Top 2 Yoga Mats: Alo vs Lulu
Any one who does yoga regularly knows the value of a good mat. One that has great grip doesn’t leave you at risk of slipping, and will last through years of regular use. When I started hot yoga 10 years ago the studio offered Lululemon 5mm yoga mats as loaners because they were easy to grip and didn’t move. My first yoga teacher said “You need to be able to trust your mat”. I then realized that this yoga was more than just stretching, this was actually a hot vinyasa studio that taught the basics but their regular classes were faster paced and you really couldn’t transition with a mat that moved every time you did.
Eventually a Lululemon mat was my mat choice because I liked the grip, the way my insane sweat didn’t puddle and I got used to flowing on them at the studio. No further research needed! Now that yoga is more mainstream, there are new brands here for the sole purpose of offering an improved mat and yoga experience for the variety of practices. Alo was an up and coming brand and I started seeing their mats around more than usual. So after two of my yoga friends got them and raved about their mats; I decided to try one out there was only a $4 price difference with Lululemon’s Big Mat at $124 and Alo Warrior Mat at $128 so I figured why not?!
Overall, the Alo mat is sightly better than Lululemon mat. Why?
1) It does not move at all and feels like it will last for a long time.
2) The grippy texture does not fade, as they use a different top layer so the hand and foot spots that typically fade on a Lulu mat seem like they will not with this mat.
3) It is 1lb heavier and while you can feel that, the 100% rubber bottom definitely makes a difference in how it grips the floor during a class
4) The standard size is a few inches longer ( which I like as a 6ft tall yogi)
Benefits to the Lululemon Mat:
1) Feels more cushioned (even though its the same thickness as Alo at 5mm)
2) If you are doing hot yoga, they do not puddle when you sweat
3) There is a wide variety of lengths, sizes, and colors to suit your needs
4) You can easily find one on sale. (My mat was $60 at a Black Friday sale due to the discontinued color) The regular retail price for a mat like the one I have been using is $98.
Three of the brands that I plan to look into are:
1) Jade Harmony Yoga Mat - Made with natural rubber from trees, lighter than most mats at 5lbs with lots of options for thickness, style of practice and length.
2) Manduka Pro Mat - Is vegan and latex free and has a fabric surface for no slip.
3)Vuori Yoga Mat - This is a little lighter than the others at 4mm made with natural rubber.
My experience with Alo
My Personal Experience with Alo Yoga
My first mat was stolen by a rental car agency 2 weeks after I got it. My second mat was defective, I noticed maybe after 5 weeks of regular use that the top layer of my mat started to ripple. It seemed like it was separating from the base, this is something others who purchased The Warrior Mat from Alo have also experienced. The highlighter yellow color that I chose started showing dirt and footprints, when I tried to clean using their recommendation it didn’t come out. So I reached out to Alo customer service to see what my options were and thats where we are now.
Attempt #1 - I emailed customer service and after I responded asking for the shipping label to return the mat and followed up they stopped responding to me.
Attempt #2 - I called customer service, asked for the return label, they said I needed to wait 3-5 business days for it to be sent via email.
Attempt#3 - Followed up via email, no return label.
Attempt#4 - I called the store to see if I could just return it there because this return label was lost in email. They said because I already started the process over the phone and that is separate there was NO WAY I could finish this process in the store. It had to be done online.
Attempt #5 - Called again, they were able to send the return label immediately while we were on the phone (shocked). They had to send twice because the first one never came through.
Attempt #6 - Its been over a week and my store credit would not be emailed until the mat had been received for 48 hours. They could not just sent me a new mat because now I wanted a different color. 10 calendar days later, I send another email inquiring about my credit. I was told that this credit would take 2-4 business days, its been 3 business days no email.
Attempt#7 - I used the chat feature to follow up about my store credit. I was told again, it would take 2-4 business days. I finally received my credit for $139 later that day.
At this point, I cannot in good consciousness encourage anyone to get this mat. While the quality of the mat is better suited for hot vinyasa style classes, the headache that I have gone through to return a defective product is far beyond my level of patience. I have returned to using my old Lulumelon mat and since its been a couple of years, they have even more variety for their mats. At this point I may just use my credit for clothes and get a completely different brand.
If someone you know is in the market for a new yoga mat, share this post!
