Jade Fusion vs Gaiam Dry-Grip: Which One Should You Buy?

Put these two next to each other and the outlines match: both are 68″ × 24″. Little else matches. The Jade Fusion is 8 mm of open-cell natural rubber, and Jade makes it in the United States. It costs $174.95. The Gaiam Performance Dry-Grip is 5 mm of PVC under a topcoat, for $69.98.

Both brands sell grip that holds when things get sweaty. Gaiam markets the Dry-Grip for hot yoga as a no-slip mat. Jade tells Fusion buyers its open-cell rubber means they can stop worrying about slipping, and its care page covers wiping down after hot yoga. For roughly $105 more, the Fusion takes a different approach to sweat and adds three millimeters of cushion, along with nearly twice the listed weight.

GearLab’s buying guide lays out the general trade. Open-cell surfaces let moisture pass into the mat, which helps grip in sweaty sessions but means deeper cleaning. Closed-cell surfaces repel liquid, so they clean easily, but sweat can pool on top and turn slippery.

The Fusion is the open-cell kind. The Dry-Grip is closed PVC, and Gaiam’s fix is the topcoat, which it says wicks moisture away. Whether that works depends entirely on the coating, because the PVC underneath takes in nothing.

GearLab put the Dry-Grip through its 19-mat test, which drenches each mat in a liter of water to stand in for a hot class. It came away with 6.5 for dry grip and 3.5 once wet, next to last in the group, and finished twelfth overall with 62 out of 100.

The Fusion isn’t in GearLab’s current roundup, and we don’t know of a recent independent test. The case for it rests on the material and on owners: Amazon’s review summary counts grip mentions at about 103 positive to 18 negative and says buyers find it doesn’t slide when they sweat.

Dry-Grip owners say much the same, around 568 positive grip mentions to 154 negative, with reviews shared with the Long & Wide. We trust GearLab’s soak test over owners who may never practice in a heated room, so for sweat the Fusion is the safer choice.

Jade calls the Fusion its thickest mat, pitches it at restorative yoga, Pilates, core work and CrossFit, and says Yoga Journal named it the best thick mat of 2024. Owners mostly agree about the cushion: thickness draws about 98 positive mentions to 10 negative in Amazon’s review summary, and bad knees come up often.

The Dry-Grip is comfortable for a 5 mm mat. It earned an 8 from GearLab for comfort and support, with the cushion described as ideal and good on the joints. Eight millimeters of rubber is still a different level of protection on a hard floor, and it is why most people pay Fusion money.

The trade shows up in balance work. GearLab warns that thicker mats leave you more give to stand on, and while dense rubber is far steadier than soft foam, Fusion reviews are mixed here: one owner found standing poses tricky at first, another says balance is unaffected. GearLab found the thinner Dry-Grip firm and planted.

Jade puts the Fusion at about 8.5 pounds, and our data lists 8. Weight is the mat’s most criticized trait on Amazon, about 64 negative mentions to 15 positive.

Gaiam lists the Dry-Grip at 4.25 pounds, though GearLab’s scale said 5.4. Even at that figure, it is the one you could carry to a studio; the Fusion stays home.

The Fusion is natural rubber. Jade says 99% latex free, not latex free, and that still rules it out for a latex allergy. Gaiam lists the Dry-Grip as free of rubber, latex and six common phthalates. If anyone in your house reacts to latex, the decision ends here.

Otherwise the environmental case runs the Fusion’s way. Its rubber is tapped from trees and the mat is made in the US, and Jade funds a tree for each mat it sells, over two million to date. The Dry-Grip is PVC.

Jade’s FAQ says to wipe its mats weekly with a damp cloth, and after every session for hot yoga or vigorous practice. It asks you to use only its plant-based mat wash, since alcohol, petroleum solvents, soaps and strong essential oils break natural rubber down, and oils can leave it slippery.

The rubber smell fades in a week or two for most people, Jade says, and can take a couple of months. Fusion odor mentions on Amazon run about 51 negative to 22 positive.

The Dry-Grip is simpler: air it for two or three days, wipe spots with cold water and a little detergent, and buff the surface with a towel before first use, since GearLab found its dye can rub off onto clothes. Both brands warn against sunlight: Jade says its rubber mats shouldn’t be exposed to it at all, and Gaiam says long sun exposure makes PVC brittle.

Jade’s one year warranty leaves out damage from sunlight and harsh cleaners, which are the two things most likely to ruin natural rubber. Gaiam backs the Dry-Grip for life but publishes no terms, so we’d read it as defect cover.

The Dry-Grip is the mat more likely to test it. Its materials score from GearLab was 4 out of 10, and Amazon’s review summary mentions owners whose top layer separated from the base.

List prices are $174.95 and $69.98. Check Amazon’s Fusion listing and the Dry-Grip on Amazon, or buy the Fusion direct from jadeyoga.com, which lists four colors at 68 inches.

Both come longer. The Fusion 74 is $199.95, and Gaiam stretches the Dry-Grip to 78 by 26 inches in the Long & Wide for $74.98. For Jade grip at a normal thickness, see our Jade Harmony vs Dry-Grip page.

Get the Fusion if you want deep cushion for knees and back plus a surface owners say grips when they sweat. It is a heavy, expensive home mat that wants gentle care, and it is off the table with a latex allergy.

Pick the Dry-Grip for a lighter, firmer mat for dry practice, or if latex rules out rubber. It is comfortable for 5 mm and costs about $105 less, but GearLab’s wet test doesn’t back Gaiam’s hot yoga pitch, so bring a towel to hot classes.