Product Review: Kharma Khare’s Yoga Hybrid Bliss Mat

If you’ve been practicing yoga for awhile then you know that not all mats are created equal.

My 12+ years of practicing and teaching yoga have taught me that a good mat is one that is anti-slip, well cushioned, provides good grip, is anti slip, and ranks high on durability.

So, when I was asked to review Kharma Khare’s Yoga Hybrid Bliss Mat I was impressed to note both the thicker mat design, the anti-slip material, and the reported durability. BUT, what really grabbed my attention was that the product design is eco-friendly.

An Eco-Friendly Yoga Mat:

According to Kharma Khare, “the hybrid [yoga mat] features 4 mm of highly supportive non-slip rubber, sourced from 100% recycled tires, and lined with 1 mm of natural rubber latex from sustainable rubber trees”

Two for One:

They recommend using the natural rubber latex side for meditative practice and then flip it over to the recylcled tire side for sweaty slick practices where you’ll be needing better grip.

Basically Kharma Khare’s Hybrid Mat gives you two mats for one and for the price of $70 this seems like a pretty decent deal.

A Potential Downside:

One of the things you’ll notice right away with this mat is it’s weight. It adds a little something to your practice just carrying it to and fro class. And, whereas I may have just written it off as for-home-only yoga mat it is now quickly becoming my favorite mat and I’m happy to schlep the extra few pounds to class – a little warm up, right?

The Quick Summary:

Pros:
– One mat keeps 1/3 of a rubber tire from being thrown into a landfill or burnt for crude energy
– Two yoga mats in one – use for yin yoga and sweaty vinyasa
– Made entirely from recycled and sustainable materials
– Color options – green, blue, purple
– Does not need to be “broken in”, non slip from day 1

Cons:
– 8 pound mat that doesn’t easily fit into most yoga bags, wouldn’t be the easiest for bike commuting.
– The smell: the tire side does have a faint smell of tires, barely perceptable except maybe for long holds of shalabasana

On the whole, a great mat with great grip and an eco-friendly mission I’m happy to support. You can check out Kharma Khare’s Yoga Hybrid Mat here as well as their other eco-friendly mats.