Manduka eKO Superlite vs B Mat Everyday 4mm: Which One Should You Buy?

Both of these are natural rubber and both grip, so traction is not what you are choosing between. The eKO Superlite is 1.5 mm thick and 2.2 pounds, made to fold flat into a suitcase, at $54. The B Mat Everyday is a full 4 mm at 4.1 pounds and $118.

If you are shopping for the mat you practice on several times a week, this is a short comparison. If you already have that mat and you are looking for the one that travels, it is also a short comparison, in the other direction.

OutdoorGearLab scored the Superlite 2 out of 10 for comfort and support, one of the lowest results in a 19-mat test, and that is a fair description rather than a criticism. At 1.5 mm there is effectively nothing between your knee and the floor. On carpet it is fine. On tile or hardwood, kneeling and forearm work stop being pleasant within a class.

The B Mat Everyday’s 4 mm of dense rubber is enough for a normal practice on a hard floor. It is firm rather than plush, so it is not a cushioning mat either, but it is in a completely different category of usable.

GearLab tested the 4 mm B Mat, rated it 9 out of 10 for grip and called it among the grippiest mats it had used in wet or dry conditions. That is about as strong an endorsement as a mat surface gets, and it holds from the first unroll with no break-in.

The Superlite scored 7.5 dry and 5 wet, which is respectable for a mat this thin. Thin rubber also transmits everything under it, so a Superlite laid over an uneven floor feels less settled than the numbers suggest. Over carpet or on top of a studio mat, it is genuinely good.

The Superlite folds flat and packs inside a bag rather than strapped to one. Creases show for the first few sessions and mostly settle out with use; folding along the same lines for years will eventually leave permanent marks, so roll it when you have the room. At 2.2 pounds it goes in hand luggage without a thought.

The B Mat Everyday rolls and does not fold. Dense rubber resents being creased. GearLab called it portable by the standards of mats it beats on grip, noting it rolls to about 3.5 to 4 inches across and runs two to four pounds lighter than most of them. That is a comfortable carry to a studio and not a mat that goes in a carry-on.

Both are 71″ long. The B Mat is 26″ wide against the Superlite’s 24″, and those two inches are noticeable in a wide-legged stance where a hand keeps finding the floor.

Manduka does make a 79″ Superlite Long at $58 if length is the issue, and b, halfmoon sells an 85″ B Mat Everyday Long. Neither brand makes the other’s shape, so width belongs to the B Mat and packability belongs to the Superlite.

The B Mat carries OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certification and a one-year warranty, and it is made in Spain from mostly natural rubber with some synthetic content. Dense rubber wears slowly. Sun is what actually destroys it, so store it rolled and out of the light.

The Superlite gets Manduka’s 30-day return window and nothing after, because the lifetime guarantee is reserved for the PRO line. Thin rubber is more vulnerable to snags and tears than thick rubber, and a mat that lives folded in a bag needs to be dry before it goes in there or it will start to smell. Both contain latex, so neither works with an allergy.

The Superlite is one of the most colorful mats anyone sells, with 19 colorways at last count including a run of marbled finishes. For a travel mat that lives in a bag, that matters less than it does on a mat you look at every day, but it is genuinely fun.

The B Mat comes in seven colorways at last count, all fairly muted, and both faces are the same tacky rubber so either side practices. It is a plainer object and it is meant to be.

$54 against $118. Check the live Superlite price on Amazon, where Manduka discounts individual colorways heavily and some run well under list. The B Mat Everyday is sold direct and is not on Amazon, so it holds its price.

As a single mat, the B Mat is the better spend even at more than twice the money, because you will use it every day and it will last. As a second mat, the Superlite at $54 is very hard to argue with, and b, halfmoon makes nothing comparable.

Get the B Mat Everyday if this is the mat you practice on. Four millimetres of grippy rubber at 26 inches wide, certified and covered for a year, is a mat you can build a practice on for years. It is the answer unless portability is the actual problem.

Get the Superlite if you need something that disappears into luggage. It grips properly, it weighs almost nothing, it comes in more colors than anything else, and at $54 it is the cheapest good travel mat Manduka makes. Do not ask it to be your only mat unless you practice on carpet.