SKIDLESS Yoga Towel - I would say Om but the price makes me say OMG.
Written: Apr 30 '08
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Absorbs moisture, slightly prevents slippage, lots of colors, soft, stays put.
Cons: Very expensive, does not totally prevent slippage.
The Bottom Line: Not a totally necessary yoga prop but it has a few benefits. Recommended with reservations.
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| uglybugg's Full Review: Premium Skidless Yoga Mat Towel by Yogitoes |
When I find a new hobby that I really like I fall for it hard. Several years ago I scrap booked at a friend’s house and ran out the next day to buy all the cool tools she shared with me that I had to have for myself. Such was the case a few months ago when I started getting into yoga. It’s a fairly simple hobby that does not require many props or equipment but I wanted to pick up the highest quality and most helpful things I needed. Something that caught my eye and intrigued me the very first time I stepped into my local yoga studio is the Yogitoes SKIDLESS Premium towel. It looked so interesting and the various colors appealed to me so I broke down and bought one about a month later.
About SKIDLESS
SKIDLESS is a line of towels made primarily for preventing slippage of hands and feet during yoga practice. It is very absorbent and creates a hygienic layer between the yogi and her mat or other exercise equipment. It also adds a thin layer of padding for more comfort.
SKIDLESS comes in a few different sizes. This review is specifically about the large, mat size towel which is 24” x 68”. The towels are made from 80% polyester and 20% nylon and one side is covered with tiny nubs made from 100% silicone.
SKIDLESS comes folded and then rolled and secured with a paper band. The towels are available in two color families – chakra, which consists of a variety of bright primary colors and earth, which are muted earth tones. All towels have a contrasting colored stitching around the edges.
My Experience
Like I said, I was really drawn to the SKIDLESS towel from the moment I laid eyes on it. While I don’t generally sweat a lot when I exercise, certain yoga poses get me sweating more than usual and it really bothers me when it drips onto my mat and makes me slip around. SKIDLESS seemed like the perfect solution to this issue. Until I saw the price $60 at my local yoga studio’s boutique and at Yogitoes.com. Umm, yeah….. no. I’ll just use a beach towel.
But I couldn’t stop thinking about the cool moss green one with the orange trim that would match both my travel mat and my home mat so I started exploring my options and found the same thing online at Amazon.com for $36. Much more reasonable so I bought one. While it’s not exactly what I hoped it would be I still kind of like it and did not send it back.
So about a week later my Yogitoes SKIDLESS towel arrived. I removed the paper wrap and washed it in the washing machine using cold water on the gentle cycle with just a tiny bit of detergent. I had read on the Amazon and Yogitoes sites that the towel’s dye tends to bleed in the wash so I washed it on its own and did not notice any green or discolored water, maybe because I washed it on cold instead of warm. After washing I tumbled dried on low per the directions. It emerged from the dryer super soft and still in good shape.
No sweat!
That night I used my SKIDLESS in my home studio and liked the feel of a bit of extra padding under my spine, hands, and knees. It added a level of comfort that I did not have before and protected my mat from sweat. I did not notice that I had achieved any better traction though from using this product.
The following evening I went to a slow flow class at my local studio and brought along my SKIDLESS. I used it nub side down per the directions and went about my practice. Again, I worked up a pretty good sweat during a few moves and sweat was dripping off of my forehead and onto the towel. It was nice to see the towel absorb the moisture and to know that when I got up to do standing moves that I would not slip. The extra layer of padding felt especially good at the studio where the floor is hard wood and I did not need to use as many spare pieces of mat under my hands and knees in table pose.
What about slippage?
Well I wish I could say that using SKIDLESS totally prevents slippage, but that would be a lie. The smooth side of the towel seems to have just as much traction as my sticky mat. The difference really depends on the nature of the sweat. If I’m doing a very challenging strength pose where my feet or hands start to sweat, the SKIDLESS absorbs that and keeps my hands from slipping as much as they would when doing the same poses on a bare sticky mat. In this case traction is improved when I move from a sitting or kneeling position into a standing position as the towel absorbs any moisture from my feet. But when I’m doing basic poses that don’t make me sweat I don’t notice improved traction at all. For example, if I’m just beginning practice that day and I go from table to downward facing dog, my hands and feet still slip a little when using the towel. I have noticed though that when the towel gets slightly wet traction is improved. I thought this was kind of strange but have confirmed that others have experienced the same thing so maybe I’m not imagining it.
SKIDLESS is meant to be used nub side down and that’s the way I always use it however a friend of mine sometimes uses hers nub side up. She says that the nubs feel good on her feet and hands and that they provide a lot more traction. I have yet to try it this way yet. I would think that using it upside down would cause the towel to bunch up when changing poses. It does not do that when the nubs are facing down and I change poses, but I would think it would when used upside down.
Bottom Line
Having used the SKIDLESS Premium Yoga towel for several weeks now, I’m still kind of on the fence about it. While it does seem to slightly prevent slippage in some cases, using it does not result in a huge difference for me or the few people I know who have tried it. I really like that it has the silicone nubs on the bottom so it stays in place and does not bunch up like a plain towel or blanket would. I also like that it is very lightweight and can be used for travel instead of toting a big rubber mat around. It is also very soft and absorbent so it feels good, soaks up sweat, and keeps my mat cleaner longer. Even at only $36 on Amazon it seems highly overpriced for what it does which may explain why I see very few people using them at the studio. I decided after a week or two that I like it enough to keep it and keep using it but it is over priced.
Recommended:
Yes
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