EVA puzzle mats - what's your experience?

[jonathan.bluestein]

Considering buying some for my school.

What's a good price?

How long do they tend to last?

Where best to order from?

Would 2.5cm (one inch) be thick enough? Or does one need 4cm for serious training?

Thanks!

[Pandrews1982]

I bought some for putting down under some woodworking equipment, got them from amazon.

For MA training the cold hard concrete was good enough for me so it's good enough for my students, or mud or tree roots or wherever.

[Orpheus]

What do you mean by serious training?

If you're talking about taking falls, the 2.5cm will be a little on the hard side for anything other than trips. It would be a very hard surface to learn how to fall on, and would likely result in fewer students coming back. I haven't fallen on the 4cm ones.

[jonathan.bluestein]

Thanks!

[Michael]

I hope the ones you fellers are buying aren't like the ones sold in mainland China, which smell horrible. They won't sell the better stuff, assuming there is better stuff, in country.

[meeks]

I went to Walmart and bought a bunch of the kids 2 foot by 2 foot mats at $12 for 4 mats (canadian dollars) before renting space at an aikido club where we could really go full bore throwing each other - they worked quite well!

[Orpheus]

I hope the ones you fellers are buying aren't like the ones sold in mainland China, which smell horrible. They won't sell the better stuff, assuming there is better stuff, in country.

+1

A lot of these are porous and will absorb a lot of what the human body will give. Traditional mats can be mopped. I don't know how well these would hold up if you're cleaning them regularly.