Lululemon The Mat 5mm vs Gruper TPE 6mm: Which One Should You Buy?

The Gruper is 6 mm of TPE at 2.6 pounds for about $27.99, with a carry strap and a storage bag in the box and 4.4 stars from roughly 10,500 Amazon buyers. As a first mat it is hard to criticise.

The Mat is $118, and almost all of that premium buys one thing: a polyurethane top layer that absorbs sweat instead of letting it pool. GearLab put it fourth of 19 mats in its 2026 test at 81 out of 100, with a perfect 10 for comfort and support.

Closed-cell TPE leaves moisture on the surface. Gruper does what it can with texture, a fine S-pattern on the top face and a corrugated grip underneath, and dry it works perfectly well. Once your palms are damp the texture stops mattering, which is true of every budget foam mat and not a specific failing of this one.

Polyurethane takes some of that moisture into the surface, so grip degrades more slowly as a class heats up. GearLab measured 6.5 dry and 4.5 wet on The Mat, which is mid-pack and worth knowing if you expected miracles. It is still a category better than what foam can offer.

The Gruper is the thicker mat and the softer one, so kneeling is more comfortable on it. Standing is the reverse: soft foam compresses unevenly under one foot and your ankle spends a balance pose correcting for it.

The Mat’s 5 mm of rubber does not deflect, and GearLab’s perfect 10 for comfort and support reflects that rather than any plushness. If you want both grip and cushion, you are looking at a thicker rubber mat rather than either of these.

The Mat is genuinely reversible. The polyurethane side is the grippy face for sweaty practice; the natural rubber underside is drier, easier to clean, and better for other floor training. That flexibility is why GearLab handed it the award for mixed fitness routines rather than for yoga alone.

The Gruper is textured on both faces too, but they are two versions of the same idea rather than two different surfaces, and the corrugated side is meant to sit against the floor.

Lululemon uses FSC certified natural rubber for The Mat’s base, which is a real certification covering how the rubber is sourced. It also means the mat is not suitable for anyone with a latex allergy, a point worth checking before you spend $118.

TPE contains no latex and no PVC, and it is recyclable in principle if anyone actually collects it. It is also the softest of the common mat materials and the quickest to compress and tear, particularly where hands and feet land.

The Mat’s polyurethane top wears. Owners commonly report flaking or peeling after a couple of years of heavy use, and harsh cleaners or soaking make it worse, so a damp cloth and a mild spray is the routine. Lululemon’s quality promise carries no stated term.

The Gruper is TPE with no published warranty at all, so the Amazon return window is your protection. Expect visible wear inside a year or two of daily use. If you want a mat that outlasts both, our The Mat vs Manduka PRO comparison covers the decade option.

The Mat’s polyurethane surface does not want harsh cleaners or a soaking. A damp cloth and a mild mat spray is the routine, and scrubbing hard is how people take years off the top layer. The rubber underside is more forgiving, which is another small argument for flipping it over between sweaty sessions.

Gruper asks for a damp cloth with cold water or mild detergent, dried flat, and warns against washing machines, dryers and extended sun exposure. It also asks you to keep shoes and pets off it, because TPE tears more easily than rubber or PVC.

The Mat is 71″ × 26″ and the Gruper is 72″ × 24″, so the cheap mat is an inch longer and two inches narrower. Width is what people notice, in wide-legged stances and any pose where your hands land outside your shoulders.

On weight the Gruper wins clearly at 2.6 pounds against 5.2, which surprises people who expect a 5 mm mat to be light. If you need a bigger Lululemon, The (Big) Mat is 84″ × 28″.

Lululemon sells The Mat only through its own stores and website, so there is no Amazon listing, no marketplace sellers and no discount to hunt for. The US list price is $118; several review sites still quote $98, which is out of date, so check lululemon.com for the current number.

The Gruper exists mainly as an Amazon listing, with no separate brand store worth visiting. You can check the current price there, and note it also comes in an 8 mm version at 3.1 pounds.

Buy the Gruper if you are new to yoga, practice at home a couple of times a week, or want something light and cheap with the strap and bag included. It is a competent starter mat and there is no shame in starting there.

Buy Lululemon The Mat if your hands slide, if you sweat, or if the mat is doing double duty for other training. Nothing at the Gruper’s price solves grip, so if that is your complaint you will end up buying twice.