First Impression -Manduka Eko Lite Mat

Disclaimer; this mat was purchased with my own money, the views & opinions I'm about to discus are my own.

 

I've been needing/wanting to purchase a new yoga mat as mine is starting to break down and I've been having bits and pieces of the mat break off while I've been practicing. SOOO that lead me to start researching different companies and mats I mean ALOT!! All day - evrDAY for the past month! 

My yoga studio sells 'Manduka' so I began there, right away this company seem to have the best mat out there {for me}, that being said the criteria for a good mat can be a bit subjective. Some people like a yoga mat that provides a lot of cushioning and support, whereas others prefer less cushion and may more traction. Manduka says its mat is • eco- responsible •light weight & compact • durable design •slip resistant •longevity. These were all things on my list! So jackpot, right?!?  Well I didn't want to stop there so continued to research to be far and Manduka just seemed to be the one. So I bit the bullet and I bought one. I purchased 'Eko lite 68" mat in purple. Its a beauty. it even has a cute tree bark like pattern on the top of the mat. I'm not going to get into to much detail about it as I want this to be about my first impression of the mat & in a few months time I will write a full review of it.

Now for the  review;

Last night I took my new mat to practise hot yoga,

• Firstly when I removed it from the packaging the smell of rubber filled my entire condo it was quite awful but I knew with it being made from tree rubber it was going to smell I just didn't realize how bad, so the fact that I than had to run out the door to get to class with my smelly mat wasn't good I was praying my walk there would air it out. {anyone looking to purchase a Eko lite or any other rubber made mat air it out a few days or week prior to use}.
• I laid my towel down on top of my mat as I usually do for hot yoga but I wanted to give a true first impression review so shortly after we began I took the towel off and started to slip right away both on my hands and feet.
• I do have bad knees so I did notice the lack of padding with this mat when knelling. I felt some discomfort but that happened with past mats as well I just doubled my towel and its was fine.
• The mat is lightweight to carry and rolled up tightly.

Overall, the mat was comfortable to practise on. This is just my first impression and thoughts of the mat, I will have a follow up post in a few months once I break the mat in.