Customer Reviews

Hugger Mugger Tapas Ultra Nature Collection Yoga Mat (68-Inch, Ocean)

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

At first glance I was very excited the product "looks" really pretty, very much like caribbean blue running water. Once the chemical smell hit my nose I was horrified. I would never have taken this into a yoga studio much less used it in my home. My yoga teacher gave me a tip on getting rid of the horrid stench. I simply tossed it in my regular washer (not recommended in instructions)on gentle cycle with a very small amount of Tide detergent. Once finished I rolled it in a towel to dry it and then let it air dry for a a couple of days. It was good to go and now I love it. Every time I use it I feel like I am floating on water going somewhere thats not stressful. I definetly recommend the product but wash it first.

i use this mat for yoga, martial arts, and many other exersizes. it is very soft/comfortable plus it has a cool look. it seems to be very durable and doesn't slip even when i am sweating bullets. i believe it is definatly worth the money i spent. this is the best mat i have ever had!!!

I was scared to buy this because of the reviews about the chemical odor and how strong it was. For me it wasn't that bad. I actually used a little Febreze on it and I was good to go though, I will probably air it out more until its completely gone because it did irk me a bit. I love the color pattern and how comfy it is compared to the other mat I had. It definitely stands up to someone getting really sweaty during a workout. Its great and I love it!

THE QUICK SUMMARY: 1) Rinse it off and air it out for at least 48 hours OUTSIDE and you're good to bring it to class. Smell totally goes away within a week. 2) It gets stickier after a few uses - no slipping now for me, despite slipping on first two uses. Overall, excellent bang for your buck. THE LONG SUMMARY: I was a little worried about the 'smell' comments from other customers, but after a lot of comparison shopping I decided this was going to be the best mat for my buck. I was right. Now, I will admit that when it arrived it had a considerable chemical, almost chlorine-like odor. Having read the reviews, I immediately washed it in my bathtub in about 2 inches of warm water, having mixed in one tablespoon of dish soap first. I swished it around, drained the water and rinsed it off. It got pretty saturated with water but no worries there. Then I put it on my patio hung over a chair with a towel underneath and let it air dry for 48 hours. It still had a slight smell, but after only two uses the smell is completely gone. As for stickiness, at first my hands where slipping a bit, but after just two uses I had 'seasoned' it enough that it is now just fine. I'm told it will get stickier the more I use it. Overall, an excellent mat and a considerable deal for your money. It is nice and thick. I recommend buying a yoga mat bag - which I didn't do at first. You don't need an expensive one ($10-$20 is fine) - just read the customer reviews before buying. The bag will keep it clean and tightly rolled, plus it is easier to carry and doesn't unroll in my car now. Oh - and this mat is really pretty!

I have been using this mat for about 2 years, practicing yoga 2-4 times per week. It is a beautiful mat, and a "sticky"-type mat. It is lighweight and fits in a standard yoga mat bag.

While I like the mat, it did take some getting used to.

For one, it does have a bit of a smell when first removed from the plastic packaging. I can't really describe it, but it was not an unpleasant smell, just kind of...hmmm...not really rubbery smelling, not latex, but some type of synthetic smell. It does go away after a while.

For another, it was extrememly slippery at first. I had to wash it well with water in the tub and dry it in the sun to remove the slippery coating that came on it. It is now not slippery as it was, but once the class heats up, if I am sweating a bit on hands and feet, I definitely slip on it, particularly my hands doing down dog. This slipperiness is pretty standard on these sticky-type mats, so this is not a particular defect of the mat itself, just the nature of this type of material.

If you practice any kind of hot yoga, this would probably not be a good choice for you, unless you use one of those skidless blankets with it.

If you do hatha yoga and don't sweat a whole lot, then I really recommend the mat for its wonderful softness and beautiful look.

UPDATE 5/2009 - Since I have had it a while, and it was getting a bit dirty, I tried washing the mat in the tub with the tiniest amount of shampoo. BAD IDEA! Part of what makes this mat so spongy and comfy is all the little miniature air pockets inside the mat that are now trapped full of H20 and...soap bubbles! It has been drying for 2 days, and I am hopeful it will be OK. If you wash it after using it for a while, just hose it offf, per my yoga teacher. Don't submerge it, or you might be sorry like I am!

Yes, I am still airing the mat because of the strong smell---and it's getting better. But it's also very sturdy and supportive, and it's going to be the prettiest mat in the studio---by far. It doesn't curl at the ends like my other mat, either. I would recommend this mat because of the durability and nice color, especially for the price!

This mat arrived promptly, and while it had a smell, what do you want for a giant sheet of plastic? My chief complaint was the color is not what is pictured - mine was almost solid green. I wanted a yoga mat that was different than everyone elses!!!! It was also very short - I had assumed (perhaps wrongly) that 68" was the standard size my yoga studio stocked (I am 5'9" and this was about 5 inches too short to full stretch out for cobra). However, that being said, the 1/4" was nice and cushy, and very sticky (I did try it out at home before returning for about 5 minutes). I returned, and re-ordered an 80" burgundy ultra hugger mugger tapas in the 1/4" thick. Great brand, I was just looking for longer, and a different color than the average joe.

amazing mat for its price. or for that matter, amazing mat period. a beautiful color also. but besides that minute detail, i have to say i started out with a "cheap mat" thinking that i would progress to a more expensive mat like manduka if i were to really stick with yoga and get serious with it. This was just my trial mat supposedly. But after two years of daily, and pretty much twice a day yoga practice even, this mat has held consistently, it has not crumbled at all, there hasn't been any unpleasant smell, remember that all products just need a little "breaking in" and adjusting and soon, we tend to adapt to them as they become familiar to us. This mat's pretty much my second home, and it's served me from downdogs and now to handstands and i couldn't be happier. i do have to say though that as you get into handstands, the squishiness of the mat is probably not as ideal; youll probably want to start thinking about switching over to a manduka or jade or something more flat, (but KEEP IT!) but other than that, this mat is AMAZING. ive gone through one mat in the time that my friends have gone through two to three. love it! sorry for lengthiness. think it deserves it (:

This is the best mat. I didn't think the smell was bad. It airs out pretty quickly. This mat stays in place. I highly recommend.

I bought this mat because of the wonderful reviews it received. It sounded perfect! Thick enough to protect my knees and head, sticky enough for my hands and feet to stay in place and oh-so-pretty!
But it just wasn't sticky. AT ALL. I've never had this problem before so imagine my surprise when I was slipping in down dog. And in various warrior positions. My gosh, it was so distracting!
So while this is such a beautiful mat, I am returning it because it isn't doing its job :(