Whether you’re a seasoned yogi or a beginner, your yoga mat should be comfortable and easy to maintain. We spent one month talking to over a dozen yoga instructors and sweating, stretching, and savanna-ing it out in our offices, homes, and yoga studios to find the very best.

5. Gaiam Essentials Thick Yoga Mat Fitness & Exercise Mat with Easy-Cinch Yoga Mat Carrier Strap (72″L x 24″W x 2/5 Inch Thick)

I read the reviews and agree with most of them. It’s a really nice mat and you can’t beat the price. It is long and very soft, which I personally like. I am older and wanted some extra cushion for knees and elbows. I can see where it would throw balance off a bit due to this softness, but I look at it as pushing me harder to keep my balance. Great mat that I would recommend. I got the pretty blue one.

4. REEHUT Yoga Mat 1/2-Inch Extra Thick High Density NBR Exercise Mats for Pilates, Fitness & Workout with Carrying Strap

I have tried previous traditional yoga mats and hated how they were essentially useless with my hard floors. This mat is amazing, thicker than even traditional thick mats. It’s easy on my hands, knees and back when I exercise helping me to power through my workouts easier. I would wholeheartedly recommend this awesome mat and would definitely buy again.

3. HemingWeigh Extra Thick Foam Exercise Mat

Oh my GOD finally a good exercise mat!! I’ve been using the BalanceFrom Go Yoga All Purpose Anti-Tear Exercise Yoga Mat with Carrying Strap, Blue for awhile now and I absolutely HATE it. Everything about the HemingWeigh is superior. As you can see in the attached pictures, the HemingWeigh exercise mat is TRULY extra thick, especially compared to the BalanceFrom mat that is supposedly “extra thick high density.”

I did my forward lunge stretches on both mats and you can see in the picture that the BalanceFrom mat leaves a huge dent where my knee was. You can barely tell I was on the HemingWeigh mat. There was so much cushion and it was such a relief not feeling the wood ground as I stretched. This mat is extremely high quality for the price–save yourself the hassle of looking elsewhere because this is literally one of the best exercise mats I have used at this price. I stretch for about an hour every day and having a good mat is crucial for me. I used to need to fold the BalanceFrom yoga mat to get enough cushion but I definitely would not need to with the HemingWeigh.

I could seriously gush about this exercise mat all day. It’s also extremely compact and lightweight despite being so much thicker. It’s super transportable with the provided straps and SERIOUSLY. If you’re looking for an exercise mat, buy this one!

2. Yoga Cloud Ultra-Thick 1″ Yoga and Exercise Mat with Shoulder Sling | Non-slip

I use it on our wood floors and it’s perfect. It is indeed very thick, yet it isn’t too squishy like a too-soft bed; it is firm without being hard.
I highly recommend it for those who have a surface like wood or stone, etc., on which to work out and stretch. You may want to order an extra one for your cat though.

1. Mantra Style – Core Premium – (28″ x 76″) Yoga Mat with Rounded Corners

I recently got into yoga with the coaxing of my wife. This mat is fantastic. It is thick and padded but not too thick. Very comfortable and grippy. Had no bad smell or anything like that. Rolls flat, corners stay flat. All around a great mat in a manly grey color. Like the extra size for my larger than average man frame.