Manduka Begin vs YogaAccessories Extra Thick Deluxe: Which One Should You Buy?

The YogaAccessories Extra Thick Deluxe is a $21.99 mat its maker sells by the stack to studios, gyms and schools, and by the brand’s account no mat in its wholesale catalog sells better. The Manduka Begin is $62, aimed at newcomers young and old who practice on their own.

Both are soft, closed-cell and latex-free, and both suit newer practitioners. The Begin costs nearly three times as much. The extra $40 buys a center alignment stripe, a reversible two-color surface and a lighter mat. The YogaAccessories answers with four more inches of length, a little more thickness and an independent test score, though not a flattering one.

The YogaAccessories finished 14th of 19 in GearLab’s roundup with 56 points. Its sub-scores: comfort and support 6.5, materials 5, care and cleaning 6.5, dry grip 5.5 and wet grip 4. Its pros are the price, cushy padding and low weight. Its cons are slippery when wet, compresses over time and too soft for secure balance.

GearLab’s bottom line is kinder than those numbers: a budget-friendly, beginner-friendly mat with good cushioning for most practices.

No outlet we trust has put the Begin through a test, so its side of this page comes from Manduka’s description and Amazon owners, about 1,440 ratings at 4.3 stars. That doesn’t make it better or worse. It means nobody has measured its weak spots.

The Begin has a stripe down the middle, which Manduka says helps with balance and positioning. When you follow a video at home with nobody correcting you, it gives you a line to square your hips, hands and feet against.

The YogaAccessories is a plain surface, which suits a room where a teacher does the correcting. If most of your practice happens in classes, the stripe matters less and the $40 buys less.

The Begin is also reversible, with a different color on each face, so either side can go up. Manduka’s pitch is that you just unroll it and practice.

The YogaAccessories is 6.2 mm, and GearLab notes it runs thicker than most studio mats, which are typically 3 to 5 mm. A pressed palm leaves a mark that takes a while to fill back in, and too soft for secure balance is on its cons list. Amazon owners like it on hardwood, for knees and tailbones.

The Begin is 5 mm, the top of that typical range, and Manduka describes soft, cushioned support. In Amazon’s review summary, 15 of 18 thickness mentions are positive, and one buyer says landings feel soft on it. Nobody has scored how steady it is.

GearLab’s wet grip score of 4 put the YogaAccessories near the bottom of its 19 mats, with 5.5 dry. Owners lean the same way, with a small majority of grip comments on Amazon going against it and complaints that it turns slippery with sweat.

The Begin’s owners split almost exactly in half, 23 positive and 22 negative. Some call it truly non-slip and others found it slippery enough to worry about. Neither surface absorbs anything, so damp palms skate on both. For warm rooms, plan on a towel.

YogaAccessories lists the mat at 72″ × 24″ (its Amazon listing says 74 inches, which the brand site doesn’t back). The Begin is 68″ × 24″ with no longer version. Those four inches matter most in savasana, when taller people find their head or feet past the edge.

The Begin is lighter, about 2 to 2.5 pounds depending on whose figure you trust, against a measured 3.6 for the YogaAccessories. Neither brand lists a carrying strap for these mats, so budget a few dollars if you walk to class.

The YogaAccessories is PVC, and the brand lists it as latex-free with no phthalates or heavy metals. The Begin is latex-free TPE with a soft-touch surface. A latex allergy rules out neither.

Manduka’s care notes call for warm water on a clean cloth, its own mat wash when you want a deeper clean, and no soaking. The YogaAccessories wipes down too, and its GearLab care score was 6.5. Neither soaks up sweat, so neither needs long drying.

Wear is where GearLab is blunt about the YogaAccessories: the cushion compresses over time, and materials scored 5. The Begin’s Amazon owners are mixed on durability in a small sample, from buyers expecting years of use to one whose mat keeps shredding.

Manduka takes a mat back within 30 days only if it’s unused and was ordered from manduka.com. YogaAccessories also wants unused mats in resalable condition within 30 days, you pay return shipping, and it asks you to report shipping damage or defects within five days.

A limited lifetime warranty appears on the YogaAccessories’ Amazon listing, but yogaaccessories.com doesn’t mention one, so don’t count on it. The Begin has no warranty, since Manduka reserves its lifetime guarantee for PRO-series mats. Amazon orders of either follow Amazon’s policy.

The Begin lists at $62, though the Black version is $50 on manduka.com right now. Check the Begin at Amazon or buy from Manduka, in 10 colorways at last count. The YogaAccessories is $21.99 at yogaaccessories.com in 36 colorways at last count, or check the YogaAccessories at Amazon.

At list, the Begin sits $4.99 below the IUGA, which GearLab scored 75 overall and 7 for wet grip. The IUGA has no stripe and a natural rubber base, so it isn’t latex-free. Our Begin vs IUGA page lays that out.

For about $8 more than the YogaAccessories, the Gaiam Premium 6mm won GearLab’s Best First Yoga Mat award and scored six points higher; see Gaiam Premium vs YogaAccessories.

Buy the YogaAccessories if the budget is tight, if you’re taller than the Begin’s 68 inches, or if you mostly do floor work or practice in classes with a teacher. It’s soft, long and $40 cheaper. GearLab’s warnings apply: it slips once you sweat, it compresses, and balances wobble on it.

Buy the Begin if you practice alone and would use the center line, if you carry it to class, or if you like the reversible colors. You’re paying mostly for that stripe and the lighter build, and its grip reviews are as mixed as the YogaAccessories’. If $62 is already in the budget, look at the IUGA first.