Lululemon The Mat vs B Mat Everyday: Which One Should You Buy?

Both mats exist because ordinary mats get slippery when you sweat, and both cost $118. They solve it differently. Lululemon lays a polyurethane layer over a natural rubber base and lets it pull moisture off your hands. b, halfmoon leaves the rubber bare so it grabs whatever touches it, wet or dry.

The footprints match at 71″ × 26″, so size is not the deciding factor. What separates them is how each surface behaves when you move across it, and how long each one holds up.

The B Mat is the grippier mat and it is not particularly close. GearLab rated it 9 out of 10 for grip, found it needed no break-in at all, and called it one of the grippiest mats it had tested in either wet or dry conditions. If your complaint about every previous mat is that your hands creep forward, this ends that.

That grip has a cost. GearLab’s testers found the surface held onto hands and feet firmly enough that they changed how they practiced, stepping between poses rather than sliding, and singled out Ashtanga and fast vinyasa as poor matches. The Mat is deliberately more moderate. Its sticky side gets grippier with a little moisture on it, and one tester said they could settle into down dog without their hands sliding forward at all, but the smooth reverse side lets you slide a foot or a knee without feeling stuck.

The Mat is open-cell, so sweat goes into the top layer instead of staying on it. That is what makes it work in a heated room, and it is also what makes it stain: GearLab notes the absorbent surface takes up skin oils and dirt along with sweat and recommends choosing a dark color.

The B Mat does the opposite. Nothing soaks in, so sweat pools on the rubber, and the traction holds through it anyway. GearLab called it a favorite for hot yoga on exactly that basis, with the practical note that you towel the surface off mid-class rather than letting it collect. For heavy sweaters that is arguably the better arrangement, since nothing ends up living inside the mat.

The Mat is 5 mm and the B Mat Everyday is 4 mm, and both are dense enough that the millimeter is not what you notice. GearLab described The Mat as having a springy cushion with a good balance of comfort and stability, and rated the B Mat 8 out of 10 for comfort and support, saying the density made it feel thicker than its measurement.

If you want real cushion, neither number is the answer. b, halfmoon sells the same rubber at 6 mm as the B Mat Strong, which is the more useful move for sore knees than switching brands.

This is the clearest gap between them. GearLab puts The Mat’s lifespan at over five years, which is notable for an absorbent mat, since open-cell surfaces usually wear faster than closed ones.

b, halfmoon says a b, mat is designed to support your practice for two or more years when stored properly. Its one-year warranty excludes normal wear, and lists the marks where hands and feet move as an example of what is not covered. GearLab found the same limit from owner reports of the top layer peeling in those spots, and rated the mat 6 out of 10 on materials. At the same $118, The Mat is the cheaper mat over five years by a wide margin.

Because The Mat absorbs, it eventually needs more than a wipe. GearLab lists deep cleaning among its requirements and notes light colors stain very easily. Lululemon does not put a term on its Quality Promise, so treat coverage as goodwill rather than a warranty you can count on.

The B Mat only ever needs a surface wipe with water and mild soap, but you will do it often: the tacky rubber collects hair, dirt and lint from any floor it meets, and GearLab suggests keeping it in a bag rather than a car trunk. Both mats need to stay out of direct sun, and the B Mat should be rolled with the logo facing out to keep the surface from creasing and peeling.

The B Mat is the lighter mat at 4.1 pounds against The Mat’s 5.2, and GearLab measured The Mat heavier still on its own scale. Neither is a travel mat. Both roll up tightly enough to carry daily, and the difference is about a pound.

If height is the problem, both brands sell a bigger cut. Lululemon’s The (Big) Mat is 84″ × 28″ for $128 and 7.05 pounds; b, halfmoon’s Everyday Long is 85″ × 26″ for $132 and 4.6 pounds.

Both brands sell the same surface at more than one depth, which matters if the version in front of you is not quite right. Lululemon offers The Mat in 3 mm as well as this 5 mm, plus the oversized 84″ × 28″ version. b, halfmoon runs 2 mm for travel, 4 mm as the Everyday, 6 mm as the Strong, plus a 10 mm foam mat and a cork-topped version that are different materials entirely.

The practical read: if you want thinner and more packable, both brands have an answer, and b, halfmoon’s 2 mm Traveller folds better than a 3 mm Lululemon. If you want thicker, only b, halfmoon goes past 5 mm in this rubber, which is one reason the B Mat line shows up so often in studios that run heated classes on hard floors.

GearLab named The Mat its best pick for mixed fitness routines, ranking it fourth of the 19 mats tested, on the grounds that it handles yoga, Pilates and floor workouts equally well. The reversible surface is most of the reason: sticky when you want to plant, smooth when you want to move.

The B Mat is more specialized. It is excellent when you want to be fixed in place and a nuisance when you want to glide, which makes it a strong hot yoga mat and a mediocre one for circuit work where you are constantly repositioning.

Both list at $118. Note that several review sites and price trackers still show The Mat at $98, which is out of date; the current US list price is $118. Neither mat sells through Amazon, so you are buying from Lululemon or from b, halfmoon directly, and with the B Mat that is also what keeps the warranty valid.

At an identical sticker price, the durability gap is the honest tie breaker: one $118 mat that runs five years costs less than two of them over the same stretch. That only outweighs grip if grip is not the reason you are shopping.

Buy the B Mat Everyday if grip is the problem you are solving. It holds when the surface is wet, needs no break-in, weighs a pound less, and is the mat to beat for heated classes. Expect a strong rubber smell for the first two days, constant hair collection, and a replacement in a couple of years.

Buy Lululemon The Mat for everything else. It grips well enough for most sweaty practice, lets you slide when you need to, works for Pilates and home workouts, and lasts more than twice as long. If you want a mat that does both jobs and lasts even longer, the Manduka PRO is the next step up in durability, at the cost of weight and a break-in period.