Hugger Mugger Earth Elements vs Yoga Design Lab Combo: Which One Should You Buy?

The Hugger Mugger Earth Elements is $83 of closed-cell TPE, 5 mm thick. The Yoga Design Lab Combo is $117: a printed towel layer on a natural rubber base, 3.5 mm thick. GearLab’s 2026 roundup tested both, placing the Earth Elements 9th of 19 at 70 out of 100 and the Combo 17th at 52.

So the mat that costs $34 less scored 18 points higher. The Combo’s case rests on two things the Earth Elements can’t offer: a towel surface meant to grip better as you sweat, and the option of putting the whole mat through the wash.

Every one of GearLab’s four categories went to the Earth Elements: comfort and support 7 to 6, grip 6 to 4, materials 7 to 5, and care and cleaning 9 to 6, which matched the Liforme for the top care score in the field.

Grip, worth 30% of the total, did the most damage to the Combo. The care result is the surprise, since washability is the Combo’s headline feature. GearLab’s care category also rates portability, though, and on GearLab’s own scale the Combo weighs 4.6 pounds to the Earth Elements’ 2.2.

Yoga Design Lab calls the Combo ideal for hot yoga and says the towel gets grippier with sweat. GearLab’s wet and dry table gave it a 4 for each, and its write-up says the grip was slicker than hoped for from a hot yoga mat. Microfiber does need some dampness, but GearLab soaks every mat with a liter of water for its wet test, so the towel wasn’t short of it.

Hugger Mugger’s Amazon copy calls the Earth Elements great for sweaty yogis because its closed cells don’t absorb moisture. GearLab’s cons for it include mediocre wet grip. It has no row in the wet and dry table, so there’s no wet number to set against the Combo’s 4; the grip category above is the only like-for-like figure.

Dry, the Earth Elements has the edge. GearLab credits it with textured dry grip, and Amazon’s summary counts 16 favorable traction mentions to 6 unfavorable, though one owner doing yoga and Pilates almost daily was still finding it slippery after more than two weeks. GearLab’s cons for the Combo start with slippery grip, wet or dry, and one Amazon reviewer sums it up as slipping when it’s too dry or too wet.

GearLab calls the Earth Elements’ foamy cushion deliciously comfortable for seated poses, yin and sound baths, but only moderately stable in balances, and squishy for balance postures is one of its listed cons. Owners on Amazon like the softness, 15 of 17 cushioning mentions positive, and one calls it cushiony but stable.

At 3.5 mm, the Combo scored 6 for comfort and support. Amazon owners are warmer about it than that score suggests, though one says they feel the thin mat under bony spots. For long kneeling or seated sessions, the Earth Elements leaves more between you and the floor.

By the brands’ own specs the Earth Elements weighs 2.4 pounds and the Combo 4.9. A carry strap comes with the Combo. Hugger Mugger’s Amazon listing calls its mat very lightweight and perfect for travel but doesn’t mention a strap.

The footprints are close, 72″ × 24″ against 70″ × 24″, and GearLab counted narrow among the Combo’s cons. Hugger Mugger makes the Earth Elements in one size, and the other Combo thicknesses share the Combo’s footprint.

Yoga Design Lab prefers hand washing for the Combo and permits a gentle machine cycle only in washers without a center agitator, with mild soap and a hang dry. GearLab notes that washing takes no hosing and leaves it smelling fresh, though the towel collects lint.

The Earth Elements doesn’t need a wash cycle, because nothing soaks in, and GearLab says a wipe-down is enough even after practicing outdoors. Hugger Mugger recommends washing it once before the first class to bring out the grip, then using its mat wash or dish soap diluted 1 to 20 in water and hanging it to dry.

The Earth Elements is TPE with no latex, made in Taiwan and recyclable according to Hugger Mugger, so it’s the one to buy with a latex allergy. Under the Combo’s towel is a natural tree rubber base. Yoga Design Lab prints the recycled PET top with water-based inks and says the mat contains no silicone, toxic glue or phthalates.

Sunlight is bad for both. The Earth Elements’ Amazon care notes describe the TPE as photo-degradable and say sun in a hot car could make it break down. Yoga Design Lab asks you to dry the Combo out of direct sunlight so the print doesn’t fade.

Durability concerns lead the Earth Elements’ GearLab cons, and Amazon owners split three and three on durability. One loved it at first, then saw it start peeling under moderate use, and it lasted them under a year; another noticed cracks on the side that had been rolled tightest. The Combo scored lower on materials, 5 to the Earth Elements’ 7.

There’s no warranty from either brand. Hugger Mugger accepts unused mats bought directly from it within 30 days, and Yoga Design Lab’s terms are similar, minus final-sale items. Neither lets you practice on it and then change your mind.

The Earth Elements is $83 at huggermugger.com in four colorways at last count. Check the Earth Elements at Amazon too, where about 100 ratings average 4.5 stars.

The Combo is $117 in 19 printed designs in the 3.5mm at last count; see the Combo at Amazon for the current price. If grip in a sweaty class is what you need, neither is the answer; see IUGA vs Earth Elements for the $66.99 mat that won GearLab’s Best Value Upgrade award.

Get the Earth Elements if you want the better-scoring mat for $34 less, you practice in a normal room, you lean toward yin, restorative or seated work, or you need a light, latex-free mat. Accept that it’s squishy in balance poses and that durability is a known worry.

Get the Combo if you’d really use the washing machine option, or one of its prints is the draw. GearLab found it slippery wet and dry, and it’s heavier and thinner, so it isn’t the hot yoga fix its listing suggests.