Lululemon True Form Yoga Mat Review: Does it work and is it worth the £108 price tag?
LULULEMON is perhaps the first brand to come to mind when you think about yoga, or when it comes to buying the right yoga mat to steady your downward dog.
Yoga can be a powerful exercise to clear the mind and sharpen focus – it’s why so many of us did it infront of our screens in lockdown.
Lululemon True Form Yoga Mat[/caption]But how important is a good yoga mat in all of this? Does price and innovation matter?
Back in March, Lululemon released their priciest, most innovative mat to date – which sold out in two weeks.
Being credited as a “game-changer” with inbuilt 3D circles to help poise and posture and with an £108 price tag, we had to test out Lululemon’s True Form Yoga Mat to see if it was worth the hype.
PROS
- Lightweight
- Sustainably sourced materials
- Non-slip
CONS
- No yoga strap included
- Pricey
- Thin
- Marks easily
Lululemon True Form Yoga Mat Review: Quick Summary
- Lululemon True Form Yoga Mat, £108 – buy here
When we first unravelled the mat, we were pretty shocked at how thin it was, and despite its hefty price tag there was no yoga strap included for easy storage.
The 3D circles positioned at the hands, face, knees and feet definitely helped with poise and made us rethink our yoga poses, so it did make for more intuitive yoga. It made us stretch to our fullest potential and we felt confident that we were posing correctly.
The mat was pretty thin, though – and sadly stained from body lotion when we lay our face on it for a child’s pose, so we’re unsure if it was actually sweat-proof.
However, the mat was definitely non-slip and kept our most dynamic poses stable and made us feel secure during our workout.
We were pleased to see that the mat’s rubber was sustainably sourced, but there’s very little of it – and we’re not sure it’s worth the price.
Lululemon True Form Yoga Mat: Full Review
Lululemon’s True Form Yoga Mat comes in five colours[/caption]Unboxing and first impressions
It’s hard to describe an unboxing when the True Form Yoga Mat doesn’t come in a box. The yoga mat was tightly wrapped in a single sheet of plastic, which was surprising for the hefty price tag but ultimately better for the environment.
However, one thing we did notice was that the mat was thin – very, very thin at only 5mm. We’ve been using a cheap yoga mat for years, but it was at least three times the thickness of Lululemon’s.
After unwrapping and unrolling, we realised that three corners were squared off, and one was rounded – which was odd. But we were most disappointed with the fact that it didn’t come with a yoga strap even at £108, so it haphazardly stood in the corner of our room and gradually unravelled after use. First impressions: not good.
True Form Yoga Mat Key Features
Lululemon’s esteemed True Form mat comes with many innovative features to boast about, and out of five colours, we reviewed the blue one.
First up, is the 3D-texture, stated to help you feel your way around your mat without looking down or losing focus, and correctly maintaining good posture. The 3D spots are situated at hand, face, knee, and feet level.
The 3D-texture sounded impressive, but could be mistaken for part of the pattern as they are subtle. Feeling our hands and feet around the mat felt tentative at first, and it took a few attempts to get used to the contrast of the ridged 3D edges and the smooth circles. It worked better without socks, too.
The mat felt great on our face while we were doing the child’s pose, from the cushioned 3D circle and didn’t leave a wobbly imprint on our cheeks.
However, we had body lotion on and it stained the mat – even after wiping it down with water, the greasy marks didn’t budge which left us feeling a little shortchanged. We wondered what it would look like if we sweated on it, too…
The next key feature is the non-slip surface. There’s been many times in the past when we have rolled from a downward facing dog into a plank, and the mat starts to wobble or slip with sweat, but this felt very steady – even on laminate flooring. It never moved or slipped once, which was a plus.
What is it made from?
- Lululemon True Form Yoga Mat, £108 – buy here
We want to highlight that it’s made from sustainably sourced materials, too – in a world full of rubber and plastic, Lululemon’s new mat is made of Forest Stewardship Council natural rubber.
This means that it is certified as protecting the forest, its dwellers and animals that inhabit where the rubber is sourced from. Doing good for the planet earns points from us.
Did it work?
The 3D circles, though it was something to get used to, really helped us rethink our yoga poses and the limits of our body.
It helped us push our stretches to the full extent of our body, with the helpful guide on the mat – and made sure we weren’t shortchanging our workouts by shortening our poses.
It made for more intuitive yoga poses, and helped us perfect our pose alignment.
The grippy surface is really handy, and never slipped once so we felt fully confident doing swooping poses and dynamic contortions and stretches.
Though it didn’t slip, it did feel very, very thin and took us a little while to get used to the hardness of the floor underneath – and it hurt our wrists and hands at first.
But eventually, during each workout, we did feel very grounded and our stretches felt more rewarding.
Our mat is sadly still stained though from body lotion, so perhaps if you lather up in face cream or moisturiser (or if you sweat a lot) – reach for the darker mat as a wet towel doesn’t budge it.
Lululemon True Form Yoga Mat: The Verdict
- Lululemon True Form Yoga Mat, £108 – buy here
It’s tricky to say as it is pretty pricey at £108 – if you’re a beginner yogi, then no, it’s not worth the money. The 3D circles may take the pleasure out of yoga for you, and will lead you to overthink your technique, in our personal opinion.
If you’re an amateur yogi, with perhaps a year of two under your belt, then perhaps it is worth looking into investing a yoga mat to better your poise and make for better yoga.
Overall, we believe £108 seems a little more than this mat is worth as it seems pretty exclusive to those with a bigger budget, but if you are dedicated to the sport – and the Lululemon brand – it is definitely a unique, innovative mat to add to your collection.
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