This is my earnest opinion about the Kulae Elite Hot Hybrid

Let’s get something out of the way, right now before you keep reading. I know what you are thinking already: “I sell this product and I have a vested interest in giving a good review. “

That’s BS. I just want you to know what you are getting before you are buying it. If you don’t believe me, you don’t have to buy it from us. Kulae does not pay me to give this review.

A new kind of mat

When VavaVida decided to retail yoga mats, we looked at everybody and at every kind of mat: the expensive ones, the cheap ones, the cool ones and everything in between. Of course, being who we are we had some pretty stringent standards as it had to cover the basic requisite of vavavida-ness. That’s when we discovered Kulae and more specifically the Elite Hot Hybrid yoga mat and I was pretty much in from the start. Let’s see why…

What’s it made of?

According to me, Antoine, this mat has it all… or almost but we’ll get to that later.

It is:

• 100% Biodegradable… because it is made out of bamboo microfibers. Bamboo people!
• 100% Recyclable… because they have chosen the right materials (eco-friendly PER plastic).
• Ultra-Hygienic… because it goes in the wash and the fabric breathes well.
• And finally it is PVC, rubber and Latex-Free… so, no intoxication for you mister.

Wait, it gets better! Seriously, it does…

My personal experience with this yoga mat

You will have to excuse my stuttering, my being out-of-breath and being wiped out physically… Bikram Yoga is hard!! Yes, 90 minutes in a very hot and humid room doing yoga is no picnic. I went and tried it the hard way. Check it out:

Here is what I would have said if being tired had not gotten in the way:

• The mat is very well stitched (see pix below) with the same material used for the towel.
• As a direct consequence, the towel stays put, does not move, does not slide, does not crumple under you… unlike a regular towel would.
• It performs very well under the hardest positions.
• It absorbs moisture like (or better) than a regular towel would.
• It’s also very cool looking… at least, “I” felt cool using it.

problems with the Elite Hot Hybrid mat

• At $89,89 this mat isn’t cheap and not everybody will be able to afford it. But come on my friend, read over the review and let me know if you don’t think it’s worth it. In fact, I dare you…
• It got spongy at the end. It’s to be expected though… a regular towel drips with sweat at the end of 90 minutes of Bikram yoga and it would be a miracle if it did not act in pretty much the same way. In this case, it performed slightly better than a towel though.
• It could be few inches longer… that’s a gripe I will have with every almost yoga mat though. I am a tall guy (6’1’’) and I need some length on my yoga mat because sometimes, my toes will be on the floor if switching rapidly between poses.
• It’s a bit thin. That means that you have to have good balance when using this mat. I would say that it is a mat better suited for the mid-to-advanced yoga practitioner… unless you already have great balance.

So here it is, my very personal opinion is: get it because it’s freaking great. It will perform well, it’s easy to clean, it’s expensive, etc. It’s just a really cool mat.