetime guarantee aren’t published; our reading is that it covers faulty mats, not foam that flattens with use.

Both need airing. Gaiam’s care text calls the new-mat smell very strong but harmless and asks you to let it air out flat for two to three days; Retrospec’s advice is a day or two. Odor comes up in about 550 Reversible reviews, roughly 450 of them unhappy, and in about 160 Solana reviews, nearly nine in ten of them complaints.

Thick foam also ships squashed, and one Solana owner reports packaging dents that still hadn’t gone away. Both are latex-free and clean up with mild soap and water, though Retrospec warns against ever submerging the Solana.

The Reversible’s 4.6 average comes from roughly 15,600 ratings, the Solana’s 4.4 from about 9,300. The breakdowns differ more: 81 percent of the Reversible’s ratings are five stars and 2 percent one star, against 73 and 5 percent for the Solana.

Value mentions tilt the same way. About three quarters of Reversible reviews that raise value for money are positive, against under two thirds for the cheaper Solana.

You can buy the Reversible on Amazon or direct from Gaiam; the Solana is easiest to find at Amazon. Most of the extra $15 goes on artwork, one print per face from a range of about ten. The Solana comes in 13 colorways at last count, all solid.

Gaiam’s plain Premium 6mm sits between these at $29.98. GearLab scored it 62 and made it the Best First Yoga Mat, and our Premium 6mm vs Solana 1/2″ page covers it. For even more foam, the inch-thick Solana costs $39.99, one cent more than the Reversible.

Choose the Gaiam Premium Reversible if standing poses are a regular part of your practice and the prints are worth about $15 to you. It is steadier on one leg, rolls slimmer and draws far fewer durability complaints. Don’t expect much grip once you sweat.

Choose the Solana 1/2″ if your time on the mat is mostly kneeling, stretching, Pilates or restorative work, or you stand over five foot eight. It is cheaper, longer and much softer under the knees. Air it well and plan on replacing it sooner.