Let me start by saying that the mat itself is great.  It's comfortable, well-made, and once it was broken in, it was great to practice yoga with.  It did come with the slippery coating that many have mentioned, that I removed with the (Manduka-recommended) sea salt, water, and a scrub brush, because my hands slid a lot until I did it.  Now it's comfy and I don't slide at all.

I must provide fair warning of a few color-related issues though.

1.  I bought the Poppy color, and when it arrived I found it to look more a mix of salmon pink and bright/light orange.  This was not what I'd had in mind.  I will say though, that in the dim lighting of a yoga studio it does look a bit darker, but not quite the deep bold "California poppy" orange I'd envisioned.  I almost returned it for this reason, but didn't.  Now I wish I had, because....

2.  With these new light Manduka colors, I find the mat looks dirty extremely easily.  Now that it's summer and I'm living in flip-flops, when I kick off my sandals and get on the mat, I leave footprints everywhere.  I had no idea that wearing sandals makes your feet so dirty until I had this mat.  My dusty feet are not the mat's fault of course, but the dirt seems to stick due to the texture of the mat, necessitating a cleaning of the mat after almost every class (or my feet before every class), as it doesn't just brush off like it would on a cheaper plastic mat.  If this would aggravate you as much as it does me, get a darker color and saver yourself the hassle.

ALSO, today I carried the mat around for much of the day in a fabric backpack, and the black dye from the backpack rubbed off on the mat, and now it looks like it has grease stains or something all over it.  I'm super bummed about this, as I haven't been able to get this off despite scrubbing.

So unfortunately, I feel like it's been one issue after the next with this mat, which is a bummer because for such a steep price, it's causing me more hassle than my old $9 Gaiam mat ever did.  Oh well, live and learn, I do like it and am glad I have it, but wish I would have listened to my first instinct and traded it in for the 'midnight' color at least.
Let me start by saying that the mat itself is great. It's comfortable, well-made, and once it was broken in, it was great to practice yoga with. It did come with the slippery coating that many have mentioned, that I removed with the (Manduka-recommended) sea salt, water, and a scrub brush, because my hands slid a lot until I did it. Now it's comfy and I don't slide at all. I must provide fair warning of a few color-related issues though. 1. I bought the Poppy color, and when it arrived I found it to look more a mix of salmon pink and bright/light orange. This was not what I'd had in mind. I will say though, that in the dim lighting of a yoga studio it does look a bit darker, but not quite the deep bold "California poppy" orange I'd envisioned. I almost returned it for this reason, but didn't. Now I wish I had, because.... 2. With these new light Manduka colors, I find the mat looks dirty extremely easily. Now that it's summer and I'm living in flip-flops, when I kick off my sandals and get on the mat, I leave footprints everywhere. I had no idea that wearing sandals makes your feet so dirty until I had this mat. My dusty feet are not the mat's fault of course, but the dirt seems to stick due to the texture of the mat, necessitating a cleaning of the mat after almost every class (or my feet before every class), as it doesn't just brush off like it would on a cheaper plastic mat. If this would aggravate you as much as it does me, get a darker color and saver yourself the hassle. ALSO, today I carried the mat around for much of the day in a fabric backpack, and the black dye from the backpack rubbed off on the mat, and now it looks like it has grease stains or something all over it. I'm super bummed about this, as I haven't been able to get this off despite scrubbing. So unfortunately, I feel like it's been one issue after the next with this mat, which is a bummer because for such a steep price, it's causing me more hassle than my old $9 Gaiam mat ever did. Oh well, live and learn, I do like it and am glad I have it, but wish I would have listened to my first instinct and traded it in for the 'midnight' color at least.