The Warrior Addict’s The Warrior Mat is made from natural rubber and promises to be extra-grippy. Some of the best yoga mats also claim to be super grippy and non-slip but not a lot of yoga mats, in my experience, live up to this assertion, so I had to put this yoga mat to the test.
After practicing a range of yoga styles on it from restorative and Yin to dynamic practices such as slow flows and traditional Hatha yoga practices, the Warrior Mat has impressed me with its grip and general performance. It makes a great mat for beginners to seasoned yogis but more on that below.
Warrior Addict The Warrior Mat review: price and availability
The Warrior Mat is £69 / $79 and is available to buy at Warrior Addict. It's only available in black. Each The Warrior Mat comes with a free strap which makes it ideal for carrying to and from yoga classes if you aren’t a stay-at-home yogi.
Warrior Addict The Warrior Mat review: design
The Warrior Mat only comes in one colour which is a shame for those that like a brighter or patterned yoga mats to spruce up their practice. However, this is a clever design choice as it doesn’t mark easily and looks sleek. For example, sweat marks and greasy forehead marks don’t show much during a practice and easily wipe away afterwards. I’m always torn on whether a lighter or darker mat is a good choice but for longevity, dark is the way to go. Over time, even with clean hands and feet, you get marks to show where your hands and feet spend the most time in your practice. With a darker mat, this doesn’t show as much and so you should get longer out of this mat before it looks knackered.
The Warrior Mat has simple alignment lines which keeps this mat looking sleek in its design. Nothing is over complicated with this mat and that is kind of refreshing, and perhaps a nod to what yoga can bring to your life – simplicity.
Nowadays, yoga mats come in various sizes with the Warrior Mat coming in at 184cm x 68cm, making it on the larger side. This is a good mat choice for taller people or those who like to spread their arms out to the side in relaxation. With it being 4.5mm in thickness, it also means it suits those who need extra support for their joints during their practice.
Warrior Addict The Warrior Mat review: materials
With climate-conscious purchases on people’s minds, yoga mats are now often made from natural or sustainable materials which makes perfect sense as part of the yoga teachings, the 8 limbs of yoga, is to not harm other living things known as ahimsa. The Warrior Mat is no exception to this.
Made from natural rubber and eco-polyurethane, this mat uses plant-based materials to get its eco-friendly status. While I’ve tested some other natural rubber yoga mats, the Warrior Addict The Warrior Mat is one of the best for its smooth texture and lack of nasty smell, which I’ve experienced from other pure natural rubber yoga mats.
Warrior Addict The Warrior Mat review: performance
The Warrior Addict The Warrior Mat is an all round impressive mat for beginners to experienced yogis, offering different things for different groups of people. The grip is superb and one of the best I’ve tested. This sort of grip would suit experienced yogis as they are more likely to be flowing between postures, practicing intermediate level postures or holding postures for longer. All of these require a yoga mat that can hold and support you properly. When practicing, the Warrior Mat holds you firmly whether that’s in reclined, seated, standing or inverted postures – you feel the non-slip in any posture and so feel a level of confidence in the mat being able to support you.
A good test for grip is the renowned downward dog, especially part way through a practice when your hands are a little clammy. I’ve yet to find a mat that completely stops any sliding in downward dog but this mat came close. It’s up there with the Core Balance Yoga Mat for its grip and non-slip holding you firmly in downward dog for a few breaths before you have to readjust slightly - and this is with warmer hands. With dry hands, there is next to no slip. The Warrior Mat does all of this while also adding comfort to the postures due to its thickness.
The thickness is an added bonus for beginners who may experience some discomfort on harder floors in their joints or bonier parts of their body. This is common for beginners as your body adjusts to the pressure from certain postures but one thing that can make yoga harder for beginners is too thick a yoga mat. The Warrior Mat has the perfect balance between enough thickness for comfort without being so thick beginners (or any yogi!) struggles to do standing or balancing postures. Its thickness also helps for slower practices where you’re holding postures for a number of minutes such as Yin and restorative yoga.
With a home practice, there is no teacher to guide you into postures using physical adjustments so the alignment lines on this mat are helpful for newbies to find the position of their hands and feet for the more traditional yoga postures such as Warrior 1 and 2 and Triangle pose. They act as a useful guide and, due to their simplicity, can also be ignored if the distances aren’t quite right for your body. They’re a nice edition for the design without being a necessity to everyone’s practice.
Warrior Addict The Warrior Mat review: verdict
Overall, the Warrior Addict The Warrior Mat is a fantastic mat for any type of practice and any type of yogi. Performing well in all forms of yoga tried on it, this mat offers a great balance in terms of grip, thickness and comfort. While the dark colour is a win for longevity, having more options to choose from would be nice, but this is just one negative in an otherwise positive review and experience.
