IUGA Eco Friendly PU vs B Mat Strong 6mm: Which One Should You Buy?

Both of these are 26 inches wide and both grip well, so the specs that decide it are weight, thickness and how long the surface holds up. The IUGA is a polyurethane top over a rubber base, 2.1 pounds, $66.99, and it took OutdoorGearLab’s Best Buy award.

The B Mat Strong is 6 mm of dense rubber all the way through, 5 pounds, $144. One of these is built around a surface layer and one is built around a material, which turns out to matter more than the price gap does.

At 2.1 pounds, a figure GearLab confirmed on its own scale, the IUGA undercuts most dedicated travel mats while still being a full-size 5 mm mat. Almost nothing else in the category manages that, and it is the IUGA’s standout property.

The B Mat Strong is around 5 pounds and rolls fatter because of the 6 mm build. It is a perfectly normal mat to carry to a studio; it is just not in the same conversation. If you walk, cycle or take transit with a mat every day, this is the number that decides the comparison.

GearLab tested the 4 mm version of the same b, halfmoon rubber, rated it 9 out of 10 for grip and described it as among the grippiest mats it had used in wet or dry conditions, holding even with sweat pooled under a hand. It works from the first unroll.

The IUGA scored 8 dry and 7 wet, which is well ahead of any PVC mat and close enough that in a normal class you would struggle to tell them apart. The gap opens up when sweat is genuinely pooling. Worth noting the other way: the B Mat’s surface can be too grippy for styles built on sliding transitions, with GearLab’s testers stepping between poses rather than gliding.

The IUGA’s polyurethane top soaks sweat up, which is why traction improves as you warm up. The cost is that the moisture is now in the top layer, so the mat wants cleaning after sweaty sessions and the surface degrades faster under that kind of use.

The B Mat sheds. Sweat pools on the dense rubber and the rubber grips through it, so you towel the surface between rounds and nothing lives inside the mat. Heavy sweaters usually end up preferring that, because cleaning never goes past a wipe and there is no absorbed moisture working on the material.

The B Mat has 1 mm more material and it is a different kind of firm. Dense rubber does not compress under a foot, so the extra thickness is cushion you get without losing stability, and knees notice it on a hard floor.

GearLab still scored the IUGA 8 out of 10 for comfort and support, which is high for a 5 mm mat, because that score is mostly about support rather than softness. Neither of these is a plush mat, and on tile both eventually want a folded blanket for long kneeling sequences.

The IUGA’s wear point is the surface. Absorbent polyurethane is what makes the grip work and it is also what goes: owners consistently report it turning shiny and losing traction after a year or two of heavy sweaty practice. IUGA gives you 45-day returns rather than a warranty, so nothing catches you when that happens.

The B Mat’s grip is the material itself, so there is nothing to wear off. It is made in Spain, carries OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certification and a one-year warranty, and dense rubber wears slowly. What actually destroys it is sunlight, so store it rolled and out of the light rather than in a car window.

This catches people out on the IUGA, because the surface you touch is polyurethane. The base underneath is natural rubber, which is what keeps the mat from sliding on the floor, and it means latex is in there.

The B Mat is described as mostly natural rubber with some synthetic content, which does not make it latex free either. If you have a genuine allergy, PVC mats such as Manduka’s PRO line or Gaiam’s Performance range are where to look instead.

$66.99 against $144. Check the current IUGA price, which is frequently below list. The B Mat is sold direct and not on Amazon, so it holds at $144.

Over two years the IUGA is the better deal and it is not close. Over five or six, the B Mat is probably cheaper, because you will have bought two IUGAs by then if you sweat. If $144 is more than you want to spend on rubber, b, halfmoon’s 4 mm B Mat Everyday is $118 with the same surface.

Get the IUGA if weight is what you care about, or if $67 is the budget. Two point one pounds for a grippy full-size mat is a genuine achievement, the award is deserved, and for a couple of years it performs like a much more expensive mat. Plan on replacing it.

Get the B Mat Strong if you practice several times a week and want the mat to survive it. The grip is in the material rather than on it, the 6 mm is real cushion without wobble, and the certification and warranty are things the IUGA does not have. It is the mat you buy once.