Manduka GRP Adapt 2.0 Long vs Lululemon The (Big) Mat: Which One Should You Buy?

Both of these are a polyurethane top over a natural rubber base, both are 5 mm, and both are the oversized version of a mat the brand also sells in a standard size. The GRP Adapt 2.0 Long is 79″ × 26″ for $138; the Big Mat is 84″ × 28″ for $128.

The Lululemon is the bigger mat and $10 cheaper. The Manduka is the one that keeps gripping when the room gets hot, by a margin that is not close.

GearLab measured the standard GRP Adapt 2.0 at 9.5 out of 10 dry and 8.5 wet, the best wet grip of the 19 mats it tested, which earned it a Top Pick award for hot yoga. The Long is the same Satin Grip surface in a larger cut.

The standard version of The Mat measured 6.5 dry and 4.5 wet. Lululemon’s coating does absorb, and the mat does get tackier as you warm up, but it starts lower and gives up sooner. In a heated class the difference shows up in about twenty minutes.

Eighty-four by 28 inches against 79 by 26 works out to about 15% more floor. The width is what people buy it for: 28 inches keeps both hands on the mat in a wide stance, and 26 does not always.

Manduka has nothing wider in the GRP line, so if width is the problem the Lululemon is the only one of these two that solves it. If it is not, the 71″ GRP Adapt 2.0 at $128 is the version most people should be looking at.

GearLab gave the standard version of The Mat a perfect 10 for comfort and support, level with the Manduka PRO at the top of the field, and the GRP Adapt 2.0 8.5. Both are dense rather than soft, so knees are protected without the sinking feeling of foam.

This is the closest row on the page and it is not where the decision gets made. Either mat is comfortable enough for a daily practice on a hard floor.

Manduka lists the GRP Long at 6.5 pounds and Lululemon lists the Big Mat at 7.1. Both roll into long, thick tubes that will not fit a mat bag sized for a standard mat.

Neither is really a commuting mat, though the GRP is the closer of the two: its 71 inch version weighed 5.5 pounds on GearLab’s scale, lighter than the Liforme and the Lululemon. If you carry to a studio, buy the standard GRP rather than either of these.

The Big Mat is built to be used either way up. The polyurethane side is the one Lululemon expects you to practice on, and the textured natural rubber underside is offered as the grippier option for lower-sweat sessions and for standing work on slick floors. It is a real feature and a fair reason to prefer it to a single-sided mat at the same money.

In practice most owners choose a face in the first week and never revisit it. The rubber side is firmer and less forgiving under a knee, and once the polyurethane face has taken on a little sweat it is the better surface for most classes. The GRP is single-sided by design: Satin Grip on top, plain natural rubber underneath to hold the mat still.

Both have a polyurethane face that is the wear item, and both want a damp cloth rather than a soaking. Owners of The Mat report the finish going patchy or flaking at the hands and feet after a year or two of daily practice, and it does not recover. GearLab scored The Mat 7 out of 10 for care and cleaning and the GRP 7 as well.

Coverage is thin either way: Manduka gives 30 days of returns on everything outside its PRO family, and Lululemon’s Quality Promise has no stated term and is handled case by case. Neither is a reason to pick one.

Lululemon sells only through its own site and stores, and Manduka runs no Amazon listing for the GRP Adapt 2.0, so it comes from manduka.com or a yoga retailer. Neither discounts much, so the list prices are what you will pay.

Color choice is thin on both: the Big Mat comes in black at last count and the GRP Long in carbon black only at last count. One thing to check on the Manduka side: the GRP Adapt 1.0 is a different, older mat that Manduka dropped from its site, so make sure a review or a listing is describing the 2.0.

Buy the GRP Adapt 2.0 Long if you sweat. It holds the best wet grip figure in independent testing, it is half a pound lighter, and 79 inches covers most tall practitioners. What you give up is four inches of width and any real choice of color.

Buy the Big Mat if the size is the reason you are shopping. It is the largest mat either brand sells, its cushioning scored top marks, and it costs $10 less. Just do not buy it expecting hot yoga grip. Our standard GRP vs Big Mat page covers the same choice at 71 inches.