Hugger Mugger Earth Elements vs Gaiam Essentials: Which One Should You Buy?

Lay these side by side and they cover the same floor, 72″ × 24″ each. The Hugger Mugger Earth Elements is 5 mm of TPE at 2.4 pounds for $83. The Gaiam Essentials is 6 mm of PVC at 3.5 pounds, with a carry sling, for $22.13 on the Amazon listing we link.

Both are soft, both are latex free, and neither soaks up sweat. With size off the table, the $60.87 gap has to be justified by feel, weight, grip and what each brand offers once the mat is yours.

GearLab gave the Earth Elements 70 points and ninth place of 19 in its March 2026 roundup, with comfort and support 7, grip 6, materials 7, and a share of the top care and cleaning score at 9. Its summary pitches it at people who like a softer cushion, textured dry grip and a light mat on a budget.

The Essentials wasn’t in that test. The nearest mat that was is the Gaiam Premium 6mm, another 6 mm Gaiam PVC mat with a sticky finish, which took the Best First Yoga Mat award with 62 points. That is a reasonable guide to Gaiam’s sticky PVC, not a result for the Essentials, so wherever we lean on it below, we say so.

Plush comfort heads GearLab’s list of pros for the Earth Elements, and its testers describe a foamier cushion that suits seated postures and yin. TPE tends to feel springy rather than dead, and this mat is a millimeter thinner than the Gaiam.

The Essentials is soft PVC foam, squishier than premium mats. About two thirds of some 200 thickness comments in Amazon’s review summary are positive, though some owners say it is thinner than they expected. GearLab noticed that a palm pressed into the Premium 6mm left its print behind for a time.

Neither gives a firm base for balancing. Squishy for balance postures is one of the Earth Elements’ three cons, and soft PVC gives under a standing foot too. If steadiness on one leg matters most, look at a denser mat than either.

Gaiam’s Amazon listing says the Essentials’ textured surface grips in all types of yoga, heated classes and hot yoga included. Hugger Mugger’s Amazon copy calls its closed-cell TPE great for sweaty yogis because moisture can’t get in. Those are the brands talking.

In GearLab’s scored grip category, the Earth Elements rated 6 out of 10 and the Premium 6mm 5, and their cons list mediocre wet grip and slippery wet grip respectively. Essentials owners are split. Of roughly 200 grip comments in Amazon’s review summary, fewer than half are positive, and some describe hands and feet sliding.

Neither surface absorbs anything, so sweat collects on top once you warm up. A towel over the mat is the usual fix for a heated class on either.

The Earth Elements is 2.4 pounds by Hugger Mugger’s figure and weighed 2.2 on GearLab’s scale. The Essentials is 3.5. Neither is heavy, but a pound shows on a daily walk to class, and GearLab counts portability in the care score where the Earth Elements tied for first.

The Essentials on Amazon includes a carrying sling. Hugger Mugger doesn’t mention a strap in its product copy or on Amazon, so budget for one if you carry your mat.

The matching footprint only holds for the Amazon version. Gaiam’s own store lists a shorter Essentials, 68″ × 24″, for $19.98 and without the sling, so buying direct saves a couple of dollars and gives up four inches of length next to the Hugger Mugger.

Anyone much past five foot eight will notice those four inches every time they lie flat, so confirm the size on the listing before you order.

Gaiam’s listing asks you to air the Essentials out for two or three days before practicing on it. Owners in Amazon’s review summary are split on smell, and most of the roughly 90 comments are negative, some saying the odor filled a room.

Hugger Mugger wants its mat washed before you first practice on it, which it says gives the most traction, then cleaned with mat wash or a 1:20 dish soap solution and hung to dry. GearLab rated it among the easiest mats in its test to keep clean, outdoor practice included.

The Essentials comes with Gaiam’s lifetime guarantee, but Gaiam hasn’t published what it covers; our guess is manufacturing faults, not foam that flattens with use. Gaiam’s own 30-day return window is for gaiam.com orders that are unopened and unused, and an Amazon purchase goes through Amazon’s returns.

Hugger Mugger has no warranty on mats, and its 30-day returns are for unused mats bought direct. That matters more than usual here: GearLab flagged durability concerns for the Earth Elements, and one Amazon reviewer says theirs didn’t last a year.

Keep both out of the sun. Hugger Mugger calls its TPE photo-degradable and warns that a hot car can break it down, and Gaiam’s care text for its PVC mats says long sun fades them and makes them brittle.

Check the Earth Elements on Amazon or order it from Hugger Mugger at $83, in four colorways at last count; one Amazon owner notes the colors differ on each side. The Gaiam Essentials listing offers seven plain colors at last count and is rated 4.6 stars by about 15,000 Amazon shoppers, against the Earth Elements’ 4.5 from about 100.

To see the Hugger Mugger against the Gaiam that GearLab did test, read Earth Elements vs Gaiam Premium 6mm. Our Premium 6mm vs Essentials page covers how close those two Gaiams are.

Spend the extra on the Earth Elements if you practice often, want a soft mat GearLab tested and liked for seated and gentle work, and would rather carry 2.4 pounds than 3.5. Cleanup is quicker and the mat is nicer to own. Expect mediocre grip once your hands sweat, and no warranty to fall back on.

Stick with the Essentials if you’re just starting, practice occasionally, or want a lifetime guarantee and a sling for about $22. On Amazon it is the same size, cushions well enough, and costs little enough that its limits are easy to accept.