The short answer
Thickness trades cushioning for stability, and the right figure depends entirely on what is done on the mat.
3 mm and under — stable underfoot, minimal cushioning, light and packable. Standing work.
4–6 mm — the general-purpose range, and where most of the shelf sits.
8 mm and over — substantial cushioning for knees and spine, noticeably less stable standing. Floor work, stretching and rehabilitation.
The three figures that separate mats
Thickness, in millimetres, published everywhere.
Density, in kg/m³, published by the better makers. It is the figure that explains why two mats of identical thickness feel nothing alike, and its absence is a real gap in a listing.
Material, which decides almost everything else:
- PVC — durable, grippy when dry, the cheapest, and the heaviest environmental cost.
- TPE — lighter, recyclable, less durable at the edges.
- NBR — thick and soft, common in the 10–15 mm range, poor grip.
- Natural rubber — heavy, grippy including when damp, with a smell that fades.
- Cork over rubber — grip that improves with moisture, higher price.
What thickness does not tell you
It does not tell you grip, which is a surface property. It does not tell you durability, which is material and construction. It does not tell you mass, which is the figure that decides whether a mat leaves the house — and which is published far less often than it should be.
And a mat’s dimensions are worth checking against the person: a 173 cm mat is the common length and is short for many people.
Where this stops
Pages here report thickness, density, material, dimensions and mass as published, with the source named. Which mat suits a given body and a given practice is not a published figure, and this site does not pretend otherwise.
Questions readers send in about this
Why does a thicker mat feel unstable?
Because the foot sinks into it. Cushioning and stability pull in opposite directions: material that absorbs a knee also compresses under a foot, which is why standing work tends toward thinner mats and floor work toward thicker ones.
Does density matter more than thickness?
They answer different questions. Thickness is how much material there is; density is how tightly packed it is. A 6 mm dense mat and a 6 mm light one feel entirely different, which is why pages here report both wherever a maker publishes them.
Which material grips best when damp?
Natural rubber and cork are the two consistently reported as holding grip with moisture; PVC and TPE vary by surface texture. Where a maker publishes a surface treatment the page reports it, and no page here converts a described grip into a figure.
Last reviewed 20 September 2026