Which Foldable Yoga Mat Should You Bring When You Travel?

Hands up if you’ve felt the frustration from trying to do just a little bit of yoga in your hotel room, only to feel grossed out knowing that the carpet is actually really dirty, the floor never really clean, yet your hands have to touch those surfaces in Downward Dog.

Other than that, you’re also aware that putting a hotel towel on the floor to substitute as your ‘yoga mat’ doesn’t feel like a very considerate, mindful yogic thing to do. Don’t mention even trying to yoga on the bed – it’s near impossible. But you really need some yoga – that airport yoga before the flight was not enough.

Solution: Travel with a yoga mat –
A Foldable Yoga Mat!

Not sure about you but for me, packing my usual rolled yoga mat when I travel is not a good idea, since it requires such an odd vertical space. Holding it in my hand as cabin baggage gives me anxiety, wondering whether the airline agent will stop me, or if I’m ever able to retrieve it from the overhead compartment once it slips into the deep deep depth (#ShortPeopleProblems), or if others will judge me for trying to tell the world that I do yoga. So much to worry about, all from just needing some yoga time on my trips! I guess I’m still very far from being the detached yogi.

All I want is just a mat that I can do a little bit of yoga on when I’m travelling.

To solve this problem, I looked around for foldable travel yoga mat options that are quality ones, instead of what looks like a flimsy, flat rubber mat. This post is a review of both the Khataland YOFO mat, and YOGO mat which I bought separately, created by different companies! I know, the yoga mat names are indeed confusing.

Foldable Travel Yoga Mat Review #1:
Khataland YoFoMat

Though this brand is not as well known as Manduka or Lululemon, Khataland came recommended by a few yogis who travel and blog. I decided on getting one to use for my trips.

Weight: 2.7 pounds (1.22kg)
Thickness: 1/6″ (4mm)
Size: 72″ x 24″ (183cm x 61cm)
Folds down to: 12″ x 10″ x 3″ (30cm x 25cm x 7.6cm)
Material: Non-latex. Only non-allergenic, non-toxic materials and production processes used.
Price: USD$39, excluding shipping (I bought the mat from Amazon at USD$32.49, but after shipping via VPost to Singapore, the total price I paid shot up to between to S$80-S$100 which I’ve forgotten the exact amount.)
Where to buy: Khataland Enter my code “TPWK” when you checkout at Khataland’s website for an additional 5% off your mat!

What I love about Khataland YoFoMat

Excellent design & material

YoFoMat is a versatile, high-performance yoga mat which you can use for pilates too. You can use it full-length or fold it into a sitting mat for meditation.

The mat comes with “touch-felt folding lines”, mainly for its purpose as a folding yoga mat, but also can partially serve as alignment coordinates  (something like Liforme yoga mat).

You’ll always have a clean side to use!

This travel yoga mat is folded down like origami. You fold the long part in half, then zip-zag them in until they stack together to become this cube shape. Compared to rolled-up yoga mats that guarantee your mat’s NEVER clean, you can ‘fix’ one particular side of the YoFoMat to use. Perfect for me because I really appreciate clean yoga mats to practise on.

I like to keep the ‘mountain side’ (the one with the logo) as the side to use.

Good thickness.

At 1/6″ thick, this travel yoga mat provides excellent cushioning. Feels like you’re practising in an actual yoga studio that uses quality, thick yoga mats!

It can be used on hard floor surfaces.

You can use it on hard surfaces. So far, I’ve only tried it on solid – either concrete or parquet – flooring, without carpeting. I used this mat in my hotel room when I went Santorini in winter.

| Also read: How it was to travel solo in Santorini |

Various mat options – wider, thicker

Other than different colors, Khataland also offers wider travel mats (26″ instead of standard 24″), or ultra-thick mats (1/4″ instead of 1/6″), and also kid-friendly travel yoga mats (shorter in length but thicker – 1/4″), cool!

Why Khataland YoFoMat is not perfect yet

• It still takes up a significant amount of space in the luggage. However, in order to have a thicker yoga mat that’ll always stay clean, this is a compromise I’m happy to put up with.
• Initially, the mat can feel a little oily for the hands, due to a kind of lubricant applied over the mat, so I can’t claim it as exactly a non-slip yoga mat. But it is still very bearable. I’ve practised on branded yoga mats in actual yoga studios that make me feel I’m gonna lose my grip soon, and Khataland YoFoMat is not like that.
• The mat comes with a mesh yoga bag made of breathable fabric, which is good for air circulation, but I prefer the mat to be contained in a none-mesh yoga bag so that the mat will never touch my clothes in my luggage (you can tell how much cleanliness matters to me). For me, I kept the ‘floor/dirty side’ folded as the interior, while the clean side faces the exterior.
• Khataland currently only ships to U.S and CA addresses, so you’ll have to pay for higher shipping on Amazon if you’re not staying in those countries. It’s not available on popular shopping sites used by Singaporeans such as Lazada or Qoo10, or is way over-priced (S$200+!). I ordered mine from Amazon and shipping to Singapore cost me a bomb.

When to bring the Khataland YoFoMat for travel

• If you know you’re going to stay at lodgings with – or practise on hard floorings, as the cushioning from this yoga mat is excellent
• If you can afford the space in your suitcase
• For more frequent yoga practices especially on longer trips
• I think it’s a good option to bring this for yoga retreats if you prefer using your own well-cushioned yoga mat

| Click here to check out Khataland YoFoMat options! |
(for my readers, key in “TPWK” at checkout for an additional 5% off)

Foldable Travel Yoga Mat Review #2:
YOGO Ultralight Travel Yoga Mat

When I first saw the thinness of the YOGO mat in person, honestly, it felt more like a yoga towel to me than a yoga mat. Perhaps that’s how many travel yoga mats were designed, in order to be more portable. Let’s have a look at how this mat performed for me personally.

Weight: 2.4 pounds (1.o9kg)
Thickness: 0.08″ (2mm)
Size: 68″ x 24” (173cm x 61 cm)
Folds down to: 12” x 3” x 4.5” (30cm x 7.6cm x 11.4cm)
Material: Natural, forested tree rubber, cotton, and recyclable plastic
Price: USD$61.50 (look out for discount for subscribing to its mailing list, or look out for holiday promotions), before shipping.
Where to buy: Amazon, or YOGO website

Why the YoGo travel yoga mat is worth having

You can always have a clean side to use.

Similar to the Khataland travel yoga mat, this thin mat is also designed to have a clean side.

To keep the mat, fold the longer side into half, then keep folding that length to half again & again in one direction until you can strap the mat together and buckle it.

It rolls up small and can be kept easily inside your bag.

The Yofo mat is extremely portable as a yoga mat. It takes up a pretty small amount space in your bag, as long as yours isn’t a tiny cabin bag. The cute little strap with the buckle is designed to work as a handle, so you can carry the Yofo travel mat on its own when you’re walking about town on your vacation to the yoga studio 😉

It can be used on different floor surfaces, or over other mats.

The YOGO mat is flexible enough to be used on hard floorings, or even uneven surfaces like the grass or the beach. So far, I’ve tried it on concrete floor, when I went Bangkok for some alone time.

This mat is flexible thin enough to be placed on top of another yoga mat too, like a yoga towel, if you prefer to do that at the yoga studio.

The grip is very good.

The mat has a lot of friction – your fingers will not slip. (But read the cons below!)

It’s designed for easy cleaning.

This mat is designed to be hung, cleaned and dried. With the all-useful buckle, you can hang the YoGo mat over your shower curtain rod and spray water with a hose, then hang it to dry. For me, I simply use a damp cloth to clean it.

Why this YOGO Mat is not perfect yet

• It’s really thin. It feels like there’s no padding at all, causing my knees to feel strained if I didn’t place a towel underneath to cushion.
• Although the grip is good, the surface is rough. You can’t smoothly slide your feet to go from half-split into full-split – go gentle and slowly or else your skin might get scraped!
• It doesn’t come with a yoga mat bag. Given its price, a simple cloth bag would be excellent to let me keep the yoga mat in my suitcase without having the mat come in contact with my clothes.
• The price is expensive. (As give-back, YOGO donates one food-bearing tree for every mat sold.)
• (Difficult to purchase. The website had mentioned that a sports boutique in Tokyo carries their mats. I went searching in Ebisu but the address led me to a random none-YOGO office. In the end, I ordered via Amazon and my brother brought it back from New York for me.)

When to bring YOGO mat for travel

• For hotel room stays and lodgings with carpeted flooring.
• On outdoor trips, with sand and grass as the additional cushioning.
• If you only intend to have short yoga practices during your trips!

Verdict

YoFo or YOGO: which foldable travel yoga mat is better?

Here’s a quick comparison of the 2 travel yoga mats side by side:

Both travel yoga mats come with their pros and cons, depending on your needs. Personally, if luggage space is not an issue, I would prefer to bring and practise on the Khataland YoFo mat due to the cushioning provided by the mat thickness. In terms of convenience and overall design as a fuss-free travel mat, YOGO is the better candidate.

How I practise yoga while travelling

If you wonder how I practise yoga on my trips, using one of the travel yoga mats above, I’ll do stretches and quick flows either before heading out, or after I get back to my hotel room. If I have more time or prefer to follow instructions instead of free-flowing, I switch on Cody app on my mobile or laptop and access my purchased classes (Cody got acquired by Alo and is now subscription-based).

If you like, you can give YogaDownload a look too with its Vinyasa Flow classes, Hatha classes or Power Yoga and more.

How about you? Do you use any travel yoga mat and love it?