Corq Yoga Mat Review: Time For An Upgrade

Unrolling the mat was a pleasant experience. My go-to mat for the last 4 years has been thick enough to give me the support I seek when working out but, unfortunately, is also quite heavy.

I love that my knees always feel protected when I’m doing fire hydrants and birddogs, but it does take a bit of muscle to unroll and put away. If you’ve ever seen me prepare for a workout or stretch session, it looks like I’m whipping a sheet across my bed trying to straighten it simply because it’s...well...heavy. I’m not complaining. I’ve had the same mat for 4 years and use it almost daily. With minimal wear and maintained cushion, it’s still a top contender if you’re in the yoga mat market.

However, it isn’t recyclable, renewable or biodegradable. After a few short uses of my new Corq mat, I can safely say I’m converted. Outside of being in serious need of an upgrade, the lightness surprised me since I assumed something so cushioned would be just as heavy as the mat I’ve grown accustomed to using. Boy, was I wrong. Corq’s mat rolls out effortlessly and has an unbelievable amount of support. The texture is smooth and feels slightly spongey on the underside.

It’s an ideal thickness - enough to keep your joints protected but not so much that you feel raised high above the surface you’re placing it atop. If you’re a mat nut like me, you know the uneasy feeling I’m talking about – when your mat is thick and you somehow step off your mat mid-workout and feel off balance because one foot is raised and the other isn’t. Yeah, total vibe killer.

One other personal pet peeve when it comes to yoga mats are those that slide...All. Over. The. Place. It’s beyond frustrating to adjust your mat in between each dynamic move when you’re doing a timed circuit workout or are in the middle of a live steam and suddenly your mat has magically made its way over to the corner of your room. So, you have to stop, reposition, and recenter yourself in your workout. I put the mat to the test on my laminate floors. The result? Minimal movement. 

While they’re marketed as anti-slip, I’d say with any mat there’s a bit of inevitable shifting that occurs when you’re moving through downward dogs or HIIT circuits. Corq’s is limited enough to not be a showstopper during your sweat session. My hands and feet did slide a tad on the top of the mat, but, there was minimal movement of the mat itself. So, a decent amount of grip for your hands and feet on the top, plenty of grip on the bottom to maintain its position on the floor and very limited overall slip.

As we mentioned, the natural qualities of cork as a material means that it is antimicrobial and antibacterial. Bacteria can't live on this yoga mat! So in a certain sense, these mats are self-cleaning.

But what if I spill something or dirt builds up over time?

To clean the Corq mat, it is best to use a soft cloth with cold water to gently wipe specific or all areas. It is important to avoid using a cloth or sponge with an abrasive surface as well as skipping mat cleaners. Mat cleaners have chemicals that could be bad for cork and has the potential to damage your mat.

As far as how frequent you should be cleaning your cork mat, it is recommended that you give it a gentle wash once a week, assuming you are an average yoga participant. If you are a particularly heavy sweater, consider after every use. But again, this is not as necessary as a regular yoga mat.

High-quality yoga mats are worth the investment. Predating COVID, I was a huge fan of at-home fitness. When I would venture to a class, more often than not I had to bring my own mat. This meant having an enduring, easily portable piece of equipment was key to me enjoying my workouts (and the walk on the way to the studio). Now that I find myself doing sit-ups and stretches in my living room 100% of the time, I find it more important than ever to have a comfortable space to move. Corq’s mat gives me maximum comfort and makes me feel good about supporting the environment.

While I haven’t dripped enough sweat on the mat to test its antimicrobial properties (preventing germs, bacteria and odor), I’ll be reporting back on the smell without doing extensive wipe-downs in between workouts. If you’re considering entering a gym or group fitness class, I’d say now it’s more important than ever to purchase a mat that keeps germs at bay.