The Goal: Find a yoga mat light enough to tote between unlimited ClassPass workouts and grippy enough for a no-slip down dog. We consulted local yogis, who steered us away from supportive-yet-cumbersome seven-pound mats and portable-yet-flimsy two-pound ones, and we landed on an ideal weight of four pounds.
The Verdict: Though it feels slippery at first, the nontoxic PVC cushioning of the Manduka Prolite yoga mat ($75 at amazon.com) gets grippier with each session (and will continue to do so for up to ten years). And while it’s on the pricier end, the Prolite has closed-cell technology to lock microbes on the surface, making it much easier to clean than the typical spongy, bacteria-absorbing mats.
*This article appears in the April 4, 2016 issue of New York Magazine.