TPE vs EVA Yoga Mat & NBR vs PVC Yoga Mat

TPE vs EVA Yoga Mat & NBR vs PVC Yoga Mat: Yoga is a perfect way of exercise to improve not only your mental and physical health but it is best for inner peace also, but keep in mind ideal equipment is necessary to achieve this. The most important piece of equipment is the right yoga mat for practitioners. Hundreds of yoga mats are available in the market and all of them are not equally beneficial even not equally built. Numerous materials are used to build a yoga mat.

So, today we will try to compare a few of the materials so that a person can easily finalize which yoga mat can prove good for him.

Which is better, TPE or EVA?

When we come up with finalizing the yoga mat material, a new question arises in our minds regarding the better material, TPE or EVA.

Let’s go a bit deeper to finalize

TPE Yoga Mat Material

TPE stands for Thermoplastic Elastomers a type of plastic and rubber polymers with specific properties like thermic and elastic and normally used to build sports equipment. This material is being used to build yoga mats and the major reason is that TPE can be easily converted or molded to different shapes.

Normally the yoga mats made with TPE are light in weight, durable, anti-skid and highly resistant to moisturizing. So these mats are easy to clean. That’s why they are a bit costly compared to other mats.

If I talk about the downside of TPE yoga mats, they can be slippery when wet along with they have a bit lighter smell of rubber.

EVA Yoga Mat Material

EVA stands for Ethylene Vinyl Acetate a synthetic material used to make yoga mats due to its features for example, these mats are light in weight and have great resistance to cracking. Apart from that these material mats are durable and well known for their comfort level and easy to clean due to their moisture-resistant feature.

If I talk about the downside of EVA yoga mats they have some specific odor as the material contains the chemicals. These mats normally compress with time and regular usage and even they can also lose their cushioning after a specific time. Try to avoid these mats from direct sunlight otherwise, they can be cracked.

TPE vs EVA Yoga Mats

Let’s compare the yoga mat material performance, both material mats are good in grip and anti-skid but TPE mat is much more slip-resistant compared to EVA. In the same way, If I talk about sustainability then I think TPE mat is a much better option as it is easily recyclable.

TPE vs NBR vs PVC Yoga Mat

You can read in detail above about TPE mat material.

NBR Yoga Mat Material

NBR stands for Nitrile Butadiene Rubber which is a synthetic rubber material mostly used in the automotive industry. As the material offers good cushioning and insulation for our joints that’s why yoga mats are built of this material. NBR mats are cost-effective and durable.

If I talk about the downside of NBR yoga mats, this material is built by humans so that’s why it is not very environmentally friendly compared to more organic material. As it’s built with rubber, the mats are a bit heavier in weight with poor elasticity so that’s why not easy to carry and transport.

PVC Yoga Mat Material

PVC stands for Polyvinyl Chloride a plastic material well known due to its durability and grip. PVC mats are much more affordable or cost-effective and it’s widely available. These mats are light in weight so can easily be carried and transported.

PVC yoga mats are cheaper as it is built with low-quality material. These mats have specific unpleasant odors. They can be slippery when wet or sweaty and do not offer much cushioning. These mats are not very popular among the users due to their drawbacks.

Which is the best yoga mat

It is a bit difficult to recommend a single material because all materials have their own features so, it depends on the practitioner which kind of exercise he has a plan to do as well as what kind of environment he lives. If the practitioner has a plan to move or travel with a yoga mat daily then definitely, the choice will be different compared to that one who doesn’t have a plan to travel with a yoga mat.

We have shared all the features for materials, you can choose any one of them that fulfills your requirements. You can read about a few more yoga mat materials here.

Is TPE Safe for Skin?

As the TPE is made with non-toxic materials that’s why it’s less likely to cause different allergies. So, it’s usually considered safe for the skin.

Is Eva Safe for Skin?

EVA yoga mat material is also considered safe for the skin but the people who are already suffering from allergies, EVA can be caused by increasing it as this material is also built with chemicals.

Hopefully, you have gotten the answer to the question TPE vs EVA Yoga Mat which is better. Share your thoughts in our comments section.