Manduka eKO vs Gaiam Performance Dry-Grip Long & Wide: Which One Should You Buy?

GearLab scored the eKO 87 out of 100 in its 2026 test, second overall, with the best dry grip of the whole field. It scored the Dry-Grip construction 62. Both are 5 mm, both are 26 inches wide, and one costs $114 while the other costs $74.98.

Gaiam’s counter-argument is floor space. The Long & Wide cut runs 78″ against the eKO’s 71″, and for a tall person that is not a detail.

The eKO grips through the material itself. Natural rubber is tacky, Manduka texturises it, and GearLab measured 10 out of 10 dry, the top score in a field of 19, with 7 wet. Closed-cell construction is why the wet number is not higher; sweat has nowhere to go.

The Gaiam grips through a coating applied to PVC foam. GearLab measured the standard Dry-Grip at 6.5 dry and 3.5 wet, second worst in the field for wet grip, against Gaiam’s listing describing the mat as ideal for hot yoga. That description is the company’s own, not a test result.

At 71 inches the eKO is a standard length mat, which means anyone over about six foot ends up with heels or head on the floor in savasana. The Gaiam’s 78 inches fixes that and costs $39 less while doing it.

Manduka’s own answer is the eKO Long at 79″ × 26″, which is longer than the Gaiam and about $10 more than the standard eKO. If length is your issue and you want the rubber, that is the cleaner solution.

This is the widest gap in the sub-scores. The eKO is dense natural rubber made in Taiwan with over 30% recycled content in the current version. It is a well-built object and it feels like one.

A dry-grip topcoat is a thin layer bonded to PVC foam. It thins out where hands and feet keep landing, and once it goes you are left with a plain PVC mat. That is what a 4 out of 10 describes, and it is the honest limit on a mat that covers this much floor for $75.

GearLab rated the eKO 9 out of 10 for comfort and support and the standard Dry-Grip 8, so this is closer than the overall scores suggest. The eKO is denser and does not deflect; the Gaiam has more give, which is kinder when you kneel and less certain when you stand on one leg.

The eKO is also the heavier mat at 7 pounds against 5, and it never creeps on a polished floor because of it.

The eKO’s natural rubber smell is strong out of the wrapper and takes about two weeks of unrolled airing to settle. It is the mat’s most common complaint, and it keeps its Amazon rating around 4.1 stars across roughly 700 ratings despite the test results.

Gaiam asks you to unroll the mat and air it for two to three days before your first session, and publishes a guide about removing the new-mat smell. It also warns that extended sun exposure makes the mat fade and turn brittle. Sun degrades natural rubber too, so neither belongs on a balcony.

On paper Gaiam wins outright. Its lifetime guarantee covers manufacturing defects, which is not the same as a topcoat wearing thin or foam compressing, and those are the two ways this mat actually ends.

Manduka’s lifetime guarantee does not extend to the eKO line at all; the eKO comes with a 30 day return window. If the warranty is what you care about, our PRO vs eKO comparison covers the Manduka mat that carries one.

The eKO is natural rubber, so it is off the table for anyone with a latex allergy. Gaiam mentions the Dry-Grip’s rubber-free construction specifically for people with latex sensitivities, which is a legitimate reason to choose it over a better-scoring mat.

If you need to avoid rubber but want better grip than a topcoat offers, the polyurethane-topped mats are the other route, though most of them still use a rubber base layer.

List prices are $114 and $74.98. Check the current price on the eKO at Amazon and the Gaiam Dry-Grip at Amazon, where the listing carries several sizes and you need to select the 78 by 26 inch version rather than the standard 68 by 24.

The Gaiam is the value pick and the tall person’s pick. The eKO is the better mat by every measure that involves your hands staying put.

Buy the Gaiam Performance Dry-Grip Long & Wide if you are tall or shopping on a budget. It covers more floor than anything else near $75, and its weakness is a wet grip score you may never test if you practice in a cool room.

Buy the Manduka eKO if grip is the reason you are here. It is the grippiest dry mat GearLab measured and second overall in the test, and the trade-offs are weight, a rubber smell for a fortnight, and a 30 day return window instead of a warranty.